eir charge for paper bills

UrbanFox

Just looking at a letter that a relative got from eir.

He has a landline, gets a paper bill every 2 months and pays by DD.

I understand that eir will be charging €5.99 per month for any customer getting paper bills i.e. €72 every year. That makes it €12 per letter enclosing a bill (€72/6 = €12) !

Like a lot of his generation he is not tech smart and does not conduct any business on-line.

Are eir entitled to do this so-called "contract change" ? Does this require regulatory approval ?

Doodah7

Of course they can charge for paper bills. All utilities do so. My parents would be of an age and I check their bills online for them.

In terms of contract change, I'm sure it is covered in the Terms and Conditions your relative agreed to when he took on their services.

macvin

Nothing says they have to transact anything online.

Create a gmail address for their bill, have the bill sent there. Print it off if you wish and give it to him/her.

But is there any need to have the bill? Is it ever looked at? - Payment is by DD

Lucan123

According to comreg, if the customer cannot receive an electronic bill, they must be issued with a paper bill free of charge

"Service providers may issue alternative billing mediums to their customers if they can guarantee that the customer can access and use the alternative medium. If they cannot guarantee this, they will issue a paper bill. Alternative billing mediums can include a bill being provided to you electronically (by e mail) or on-line.

If a customer cannot access the alternative billing medium, (for example because the customer does not have broadband access or cannot use an on-line service), the service provider must issue the customer with paper bills free-of-charge."

Source: https://www.comreg.ie/faq/what-formats-can-i-expect-to-receive-my-bill-in/

TheTruth89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058250321/eir-charge-for-paper-bills

Eir are a septic company and should be avoided at all costs.

There needs to be laws brought in to combat against companies and there underhanded , at every turn the paste the costumers to maintain high profits.

WildCardDoW

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119206322#Comment_119206322

It's my understanding that most providers offer a discount for managing bills online. So they aren't charging for the paper bill, instead they reduce your monthly cost for not using them.

So technically the paper bill is free?

Eir might not be doing that in this case but basically that was the immediate cir umvention of this rule from Comreg.

Jim_Hodge

They have generously said that electronic billing and paying by direct debit will be free. They're all heart letting us be billed and paying them without extra charges.

Dempo1

Honestly OP this seems extraordinary especially when looking at comregs opinion on this matter. Obviously it's possible to set up access to electronic bills but I'm not at all sure a contract change should be affecting how a bill is issued.

It is also, I don't believe true all utility companies charge arbitrarily for paper bills , they actively encourage customers to avail of DD and e billing by way of discount but can't force existing customers to do so. Personally I choose e billing with EI but not DD , my bills reasonably small and I may on occasion let them run into two bills , although admittedly that may now have to change with ever increasing electricity bills.

I'd certainly be looking for input from the regulator on this.