Eircom BB: Signed up @ €39.99. Now €29.99. What to do?

Dinarius

I know this sounds daft, but I have only just noticed that the Home Starter package that I signed up to in September 2004, at €39.99 per month, now costs €29.99 per month.

I would have thought that the reduction would be passed on to existing, earlier, adopters. After all, people like me have been customers of theirs for longer. But who am I kidding, this is Eircom.

Before I call them tomorrow morning, have any of you sought and received parity with the current price?

Many thanks.

D.

mike65

You'll be credited with the difference surely (and yes I know its eircom)?

Mike.

Dinarius

Mike,

I'm not sure when the price was reduced to €29.99. Do you know?

I would have thought that I would have automatically been given the lower price when it kicked in.

Worst case scenario, I think I am right in saying that the contract is for an initial six months, thereafter renewing automatically (meaning they could argue that amending the terms is up to me, and that since we have now entered the third six month period, I'm stuck with this price until February 2006!) so they might at least have given me the reduced price in February of this year, if it was applicable then.

Surely I'm not the only one who started out paying €39.99?! ;-)

What did the rest of you do?

Thanks.

D.

d22ontour

When i signed up for it the price quoted was €39.99 but every bill i have recieved has it down for €34.99.I was going to complain about it but thought otherwise.

kaizersoze

Dinarius,
€29.99 is for new BB connections only and does not (and probably will never) apply to existing customers. You won't get credited for the difference. The new offers came into effect in June or July. When you come to the end of your contract (be it 12 months or 6), it's not automatically renewed for the same period. You go onto a rolling month contract so you only have to give them 30 days notice to cancel.
Ring and complain about it and tell them you'll switch provider if they don't give you the lower price but I'd say it won't get you too far. They're the dearest for BB anyway so a change would see a price reduction for you.
eg. BT 1MB including line rental = €40
BT 2MB including line rental = €50

Dinarius

kaizersoze,

Yes, we are talking about Eircom here, but....

In the real world, customer loyalty counts for a lot. So, when you've had someone's business for nearly a year and a changing market allows you to charge new customers 25% less for the same product, you reward the loyal, early adopters by passing on the reduction to them.

I am ringing them first thing tomorrow morning. Any hesitation and I'm gone, and I'll only accept it with a refund for the three months since June.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Many thanks.

D.

ps........if I switch to BT, do I have to change my number? Also, do they have offers on calls comparable to, say, Eircom's TalkTime Anytime, which I am considering signing up to.

Ta.

D

cgarvey

Dinarius wrote:

In the real world, customer loyalty counts for a lot.

I've yet to hear of any report that would suggest that is the case for any ISP in Ireland. I'd guess a lot of the smaller ones would work harder for your custom, but the larger ones don't have the systems in place to allow that sort of flexibility.

Dinarius wrote:

you reward the loyal, early adopters by passing on the reduction to them.

That makes sense, but these special offers apply to new customers only. It's the same for a lot of services. Mobile phones, fixed phone lines, credit cards, etc.. it's to attract new customers, not reward existing ones.

Dinarius wrote:

I am ringing them first thing tomorrow morning. Any hesitation and I'm gone, and I'll only accept it with a refund for the three months since June.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Dinarius wrote:

ps........if I switch to BT, do I have to change my number?

If you're getting residential broadband then no (as they simply resell eircom's wholesale bitstream product. Some of their business DSL packages actually unbundle your line, in some exchanges, which may require you to change your number, depending on various circumstances).

Dinarius wrote:

Also, do they have offers on calls comparable to, say, Eircom's TalkTime Anytime, which I am considering signing up to.

They have different call bundles (product page) some of which included unlimited calls, and "cheaper than eircom or Smart" calls.

Dinarius

Just spoke with Eircom..........

You would be hard pushed to pick up on this, and the guy I was speaking to admitted as much, but the €29.99 a month offer is for an initial contract of 6 months. At the end of that period, the price reverts to the standard prevailing price, currently €39.99 per month.

I then asked, why wouldn't I just move to any of your competitors, most of whom are charging €29.99 per month as a standard ongoing price. He said he couldn't argue with that.

As I am moving house shortly (see my thread on networking) I explained that I would have to consider my position. I asked what the procedure was for transferring my account. He said that I couldn't unless I was able to keep my existing number (which I can't do, we're moving too far from the exchange). Otherwise, we would have to set up a new account to which I would be committed for only 6 months.

He set up the new account, which will be active in 2 weeks.............at €29.99 per month! ;-)

Just goes to show, if you throw your toys out of the pram and ask, you shall receive (most of the time!).

I'm happy to go with Eircom for another six months at this price. By then, the all in packages of ADSL-2, calls, line rental and TV should be well established (or bust!) and I can review the situation.

D.