Eircom Phonewatch door-to-door €1500?

condra

Has anyone else had these guys knocking on your doors?

My father recently dealt with a VERY PUSHY agent, who insisted the following:
- €1500 was "cost price" and a limited promotional offer.
- Eircom were not making any profit on Phonewatch.
- Payment had to be upfront, and the agent could not leave any leaflets, brochures or contact details.

Do these guys work for Eircom or are they marketing company sales guys?

I know you could say "just close the door if you're not interested", but some older people are too polite to do that, and my dad felt like this guy was taking advantage of his politeness. The agent even insisted on calling back the following day, which he did.

The Eircom site itself says the following:

Our alarm systems range in price depending on your requirements and the size and layout of your home. Pre-wired alarm systems are available from €599 and wire free alarm systems from €680*. As a new customer you will receive three months free alarm monitoring in your first year - bringing the total alarm monitoring cost to €25.50 per month payable by direct debit or €229.50 paid on installation of your alarm system.

Seems pricey enough, but still nowhere near €1500. Eircom are also appearantly offering a €200 euro discount if you order online.

The various options are a bit confusing, especially when trying to compare Phonewatch with competitors schemes, but this pushy door to door stuff seems like a bad way of doing business to me. Maybe that's naive.

I dont know much about home security though. Is €1500 a decent price? I'm not sure exactly what sort of monitoring options this price included.

Incidentally, my father has actually decided to get rid of Eircom as his telephone landline supplier and switch to NTL. It's something he has been thinking about for a while, but this guy pushed him over the line, and from now on Eircom are in his "bad books".

taram

The fact he had no leaflets and wanted an upfront payment is dodgy to me, eircom has no qualms about sending leaflets about every little thing in the mail, never mind on a sales agent. My family got phonewatch about 6-7 years ago, and find it indispensible tbh. We have I'd say 75% of what's on the equipment page on their site and think it was around 600 including 2 years of monitoring including, this is for a 6 bed house. Was the 1500 a blanket price? Because each item and different monitoring options cost very different prices.

Oh also eircom phonewatch monitoring/repair people are totally different from normal eircom, ie. they know what's going on and are nice

Cabaal

Sounds like a con alright, I'd say report him to Gardai and at the very least advise Eircom.

Sounds like somebody trying to con money out of old people

MunsterCycling

Let the boys in Blue know these feckers are in the area.

MC

Paulw

Call Eircom PhoneWatch and let them know. All Eircom PhoneWatch staff would have proper photo ID.

Eircom PhoneWatch are a separate company from Eircom (although Eircom obviously own them).

This whole thing sounds very very dodgy. Report it to the Gardai and also to Eircom PhoneWatch.

PeteK*

womoma wrote: »

- Payment had to be upfront, and the agent could not leave any leaflets, brochures or contact details.

Got the offer but we got all that crap too ...

Sponge Bob

what was the contact number left by the scammer ???

_Whimsical_

womoma wrote: »

Has anyone else had these guys knocking on your doors?

My father recently dealt with a VERY PUSHY agent, who insisted the following:
- €1500 was "cost price" and a limited promotional offer.
- Eircom were not making any profit on Phonewatch.
- Payment had to be upfront, and the agent could not leave any leaflets, brochures or contact details.

Do these guys work for Eircom or are they marketing company sales guys?

My mum had these guys to the door too and after checking them out afterwards it turned out that they were from a genuine marketing company working on behalf of Eircom. The guy she dealt was incredibly pushy and instant that it was a one day only deal and the contract had to be signed by 5.30 (he arrived at 4 and stayed wearing her down until 5.30!).He also said he could leave no leaflets,info or contact details because he claimed Eircom would be over run by people ringing up the next day when they'd thought it over and realised this was the offer of a lifetime. His tactics were deplorable. He went around the downstairs of the house pointing out the many "security risks" and told her about how his own mothers house had been broken into via similar windows and she had been traumatised for years after it.

He didn't ask for cash up front but insisted on bank details for a direct debit there and then. She signed up but thought better of it as soon as he was gone and cancelled it under the 10 day cooling off period.

I met him just as he was leaving and he gave me a big speel about how he'd be in my area soon offering a great deal on Perlico broadband! Also claimed door to door selling was a piece of cake and that he had X type of posh car and a 3 bedroom appartment after just two years in the job.He even suggeted that I'd be "ideal" for this job and should consider applying to the company too as the sales training and commission were excellent.

They are the greasiest of sales people. I definitely would not entertain the idea of buying anything from door to door sales after the experience.

Sponge Bob

Sadly there is nothing new about eircom sending these c***s out harassing people .

Their last major campaign of this type was in 2004 / 2005 to counter Smart , remember

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2004/02/01/story728797555.asp

Often, he said, the potential customers would say they were not interested and would slam the door in his face. "I have had people chasing me down the road. I got punched once," he said.
He said that at the end of a long day a salesperson "will literally tell people anything just to get a sale".

Back then this scum was all working for a company called CPM International which still proudly lists eircom as a 'client' as you can see here

Now see

http://www.jobs.ie/Jobs.aspx?EmployerId=35596

furthermore they currently claim about eircom that

http://www.cpmire.com/default.asp?wci=Node&wce=1495

CPM provide a outsourced team of 250 full time permanent sales professionals, the team making 1,000's of contacts each week, with focus on new customer acquisition and cross selling/up-selling Broadband and other telecom services

The person in charge of these is Named Here ( Hi Kathleen) and her phone number is also in that link and in this other link here .

Get a name and complain direct to CPM if these scammers show up at your door .

They will also be going around annoying people about An Bord Gáis and its products

condra

Thanks for all the replies.

Yep, I'm quite sure they were legit, but what a scummy way of doing business. Unfortunatly, you have no choice but to be rude to these guys to get rid of them.

I'm pretty glad now that my dads getting rid of Eircom all together. Commercial dawrinism, or something.

rubadub

womoma wrote: »

- Eircom were not making any profit on Phonewatch.

Never knew eircom was a charity. Wonder who was paying the guy who called, or was he a volunteer, next time ask him if he will cut your grass for free too.

There was no doorbell on my house when we moved in, still do not have one years on, I would recommended getting rid of one to anybody!

Anybody I would want to answer the door to will phone in advance or when outside, if it was really important a person would hammer the door until we heard. I don't think there has ever been an instance where I ever said "we should really get a doorbell".

condra

Sponge Bob thanks especially for that reply. I'll pass that information onto my dad.

tony1kenobi

Eircom rep: and out gardai response time is...

Tony: Will they respond fast enough to stop this baseball bat cracking your skull?

Eircom rep: thanks for your time.

Nody

Don't bother to complain to the sales company; complain to their client. Write a letter to the company they are selling for that because of the acts of the sales rep in area Y at date Z who did X you will never consider them for any services. Hit the sales company where the cash is; in their client withdrawing business from them; basic outsourcing complaint route to take

Sponge Bob

even better , complain to the eircom MD ( Cathal Magee , eircom HQ , Heuston Square , D8 ) if CPM do not act promptly to deal with your complaint .

screwlox

Eircom, and Eircom Phonewatch are two completely independent companies.
Thats what they meant by 'Eircom makes no money from Phonewatch'.

Phonewatch sub-contract out their door-to-door sales to ANY Tom, Dick or Harry. They are not paid a salary - just €100 for every system they sell.

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

Nick Quigley is the CEO of Phonewatch, write to him directly.

condra

screwlox wrote: »

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

You're telling me you got a couple of sales guys 3 nights in a cell because they tried flogging an alarm system to your mum?

MunsterCycling

womoma wrote: »

You're telling me you got a couple of sales guys 3 nights in a cell because they tried flogging an alarm system to your mum?

Without ID is the point, always say no to unsolicited doorstep callers.

MC

eth0_

screwlox wrote: »

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

What a load of absolute rubbish. You've been watching too many episodes of CSI.

delllat

screwlox wrote: »

Eircom, and Eircom Phonewatch are two completely independent companies.
Thats what they meant by 'Eircom makes no money from Phonewatch'.

Phonewatch sub-contract out their door-to-door sales to ANY Tom, Dick or Harry. They are not paid a salary - just €100 for every system they sell.

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

Nick Quigley is the CEO of Phonewatch, write to him directly.

u are full of sh1t -gardai wouldnt even have the power to detain someone for that length of time unless they were being questioned for a murder or somethin serious and even then their detention must be authorised by a high up garda or a magistrate

also the guys knocking the doors are probably cobra ,theyre slimy scumbags that are taught to use agressive tactics and lie through their teeeth to get the sale

condra

I cannot understand why some people feel the need to make stuff up. Reminds me of a guy I went to school with, who was allegedly "in training to be an airforce pilot".... *sigh*

Anyway, thanks everyone who contributed to the thread.

Aldee84

screwlox wrote: »

Eircom, and Eircom Phonewatch are two completely independent companies.
Thats what they meant by 'Eircom makes no money from Phonewatch'.

Phonewatch sub-contract out their door-to-door sales to ANY Tom, Dick or Harry. They are not paid a salary - just €100 for every system they sell.

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

Nick Quigley is the CEO of Phonewatch, write to him directly.

Boy aren't u very sad getting 2 guys arrested. Is your mother or you not capable of closing the door???pathetic if that's what you find humour. Probably people like you that need to be locked up

Aldee84

As an employee myself in residential selling, I can totally understand about having I.D. I would be sent home from work if I didn't bring my I.D. I can also agree that people do not like sales people calling to their doors. At the end of the day I am just doing my job to keep a roof over my head and people should also realize there are decent people out there like myself who don't hound or intimidate people in their own homes. I am far from doing this job foe the love of it. I lost my previous employment due to downturn and had a good accounts management job on the road and had no other options with jobs than to take what I was offered. I find my job particularly hard and have met some awful people who want you to call on their door so they can abuse you and make you feel worthless.

civildefence

As well as their own technicians, Phonewatch use authorised agents (i.e. sub-contractors who sell and install their systems on a commission basis) similar to the various crowds who install satellite dishes for Sky. But €1,500, although steep could well be a legit quote depending on the size of the house. Wireless alarm equipment costs a lot more than standard equipment.

mikemac

screwlox wrote: »

l.

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

Did you get them arrested for murder or some other serious charge??

You have an anonymous username, there is no need to be making up stories......

delllat wrote: »

or a magistrate

not in this country

jamesbond

womoma wrote: »

Has anyone else had these guys knocking on your doors?

My father recently dealt with a VERY PUSHY agent, who insisted the following:
- €1500 was "cost price" and a limited promotional offer.
- Eircom were not making any profit on Phonewatch.
- Payment had to be upfront, and the agent could not leave any leaflets, brochures or contact details.

Do these guys work for Eircom or are they marketing company sales guys?

I know you could say "just close the door if you're not interested", but some older people are too polite to do that, and my dad felt like this guy was taking advantage of his politeness. The agent even insisted on calling back the following day, which he did.

The Eircom site itself says the following:


Seems pricey enough, but still nowhere near €1500. Eircom are also appearantly offering a €200 euro discount if you order online.

The various options are a bit confusing, especially when trying to compare Phonewatch with competitors schemes, but this pushy door to door stuff seems like a bad way of doing business to me. Maybe that's naive.

I dont know much about home security though. Is €1500 a decent price? I'm not sure exactly what sort of monitoring options this price included.

Incidentally, my father has actually decided to get rid of Eircom as his telephone landline supplier and switch to NTL. It's something he has been thinking about for a while, but this guy pushed him over the line, and from now on Eircom are in his "bad books".

be careful of the ntl where alarms are concearned,the dialers dont work on ntl lines

jamesbond

Aldee84 wrote: »

Boy aren't u very sad getting 2 guys arrested. Is your mother or you not capable of closing the door???pathetic if that's what you find humour. Probably people like you that need to be locked up

these guy's are pushy alright,try to get you to sign and give bank details,ive heard of some break ins after the fact with no signature there being investigated,there scams to try case your home prior to breaking in

jor el

screwlox wrote: »

No I.D is quite common, I got 2 of them arrested before after trying to flog my mother one - because it was a friday night and Phonewatch was closed for the w/end, they were kept in custody until Monday morning when the cops could verify who they were (Haha, serves them right!).

Spinning blatant lies about your competitors there screwlox? Not a very good way to run a business.

screwlox

No, no blaitant lies....

I've no reason to make up the story, believe it at your will - or don't, I couldn't really care.
The Garda happened to be a good friend of my mothers, and had got several complaints about their suspicious persuasiveness that night, therefore obviously felt they had sufficient grounds to detain them. I'm not the garda, so obviously I don't know the finer circumstances, but I'm sure he had good reason. he even rang to tell me the following monday.

I think it has already been clarified that there are 'certain' scumbags without I.D who DO go around selling Phonewatch alarms...

Blue_Wolf

taram wrote: »

The fact he had no leaflets and wanted an upfront payment is dodgy to me, eircom has no qualms about sending leaflets about every little thing in the mail

Actually a lot of companies who are doing door to door are not handing out leaflets due to cost saving. These include Sky and Eircom phone watch. 1500euro upfront with no contact details haha god in should try that one when I'm stuck for cash!

I had 3 eircom reps at my door at once and they left me with contact details and quoted roughly 250euro which I thought was quite pricey!

delllat

Blue_Wolf wrote: »

Actually a lot of companies who are doing door to door are not handing out leaflets due to cost saving. These include Sky and Eircom phone watch. 1500euro upfront with no contact details haha god in should try that one when I'm stuck for cash!

I had 3 eircom reps at my door at once and they left me with contact details and quoted roughly 250euro which I thought was quite pricey!

they are NOT allowed to collect a cash payment

they are ONLY allowed to make you sign a direct debit for the service

1500 is probably TOO MUCH unless you live in a 20 room mansion