Eir missold broadband, can I get out of contract?

muckety

Eir salesman called to my door and told me I could get better broadband bandwidth if I switched to them from Vodafone. I queried how that was possible and he said because they own the lines, and showed me on his laptop what it was reading on my doorstep, i.e. not the 'up to' but actual. I signed up and immediately had problems with broadband stability, when I contacted tech support they told me my line was only capable of half what he had told me and put it back to that immediately.

My frustration is that I would NOT have moved to Eir if he hadn't told me I would get a better product. Salesman responded to my email to say that he accepted that he showed me the reading on the doorstep.

I want to get out of the contract and return to Vodafone. Have I any rights here?

coylemj

I must have had the same fellow on my doorstep (Dublin southside) a couple of months ago, a pretty assertive older guy who assured me that I'd get better broadband speeds from a twisted pair (phone line) than the 240 Mb/s I'm getting via co-ax cable. On yer bike!

Xterminator

yes you have rights.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/your_rights_when_you_buy_a_service.html

contact Eir as soon as possible and indicate you are dissatisfied and that you feel you were missold the service. Give them a chance to respond/resolve the issue.

if you are not satisfied with resolution then send them a letter of formal complaint with the following information

- First name and surname
- The eircom account number
- Nature of complaint
- Request for all calls recorded

& send to

to
Eir
Customer complaints
5th Floor,
Telephone house
Marlborough street,
Dublin 1

anothernight

In future, never ever trust an Eir(com) rep. From my experiences with them, I'm convinced they're taught to just lie if it will make the sale. From inventing pricing structures on the spot to insisting that the entire network had been "modernised" under new management and could do speeds faster than UPC (through a copper line!), their willingness to lie is breathtaking.

my3cents

Xterminator wrote: »

yes you have rights.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/your_rights_when_you_buy_a_service.html

contact Eir as soon as possible and indicate you are dissatisfied and that you feel you were missold the service. Give them a chance to respond/resolve the issue.

if you are not satisfied with resolution then send them a letter of formal complaint with the following information

- First name and surname
- The eircom account number
- Nature of complaint
- Request for all calls recorded

& send to

to
Eir
Customer complaints
5th Floor,
Telephone house
Marlborough street,
Dublin 1

Then follow up after 10 working days and bring the case to the notice of Comreg and ask them if they can help get you out of a missold contract.

Finally if non of that works and you are still in the mind for a fight then the Small Claims Court deals with these sort of issues (cost approx €25 win or loose). You can always ask for all the money paid to Eircom to be refunded along with cancellation of the service if the service you got didn't live up to the contract you were sold.

coylemj

anothernight wrote: »

In future, never ever trust an Eir(com) rep. From my experiences with them, I'm convinced they're taught to just lie if it will make the sale. From inventing pricing structures on the spot to insisting that the entire network had been "modernised" under new management and could do speeds faster than UPC (through a copper line!), their willingness to lie is breathtaking.

Let it be said that Eir don't have a monopoly on dodgy doorstep sales techniques, they're in the ha'penny place place compared to the people that call selling service 'deals' from Atlas and I've had visits from both in the past couple of months.

The Atlas lads subjected me to an endless series of lies, the best one of which was that they were an authorised service agent for my make of car. Like an idiot I checked when they left and they are not an authorised service agent for any make of car.

Doorstep sales people are usually contractors which gives the company offering the service a level of 'plausible deniability' i.e. they can wash their hands and blame the individual for being too 'enthusiastic' and eager to make the sale.

Speedwell

Eir's own customer service line told me repeatedly I could get better speeds if I switched to their business service from my existing residential service with them (I am a work-from-home employee). They lied and I lost the opportunity that depended on getting high enough broadband speeds. Needless to say I am not with Eir anymore.

anothernight

coylemj wrote: »

Let it be said that Eir don't have a monopoly on dodgy doorstep sales techniques

Very true!

iainBB

anothernight wrote: »

In future, never ever trust an Eir(com) rep. From my experiences with them, I'm convinced they're taught to just lie if it will make the sale. From inventing pricing structures on the spot to insisting that the entire network had been "modernised" under new management and could do speeds faster than UPC (through a copper line!), their willingness to lie is breathtaking.

And never every every trust a door to door sales man.don't even answer the door. OP should learn a lesson from this.

stronglikebull

muckety wrote: »

and showed me on his laptop what it was reading on my doorstep, i.e. not the 'up to' but actual.

This should have set off alarm bells, and you should include this in your complaint to eir. He opens up a laptop, which is not connected to anything on your line, and tells you (an outright lie) that this is what you'll get at your house. This is physically impossible for him to do, and is a complete and utter con by the eir rep to do it. You should also report this tactic to Comreg, though that won't actually do anything or get anywhere.