Eircom ! First ever Over usage Charge!

daveo90

Hey,

I got an eircom bill today! and i was shocked to see I was charged for going over my internet usage limit. First time ever!

But heres the thing! , I was on a 3mb line with 30GB allowance , and i found out that everyone got upgraded to 8mb line with 10GB allowance during the summer!!!! and my line can only get 3mb anyway..?????

It seems unfair im getting charged for going over my allowance when i got "upgraded"...seems like a downgrade to me.

I owe 40euro extra with them, do I have any rights?

What do you guys think?

ED E

It was in the fine print of the flyer a few months back. We used 110GB in August, dreading the next bill, the last one they only had a €6 surcharge listed though we were well over.

We went from 3 to 4.5(its "Up to" 8MB, their ****ty lines rarely get that high). The limit is also not just down, its combined up and down. Its a cheap shot by eircom, like selling a BMW then saying the warranty is void if you go over 70KPH.

UPC is the first port of call, they're cheaper anyways I think with rolling usage allowances, but we arent covered and rumor has it wont be any time soon. Wimax is shoddy at best. That leaves the likes of Vodafone which I'm checking out ATM.

And to think I used to praise Eircom.......

PS: Wrong forum.

daveo90

Don't recall getting any flyer at all.

I'm going to ring them tomorrow and just explain Im not paying the 40euro, and stick me back on my 3mb line with 30GB or i'll go else where

Lab_Mouse

daveo90 wrote: »

Don't recall getting any flyer at all.

I'm going to ring them tomorrow and just explain Im not paying the 40euro, and stick me back on my 3mb line with 30GB or i'll go else where

I honestly think thats what they want.or up to their 250gb ngb package(which is what I had to do as IM not the bill payer)

digme

tell them someone is stealing ur bb and to gfts

Paulw

digme wrote: »

tell them someone is stealing ur bb and to gfts

Even if someone is, you're still liable for the charges and the content of that download. So, they may even pay more attention to what you're doing online.

Unfortunately, you need to read the fine print, but sounds like you're in a pickle. :cool:

daveo90

The issue is my package was changed without me even knowing?? surely they cant do that can they?

I never even got a "fine print" to read?

mobby

plus i think they will also charge you a downgrade admin fee of €25.

Good 'Ol Eircom.

daveo90

But can it be called a downgrade if the package i was "upgraded" to them be in fact a a downgrade, my line is terrible and can only get 3mb

smellslikeshoes

daveo90 wrote: »

The issue is my package was changed without me even knowing?? surely they cant do that can they?

I never even got a "fine print" to read?

It was always part of their terms and conditions that they could charge, so that never really changed.

Voting with your feet is your best bet here imo, there are other providers with higher caps.

daveo90

I understand they could charge , but the real issue is the change of package without clear instructions of the change or notice. My download allowance was decreased from 30GB on my 3mb package to 10BG on my 8MB one.

Webmonkey

bit sly of them alright.

Out of curiosity, how much did you go over. Did they charge by what they say, a cent a meg or what ever it is?

daveo90

They said Aug i went over 12GB @ 1.65euro per GB, same in September.

Sure im already over 10GB and it's the 15th Oct! lol !

PapaQuebec

I switched to Magnets 24Mb unlimited package 6 months ago,

Here's my stats since then:

DU Meter Monthly Traffic Volume Report

Month Incoming Outgoing Total

May 2010 324.7 GB 131.3 GB 456.0 GB
June 2010 242.3 GB 81.0 GB 323.4 GB
July 2010 248.2 GB 82.6 GB 330.8 GB
August 2010 143.2 GB 100.9 GB 244.1 GB
September 2010 241.0 GB 112.5 GB 353.5 GB

Created on computer TVA-1 at 15/10/2010 15:24:34, report time span: 01/01/2010 - 31/12/2010

€10 per month cheaper than eircom too!

ED E

Webmonkey wrote: »

bit sly of them alright.

Out of curiosity, how much did you go over. Did they charge by what they say, a cent a meg or what ever it is?

daveo90 wrote: »

They said Aug i went over 12GB @ 1.65euro per GB, same in September.

Sure im already over 10GB and it's the 15th Oct! lol !

With tax its €2 per GB :mad:

digme

Paulw wrote: »

Even if someone is, you're still liable for the charges and the content of that download. So, they may even pay more attention to what you're doing online.

Unfortunately, you need to read the fine print, but sounds like you're in a pickle. :cool:

They can stick the fine print up their arse,not your fault their router is open to 5 year olds. :mad: If you don't have a new router demand one off them

ED E

Checked reports.

15th of 30 Days
Current Limit: 30GB (should be 10???)
Total Combined Usage: 64GB

Estimated usage at day 30: 128GB
Estimated Charge: €256

Not a chance we're paying that.

Voodu Child

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

Checked reports.

15th of 30 Days
Current Limit: 30GB (should be 10???)
Total Combined Usage: 64GB

Estimated usage at day 30: 128GB
Estimated Charge: €256

Not a chance we're paying that.

I think it maxes out at 10GB that they will charge you for. So €20 or whatever is the max over-use charge. (unless im mistaken?)
In which case you're going to be charged €20 anyway and for the rest of the month you might as well max the thing 24/7.

Still a total rip-off.

ED E

That would make sense of last months bill, I hope you're right.

Still though, expand UPC, EXPAND!

Cabaal

eircom have reserved the right for charging for going over the cap for years, the fact they didn't charge but you continued to go past the cap isn't there fault

You assumed you'd never be charged

...Oh and this is old news

Johnboy1951

Cabaal wrote: »

eircom have reserved the right for charging for going over the cap for years, the fact they didn't charge but you continued to go past the cap isn't there fault

You assumed you'd never be charged

...Oh and this is old news

As far as I am aware if they change the supplied service they should notify the user and give them the option to refuse it ......... accept or walk in this case.

If that was not done then Eircom have not fulfilled their duty IMO.

Cabaal

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

As far as I am aware if they change the supplied service they should notify the user and give them the option to refuse it ......... accept or walk in this case.
.

What did they change?

Long long before the NGB Eircom have always stated they'll charge for going over the cap in their T&C's. Users simply went over it anyway thinking it was ok...despite agreeing to the T&C's.

dub45

Cabaal wrote: »

What did they change?

Long long before the NGB Eircom have always stated they'll charge for going over the cap in their T&C's. Users simply went over it anyway thinking it was ok...despite agreeing to the T&C's.

Eircom have changed their products though and users should have been notified of any such change. There were posts on here stating that Eircom customers had been written to to this effect.

Where there is a major change in policy on the part of an isp such as beginning to charge for exceeding the cap after many years of not doing so then I believe that customers should have been made aware in advance of any such change.

In the longer term it only damages the company not to do so.

With UPC having such a devastating effect on their customer base Eircom should not be giving their customers an extra incentive to leave them:rolleyes:

kingtorres9

Check this out. Eircom NGB Download Rules.
I paid €20 extra last month and downlowded 220gb.

1. Is there a limit to how much I can be charged for excess usage?
The maximum you will be charged for your NGB (including excess usage & Broadband rental) is €49.99.

You will be charged €2 inc VAT per GB used above your allowance to a total of €49.99 for your Broadband package (including your Broadband rental).

If you are on the 'NGB Basic' package at €24.99, the maximum you will pay for excess usage is €24.00.

If you are on the 'NGB Regular' package at €29.99, the maximum you will pay for excess usage is €20.00.

If you are in a bundle, usage charging caps will be applied as follows:
NGB Basic & talktime chatter:
Normal bundle price is €46.79. 　　Max price including excess usage is €70.79
NGB Basic & talktime talker:
Normal bundle price is €51.78. 　　Max price including excess usage is €75.78
NGB Regular & talktime chatter:
Normal bundle price is €51.78. 　　Max price including excess usage is €71.78
NGB Regular & talktime talker:
Normal bundle price is €56.75. 　　Max price including excess usage is €76.75


It is recommended that you download the Broadband Usage Meter to help you manage your usage. The usage meter will notify you when you are approaching your usage allowance threshold.
2. If I am an existing eircom broadband customer when will my line / broadband be upgraded to NGB?
eircom is rolling out its Next Generation Broadband program on a phased basis. Once an exchange is Next Generation Broadband enabled, customers presently on the 1Mb, 3Mb and 7Mb products will be migrated over to the Next Generation Broadband products.

Customers will not be required to do anything or change their router / modem to avail of the new service.

For the latest information on the Next Generation Broadband service and roll out timelines please visit http://www.eircom.net/ngb for further information.

DOC09UNAM

Cabaal wrote: »

eircom have reserved the right for charging for going over the cap for years, the fact they didn't charge but you continued to go past the cap isn't there fault

You assumed you'd never be charged

...Oh and this is old news

How about you read the thread, the OP's issue is that his terms were changed ie his cap went from 30gb to 10gb.

For all you know he stuck to his 'limits' at 30gb, as he wasn't informed it had gone down until afterwards.

ck_303

Cabaal wrote: »

What did they change?

Long long before the NGB Eircom have always stated they'll charge for going over the cap in their T&C's. Users simply went over it anyway thinking it was ok...despite agreeing to the T&C's.

As a matter of contract law, waiver on a contractual provision can arise as a result on conduct. Eircom could easily be found to have waived their right to charge for going over the cap.

Johnboy1951

Cabaal wrote: »

What did they change?

Long long before the NGB Eircom have always stated they'll charge for going over the cap in their T&C's. Users simply went over it anyway thinking it was ok...despite agreeing to the T&C's.

They not only changed the possible speed of connection but they changed the download allowance, as I understand it.

I am presently on 3MB/s and 30GB allowance.

IMO, I must be notified and given an opportunity to refuse to be downgraded to 10GB allowance should they ever decide to enable my area for NGB.

By your post they would be entitled to charge me for going over the 10GBs up to 30GBs without notifying me of this change in allowance.

I must be notified and agree to this change, IMO.

EDIT:
It may be that the download allowance has not changed ... and if that is the case then it puts a different light on things.

yuloni

This post has been deleted.

watty

Almost 1/2 of lines can do more than 3Mbps.

It's down to

• Distance
• Number of DSL users in a multi-pair cable (Crosstalk)
• Interference
• Line Quality
• ADSL or ADSL2+ exchange (Approx. 8Mbps/24Mbps max, 3Mbps/7Mbps average distance)

dub45

watty wrote: »

Almost 1/2 of lines can do more than 3Mbps.

It's down to

• Distance
• Number of DSL users in a multi-pair cable (Crosstalk)
• Interference
• Line Quality
• ADSL or ADSL2+ exchange (Approx. 8Mbps/24Mbps max, 3Mbps/7Mbps average distance)

And don't forget the internal wiring.

Cabaal

dub45 wrote: »

Where there is a major change in policy on the part of an isp such as beginning to charge for exceeding the cap after many years of not doing so then I believe that customers should have been made aware in advance of any such change.

Perhaps but unless comreg force it or the company wants to be "nice" to its customer base then they don't have to do anything.

In this case people agreed to the T&C';s and then complain when they are followed

dub45

Cabaal wrote: »

Perhaps but unless comreg force it or the company wants to be "nice" to its customer base then they don't have to do anything.

In this case people agreed to the T&C';s and then complain when they are followed

That would not seem to be case in all instances as people are being changed onto new products without, it would seem, being given the opportunity to remain on the old one which they signed up for.

Zab

Am I to understand that they moved you from some other broadband package to NGB without informing or asking you? Have Eircom been doing this?

Cabaal wrote: »

Perhaps but unless comreg force it or the company wants to be "nice" to its customer base then they don't have to do anything.

In this case people agreed to the T&C';s and then complain when they are followed

I completely disagree with you. It's totally unacceptable for a company like Eircom to bait people in to downloading more by not charging anybody for years, allowing them to download more and more over their cap then suddenly trying to impose the frankly rediculous charges that they had in their original Ts&Cs when I signed up 5 years ago. This isn't what they're doing, but it's what you're suggesting they'd be within their rights to do. I have no idea what the legal view of it would be, but I'd guess it isn't as clear cut as you're making out. It's clearly unethical though.

leedsfan88

UPC is the way to go, i have 15 mb broadband and unlimited usage and its like 30€ a month if i remember correctly:D

RandomAccess

GF has UPC unlimited and its quite good.

Myself and four of my mates are all on smart broadband and we are all really impressed with them.

Kensington

Zab wrote: »

I completely disagree with you. It's totally unacceptable for a company like Eircom to bait people in to downloading more by not charging anybody for years, allowing them to download more and more over their cap then suddenly trying to impose the frankly rediculous charges that they had in their original Ts&Cs when I signed up 5 years ago. This isn't what they're doing, but it's what you're suggesting they'd be within their rights to do. I have no idea what the legal view of it would be, but I'd guess it isn't as clear cut as you're making out. It's clearly unethical though.

Non-enforcement is not an excuse as far as I am aware! Just because they haven't charged you up to now doesn't mean they are not within their rights to do so at any time. Their contracts have always quoted data transfer limits.

And it seems with NGB, they're just switching you over automatically. If you complain or don't agree, your only option is to cancel the contract. As long as you're not within a minimum term period, they are not required to continue to provide you with service on those terms and can change them at any time.

As for ethics though, I never found Eircom to be a company with ethics. Which is primarily why we've not been a customer of Eircom for over four years and have no intentions, whatsoever, of ever switching back to them for anything.

jonski

Maybe not the right place to be asking this , but to me ( charged for going over limit this week ) it is relevent , can anyone tell me how long ago was it that the 30 gig limit first came in . I mean the one with the regular 3 meg package .

I download less now than I used to and I find that I now go over the limit regularly , not by much but I still go over whereas before I hardly ever went over the limit . I don't think Eircom have taken into account that the internet has moved on a bit and I think they are pricing themselves out of the regular family package market ........... not that I think they particularly care .

dub45

jonski wrote: »

Maybe not the right place to be asking this , but to me ( charged for going over limit this week ) it is relevent , can anyone tell me how long ago was it that the 30 gig limit first came in . I mean the one with the regular 3 meg package .

I download less now than I used to and I find that I now go over the limit regularly , not by much but I still go over whereas before I hardly ever went over the limit . I don't think Eircom have taken into account that the internet has moved on a bit and I think they are pricing themselves out of the regular family package market ........... not that I think they particularly care .

Are they combining uploads and downloads now?

jonski

dub45 wrote: »

Are they combining uploads and downloads now?

Yup

kenyard

hmm.. i decided to check here.. my internet went dead there the 13th. im on my phone at the moment tethering through that.
i hit 30Gb in those 13 days.
we have a 10Gb allowance now apparently. the 2 euro extra means that our broadband this month is 50 euro which is their max.
rang up today. knew it was that they had changed and added download limits which im sure were never there before and we are with them maybe a year and a half or 2 years.
i played dumb on the phone so maybe they would cut us a new deal and basically the guy on the phone in tech services (foreigner,seems they have their tech services located outside ireland i guess) and he just tried to convince me it was my router was the problem and that i could get a new one but would have to renew my 12 month contract with them - thus not fixing the problem but not allowing me change company for 12 months either then.
or pay 50 euro for a new router which isnt the problem.
i repeatedly told him to check the dsl see if thats the problem and he refused to do so.

am cancelling my broadband and moving to another company asap.
im in tipperary so upc probably wont be an option

"*Unlimited usage subject to a fair usage policy of 250GB."
i mean thats even hittable...but 10Gb in a month. what the hell. i know of people doing that in 1 hour in companies where there is open wifi like.
Eircom own the phone lines and thats where they make it.
irregardless theyre down broadband from us from now on
its why upc are so slow rolling out also i reckon. they want their own lines and they will dominate the market when they have them and with eircom they dont seem to care just want to milk the cow as much as they can before its gone rather than compete

ED E

Slightly OT but I was looking at something on our router earlier.

______________________Downstream____Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 5120_______512
SN Margin (dB)____________11.90_______21.00
Line Attenuation (dB)_______38.50______23.00
CRC Errors_________________17________1

Its a stock eircom branded 2247-62.




Our line is shoite. How'd I know? Cause you can here it. In bad weather it sounds like AM radio. We've never had much issue with contention though, areas full of OAPs.

What I'm wondering is if we're running under a software limit of 5Mb/s or is that a maximum auto detected by the router.
If its purely a preset, can I do anything about it? If we're gonna be paying around ~60 a month we may as well get the full 7.

deelite

The Eircom lady rang me yesterday about upgrading as I'd gone over the usage limit. There's only one lap top in our house - and it's only used for general purposes, she couldn't understand how we'd gone over the usage but the minute I said the son uses Xbox - she said that was the problem. I told her when I was sold the package at the door the guy said it was near to impossible to go over your usage with "XBox and regular surfing"...I'm confused now.

slave1

when I was sold the package at the door the guy said

therein lies your problem, sales folk will say anything for a sale

deelite

slave1 wrote: »

therein lies your problem, sales folk will say anything for a sale

Well I'm waiting for a call back from them about it now. Do you think I can have eircom broadband without the phone is that possible?

Webmonkey

deelite wrote: »

Well I'm waiting for a call back from them about it now. Do you think I can have eircom broadband without the phone is that possible?

Yeah but I think it almost works out cheaper with the phone?

jay93

What?10gb limit on NGB??
God love all yas on eircom they are a ripp off:(

lynchie

deelite wrote: »

Well I'm waiting for a call back from them about it now. Do you think I can have eircom broadband without the phone is that possible?

Not possible, naked DSL not available here.

Baneblade

deelite wrote: »

The Eircom lady rang me yesterday about upgrading as I'd gone over the usage limit. There's only one lap top in our house - and it's only used for general purposes, she couldn't understand how we'd gone over the usage but the minute I said the son uses Xbox - she said that was the problem. I told her when I was sold the package at the door the guy said it was near to impossible to go over your usage with "XBox and regular surfing"...I'm confused now.

you should not go over the limit just playing games, but if you are watching/downloading videos and demos then you could go over the 10GB allowance

cormie

I'm in a bit of a pickle here.

I signed up to NGB on a pretty good deal, I only pay 21.42 a month (deal here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056002429) for 10gb cap. I went over my cap and was charged an extra €19 or so and I recall being told when I signed up that at any stage I could get a 30gb cap for €5 extra (26.52 pm) and it wouldn't effect anything.

I rang up to go for this but just found out that getting it means I've to get new contract, so the 10 month trial period I'm on will still expire in June/July, but my contract will now be until October, instead of August (July/August will be 46.79 with 10gb cap), meaning I'll have to pay an extra €103 (51.77 per month with 30gb cap) or so over the space of September/October when I would have been out of contract at this stage to choose a new provider.

So it's basically go for it and have to pay €103 extra, or stick with the 10gb limit and risk exceeding the cap every month.

I'm pretty sure I was told I could get an additional 20gb without effecting the contract.

Lenny

God I feel so sorry for yor poor eircom people I downloaded 78 gigs last night and this morning