eir is a joke

tshiggins

A little over 2 years ago now I had an eir broadband bundle installed at the address above.

From day 1 I have had nothing but trouble with the service, the company and it's representatives.

eir's service, is worse than useless for me in my area. Broadband download speed is rarely above 1mb,  and upload speeds are non-existent. 

A huge issue arose immediately after the broadband was installed, for which eir were completely at fault, and took almost 2 months to rectify, after tremendous effort on my part, with little or no actual help from eir's customer service.

I'm attaching a transcript of this in word document format. (see attached)


After this issue was settled, on several occasions I have experienced below standard quality from the installed product - the nature of my job allows me to work from home a number of days a month, and on more than one occasion I have had to leave my home office and travel into Enniscorthy town, to use a local hotels free WiFi in order to get my work done.

Essentially I have been paying for a service for almost 2 years that eir have not been providing - and I have now reached the point where I am unwilling to do so any more. 

Just over a month ago, I received an email confirming that my mobile bundle intallation pack would be arriving in the next few days, and thanking me for my order.
I had not ordered any such bundle or service.

I contacted an eir representative and was told to ignore the email, it was spam.


3 days later Nightline contacted me to inform me that the package containing my new mobile phone was en route and would be with me the following morning.


I contacted another eir representative who confirmed that yes, the order had been processed, and installation had indeed been dispatched. 


I then had to go to great effort in order to cancel the order and return the pack.


This is just another example of eir's woeful incompetence regarding customer service - but isn't even the main reason for this complaint, which is as follows.




On several occasions over the last few months, I have been receiving notification from eir that fibre broadband is now available to my address.
I had been ignoring this offer, as I have been trying for quite some time to find an alternative provider, because of the previous issues outlined above.
After the lastest failed attempt to obtain service from another such provider, I was again told by an eir representative that eFibre was available to my address.


I checked the coverage map, and from that it was apparent that it was actually available - see screenshot attached. (This screenshot was taken this morning, Wednesday September 6th.)


I decided to oder the e Fibre package, and was quickly issued an order number -18162959, received an email confirming my order and notification of when the installation would take place - scheduled for today, Wednesday September 6th. On Tuesday September 5th at 4:30pm I received a call from an eir representative outlining how the installation process would go, and what I would need to do.


A little over an hour later, at 5:48, I was called by another eir representative and told that the installation had been cancelled, because fibre broadband is not actually available in my area. 


This is the final straw regarding my relationship with eir.


I had taken a day off work in order to be at home for the installation, and was told at the last possible minute that the installation will now NOT be going ahead because the service offered on more than one occasion IS NOT ACTUALLY AVAILABLE. 


I am beyond incredulous at this point with the constant lies and misrepresentation that I have been subjected to from day one with this company. All I want is a simple broadband connection that actually works as advertised. After 2 years, paying €70 a month, i still haven't gotten anything close to that from eir, and at this point I don't ever expect to.

Every time I have had any occasion to speak to any of the companies customer service representatives I have been lied to - consistently. This is about the only thing that eir can provide consistently - false promises and below par service. The entire company is reprehensible, and I cannot fathom how it is still in business with such a shoddy attempt at service providing and customer care. It's laughable at this point, and I have had enough.


A work colleague has endured a shockingly similar series of events in the last few months, also regarding fibre installation to his home, and had to endure the same level of lies and incompetence from eir regarding the availability of the service - so this is by no means an isolated occurrence.



I'd like to inform you that I don't intend to continue paying for a non-existent service. 


From the moment I send this email, eir has 1 week to provide me with the service I have been promised on more than one occasion at this stage. 
In my view this is 7 days more than the company deserves.  


After that time, if no improvement is forthcoming, I would like the entire service removed with immediate affect  - at this stage I would prefer to have no service at all than continue to pay for the shoddy excuse for broadband I have had to endure for the past 2 years.


At least I won't have to deal with the customer service anymore.  


I would like confirmation from eir that this email has been received and read. I do not want to be contacted with meaningless apologies by any company representatives - if the service I want can be provided, then provide it. If not, then kindly remove the pathetic excuse for broadband service that is currently installed at my address.


This is a follow up to the email sent last Wednesday September 6 regarding my dissatisfaction with eir, their broadband service and customer service.

I am sorry - but unsurprised - to have to say that after more correspondence with eir and their customer service departments, I am no closer to any kind of resolution regarding my continuing broadband service issues. In fact, if anything, the situation is worse, and the sheer incompetence of the company is even more apparent now than it was a week ago.

I have contacted customer service regarding my issue on several occasions, yet not one representative can give me a definitive answer on WHY I am continually being told that I can get fibre broadband to my home, when CLEARLY I CANNOT. My installation on Wednesday September 6 was cancelled on Tuesday evening September 5 last, at 5:50pm, after I had taken the following day off work to facilitate. After contacting customer service to find out what the issue was, I was informed that fibre would not be available in my area now until October 8th. (It was stressed on more than one occasion that this date was a "provisional forecast" - I take that to mean it won't happen then either.)

On Friday September 8 I received a notification from eir to my mobile phone requesting that I contact a number provided regarding my installation - only to be simply informed that my previous installation had been cancelled - another pointless waste of my time.

To add absolute insult to this, on that same Friday, an eir representative physically approached the home of one of my close neighbours, just 2 houses away, to inform them that fibre broadband is now available to their home.


FIBRE BROADBAND IS CLEARLY, CLEARLY NOT AVAILABLE IN  MY AREA. SO WHY WHY WHY DO EIR KEEP PUSHING THIS SERVICE WHEN THEY CANT EVEN PROVIDE BASIC BROADBAND??


As I have previously stated, my current broadband service is so pathetically bad that on days when I work from home, I have to leave my home office and travel to Enniscorthy town to use another providers broadband. I cannot use Netflix or similar streaming services because of the poor quality of my connection. After a burglary in my home a short time ago I am now installing a home security system that requires an internet connection to allow cctv surveillance recording and remote access. This will not function properly with my current connection. 

eirs failure to provide the basic service I'm paying for is now having a severe impact on my professional and personal life, as well as my sense of security and wellbeing in my own home, also the home of my elderly parents.

I simply cannot understand how in this day and age, even a half decent broadband connection cannot be provided to a residential property that sits on a main road just 3 miles from a large urban area.

By far the most frustrating aspect of this situation is eirs continuing insistence that their service is available in my home when it is clearly not. 
Yesterday I received a letter from eir, which I assumed was some kind of correspondence acknowledging the ongoing situation.

It was, however, a letter informing me that Ireland's fastest broadband has arrived at my home.

I'm honestly at the end of my tether with eir. Literally the only thing keeping me with the company is the fact that I can't get ANYONE else to provide a service in my area. Yet.

As soon as I can I will be switching service providers - because at this point, the fact that I would still have to deal with the company in any way is enough to put me off going ahead with an upgrade.

eirs response

Dear Tom,
First of all I would like to express sincerest apologies on behalf of eir for any inconvenience caused regarding your recent service query and the subsequent customer journey.
Upon reviewing your account, I can see that the order was placed on 01/09/2017 due to the reason that fibre is available at your premises. Please be advised that the sale had been processed by our representative under the note that the prequalification results on your line shows the fibre availability at your premises. I have attached screenshots of the same for your kind reference.
Unfortunately, we are unable to check the activation of DP connected to your line due to limited system visibility unless an order is placed for fibre. This is the reason our Sales representative had advised you regarding the fibre and I regret that this has caused you inconvenience so far.
Once the order was placed, this was moved to the Wholesale team who has informed us that your line actually qualifies for fibre but the problem is with the inactive DP which is causing the delay in this case. I understand your frustration that this has been forecasted for October 2017 but regrettably we are not is a position to push this earlier as it involves external work completion before installing the services at your premises.
However, understanding your concern, I have escalated this to the Wholesale team to check if the process can be sped up and awaiting a response from them. I will get back to you once there is an update from them.
Also, I feel sorry for your dissatisfaction with our customer service. I can advise that I have spoken to the Senior Management Team to advise of the problems you have experienced while attempting to query your order. In turn I can confirm that this instance of poor service will be dealt with internally and additional checks implemented to avoid such errors in future.
If you have any further queries please call our Customer Care team on 1901 or chat with us on www.eir.ie/chatnow or reply to this email and we will be delighted to assist you.

It goes without saying that I am deeply, deeply disappointed and frustrated at this response.
On 3 separate occasions within the text it is mentioned that fibre is available to my home. It quite plainly is NOT. You then go on to explain that you "are unable to check the activation of DP connected to your line due to limited system visibility unless an order is placed for fibre".
There is no explanation as to what "DP" is, or how this effects my connection - so I am literally none the wiser as to why the company cannot/will not provide the service they have offered.

So am I to understand that the situation is that eir has no way of knowing if a premises can actually be connected to the fibre network until an order is placed, yet continue to sell the service regardless?
Fibre has been pushed and pushed to me by eir over the last several months, and now I'm told that you have been upselling this service WITHOUT ACTUALLY KNOWING IF IT CAN ACTUALLY BE PROVIDED??
Surely this is backwards. 
This situation is causing a lot of stress and consternation in both my personal and professional life, and as I can't honestly foresee a resolution any time soon, I am at my wits end wit eir and their shoddy service.

BaRcOe

Where do you live?

tshiggins

Wexford, about 3 miles outside the town of Enniscorthy, where the efibre broadband flows freely

rob808

tshiggins wrote: »

Wexford, about 3 miles outside the town of Enniscorthy, where the efibre broadband flows freely

The DP means drop point put your number and eircode in here www.fibrerollout.ie see what result you get because you could be getting FTTH.

tshiggins

tried all that,

Great News, Fibre broadband with speed up to 1000Mb/s is available at your address. You can order from the list of service providers here.

rob808

tshiggins wrote: »

tried all that,

Great News, Fibre broadband with speed up to 1000Mb/s is available at your address. You can order from the list of service providers here.

well then you should be able to pre-order FTTH but guessing the live date October.when your ordering make sure you make it clear to them FTTH and not FTTC.

tshiggins

The problem seems to be they can't even tell if its actually set up. And my issue is why push it so much if they cant actually provide the service they're selling? They've given a forecast date in October - thats about 2 months after I was first contacted to say I could get fibre. And when I finally did cave and order it, they cancel the install at the last minute after I had taken a day off work to accommodate them.

Thats beyond terrible customer service.

rob808

tshiggins wrote: »

The problem seems to be they can't even tell if its actually set up. And my issue is why push it so much if they cant actually provide the service they're selling? They've given a forecast date in October - thats about 2 months after I was first contacted to say I could get fibre. And when I finally did cave and order it, they cancel the install at the last minute after I had taken a day off work to accommodate them.

Thats beyond terrible customer service.

There have being few people on this board that has happen to annoying as it is there not much you can do but keep at them till you'll get FTTH installed.

tshiggins

There's no end to it. How they're still in business I do not know. I've had nothing but hardship since I signed up.
Thanks for the info!

BaRcOe

tshiggins wrote: »

The problem seems to be they can't even tell if its actually set up. And my issue is why push it so much if they cant actually provide the service they're selling? They've given a forecast date in October - thats about 2 months after I was first contacted to say I could get fibre. And when I finally did cave and order it, they cancel the install at the last minute after I had taken a day off work to accommodate them.

Thats beyond terrible customer service.

I don't like their comment,

"Also, I feel sorry for your dissatisfaction with our customer service."

You feel sorry for somebody who's cat died, or who missed the last bus home, not a professional service!.

I would get on the phone with them and request to speak with a Manager/higher up. Don't hang up until they have solid answers and until you have a guranteed day / time and engineer is sent out to set it up.

From recent experience, I dislike how you have to wait for the engineer to call / text you with a time the next day. I was lucky that I wasn't in a job at the time of setting mine up, so I was at home anyway, but to not have a solid appointments scheduled 24-48 hours in advance is ridiculous.

I am with SKY but eircom send out the engineers to setup the new box for fibre.

tshiggins

Their customer service is highly inept. Dealing with them in the past has been a joke too, so there's obviously been zero improvement there, despite their insistence that 'every effort would made to improve' it after I complained last time. If I could get ANY other service provider I'd drop eir like a hot rock

jimmycrackcorm

rob808 wrote:

well then you should be able to pre-order FTTH but guessing the live date October.when your ordering make sure you make it clear to them FTTH and not FTTC.

No doubt a month after you get your FTTH you'll be posting here again after you get caught out by the extra 100 you'll be paying for going over the "unlimited" cap.

Once you know that fibre is available, get sky or Vodafone instead.

Johnboy1951

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

No doubt a month after you get your FTTH you'll be posting here again after you get caught out by the extra 100 you'll be paying for going over the "unlimited" cap.

Once you know that fibre is available, get sky or Vodafone instead.

Neither of whom use eir FTTH so they cannot provide the service!

Shyboy

rob808 wrote: »

There have being few people on this board that has happen to annoying as it is there not much you can do but keep at them till you'll get FTTH installed.

I had exactly the same problem back in Dec/Jan. The area was live for FTTH but some of the DP boxes (black boxes on the poles) were not activated, including the one outside my house.

It was very frustrating, and took many emails, but eventually they got it sorted and I have FTTH since.

tshiggins

I'm actually amazed that this is the way this company works.

Surely - surely - a company should only advertise/sell a product or service WHEN THEY KNOW THEY CAN ACTUALLY PROVIDE IT.

Imagine you were buying a car, and the salesman told you they had the exact car you wanted, in their showroom, right now - just come and get it and you can drive out of here in it!

Then when you get there to pick it up, it doesn't have any wheels.

This approach fosters nothing but ill-will and resentment from your customers.

Imagine another scenario - you need fibre broadband, and your provider says "yes, you can have fibre broadband - it'll just take a few weeks to sort out the hard line into your home and then you'll have it"

While that this situation isn't ideal, IT'S A DAMN SIGHT BETTER THAN BEING TOLD OVER AND OVER THAT YOU CAN HAVE IT, ONLY TO BE TOLD AFTER THE FACT THAT YOU ACTUALLY CAN'T.

I took a days leave to be there when the engineer arrived. I actually planned things for the days following the installation that I then had to row back on because it didn't go ahead-I had to re-arrange a work project that I was to do from home after-hours, and instead had to postpone an important appointment because I needed to be on-site in work on that particular day - because I couldn't depend on the service I have.

tshiggins

Missed a call from eir customer complaints yesterday.
Tried ringing back, but was told I was in the wrong department and put on hold.
12 minutes later somebody mumbled something incomprehensible at me and then hung up.
Nobody called me back.

eir: faaaantastic

kimmie87

I cannot tell people more than i already am that they should NEVER switch to Eir, i unfortunately signed up to a 2 year contract 1 and a half years ago.

In the beginning everything was fine from the day i signed up, it was installed quickly and at the time was the cheapest around, we got the TV, broadband and my phone and sim were all moved to Eir, 30 days later the sim card reader in my phone suddenly stopped working, i rang Eir and there was nothing they were willing to do as it was over the 1 month return policy date (annoyed and upset as i was, i accepted this and bought a new phone but kept my sim with Eir).

Got the first bill and it was more than it was meant to be, and they have always been more than i was meant to pay, rang them up again and queried this and was told that i was making too many calls and sending texts that weren't in my package, accepted this again.
the signal from the WI-FI has always been week (we own a 3 bed house which is in no means big). rand again and was told to turn the box off at the plug and they boosted the signal over the phone, this didn't work and was then told to buy a booster for the signal.
Nearly from the word go every time i rang up i have been greeted with appalling customer service, but then i received a letter saying they were increasing the price per month by 6 euro and i was within my rights to pull out of my contract, well, i have never picked up the phone and dialed a number so quickly. i was a very happy lady when i put the phone down. we are now having sky reinstalled and will never be moving away from sky again.

DO NOT SWITCH TO EIR....... I DO NOT RECOMMEND THEM FOR ANYTHING.......

BorneTobyWilde

If you do get Fibre to the home, go with Digiweb .
I'm in same boat, Eir are the worst, tell you one thing and mean another.
I order 300 mb fibre , should be 55 a month for first 3 months or 6 and then 75. I have 150m speed and it's at 75 per month straight away. I get bills of 263, 143, 171, 90, every month since. Plus I'm sure installation of Fibre is free with Eir, they charged me a 100 for that too.
150m speed is advertised on their site at 35 a month



YET I GET THE HUGE BILLS I'M GETTING.

turbbo

Contacted Eir today to report a line and poles down on a public road they fobbed me off with a number to ring - I basically told them I didn't care either way, they didn't ask for any details a call back nothing - what a bunch of scumbags!

gettafeck

tshiggens. I would be quite near to where you are in Enniscorthy and experienced the same problem. I have also place posts here about this Eventually cancelled the contract after one year and the trouble I had getting away from them is unreal. That was on the 28th August and I still have no internet as they have done everything to stop SKY installing their service to my house. I have had a about 30 communication with COMREG who are equally useless and seems to be cowering to EIR. AND I pity the person who has to deal with Cathy Delaney in EIR (she answers the COMREG cases) The most rude, arrogant, condescending person I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. Sacking would be too good for her. Hope you are sorted now.

Pokerace21

Digiweb are excellent. Been with them for years. Rarely a problem over that time and excellent customer service.

Aepos

A warning for anyone getting a call from Eir to Upgrade to Fiber to the home (FTTH).

I had a call from Eir 3 weeks ago offering me Fiber to the home, which I was pleased to accept especially as I knew that fiber had been run to the pole adjacent to my home. I was informed that the contractor would call to supply the installation last Tuesday the 7th June, after waiting in all day this didn't happen but at 4pm that day the visit was rescheduled for Thursday the 9th. The guys arrived on time and within an hour had the Fiber run overhead from the pole and neatly routed into my den to a point above my desk. The two boxes fitted neatly to the wall and all connected up to my Router.

That's when the fun starts or in this case doesn't start.

I was told that the details for the cable to my home was in fact for a cable somewhere in an estate across the road, so nothing could be done but fortunately I still had my Fiber to the Cabinet service and the problem would be sorted in a few days and the contractor would be back to complete and test the installation.

Decided to ring 1901 and get an idea of when I could expect the installation to be completed only to be told "Sometime in August".

Unfortunately Virgin etc. are not available on my road so I have little or no choice in who my Broadband provider is.

The Contractors were terrific neat, tidy and efficient its an awful pity that Eir doesn't seem to have a clue about its infrastructure or how to treat its customers.

Am strongly considering telling Eir to "Foxtrot Oscar ".

Cheers Aepos