Errorcom anwsering service-illegal selling practices?(please read)

The Gopher

I dunno if this is within the Ireland Offline remit but seeing as it’s the best place for an anti Errorcon rant here goes.
For what must be about the sixth time in the last few years Errorcon have yet again cursed us with their stupid answering machine. A service that we have NEVER requested which now is popping up only weeks after we have previously demanded it be removed. If I am on the internet and somebody tries to ring our house the internet is cut off and the caller is diverted to the answer service. So the two most idiotic and sneaky profit making aspects of this scam are that the caller pays the minimum call charge to be put though to the answering service and I have to reconnect to the net. We have now been conscripted to the Errorcon answering machine service for the third time this year now (and don’t forget the fact that it costs money to subscribe to this bullsh1t). On the two previous occasions we rang the complaints department (or whatever other phone line there is-I somehow think that if Errorcon did actually have a dedicated complaints department that the system would quickly crash under the weight of answer machine conscripts, disgruntled internet users etc etc etc). Of course they promised this would never happen again and so on but here we are 5 odd weeks later with the service up and running again. WTF???!!? Is anybody else getting this bullsh1te moneymaking exercise?
Now, here is where things start to get very interesting- I remember from doing 4th year business in school that before the consumer acts of 1978 and 1980 some companies would send people products through the post they hadn’t ordered. A few days/weeks later they would get a bill for this product. Of course they could probably return the product if they hadn’t used it but if they actually did use their unsolicited ”complimentary” item they would be expected to pay whatever was the regular price for it. This was made illegal under one of the acts either 1980 or 1978. Errorcon are doing the same by different means- they are selling an unwanted product to people who didn’t ask for it and expecting that person to pay for this product(theres a subscription fee for the anwser service). Who knows-perhaps they are getting away with it because of the wording of the clause in the act- back 20 odd years ago I would assume that nobody would have thought there was any way that a product could be sold in this way by means of telecommunications.

spongebob

You will find a technical solution Here

Note that 3 (actually 2.5) services may interfere with your internet connection.

1. Call Waiting
2. Phoneplus services (the group of services including call waiting)
3. Call answering and especially the audible notification of messages as they arrive

Call answering being turned on is the more serious as you are CHARGED for it, the phoneplus group are free. If call answerig is turned on for even ONE day in every 60 you will pay full rate for the entire billing period, being 60 days for domestic customers. 6 days a year and you pay full whack.

What would be of interest to the group here is if if Eircom are gouging you by doing that. A litany of times and dates would be helpful and you may PM me if you wish. I have heard anecdotal evidence of this but am not aware of a pattern of misbehaviour by Eircon....comments form others who have mysteriously had call answering switched on would be welcome....it could lead to the sticking of that slamming thread.

Call answering was a paid for service for years, then it was free for a few years in the late 90's and it is now a paid service agin.

Watch out for the man who comes in here to tell you that it is all YOUR fault for having a phone in the first place I'll get Sceptre to smack the bitch ......

M

Dustaz

Originally posted by The Gopher
I dunno if this is within the Ireland Offline remit but seeing as it’s the best place for an anti Errorcon rant here goes.

Actually, its not, read the FAQ.

While i agree thats its underhand of eircom to keep activating your answering service, theres a couple of things wrong with the facts here.

If I am on the internet and somebody tries to ring our house the internet is cut off and the caller is diverted to the answer service.

Sign up to that Internet Divert thingy, its free

So the two most idiotic and sneaky profit making aspects of this scam are that the caller pays the minimum call charge to be put though to the answering service and I have to reconnect to the net.

Calls to the answering service are free.

We have now been conscripted to the Errorcon answering machine service for the third time this year now (and don’t forget the fact that it costs money to subscribe to this bullsh1t).

Eh no? Its free if you sign up to one of the Options plans and otherwise its only 1.30 a month.


Again, i think its pretty underhand of eircom to keep activating it. Tell them youll sue if they do it again

spongebob

he should not have mentioned the word 'rant' bad Gopher

call answering is not free, it was for a while but now costs a few € on every bill

calls to pick the messages up are free.

M

Dustaz

Did you know?
eircom call answering is free with an eircom options discount plan.

On the eircom webbie, has that changed? Im on one of the options (silver possibly) so i thought it was free. Must check me last bill.

Paddy20

The Gopher,

I tried the Eircom answering service some time ago. However , I did not have any problems like getting disconnected from the Internet by it. It did what it was supposed to do it answered my phone when I was online, and I checked the messages later when it suited me.

As far as I recall. I got fed up with it and manually disconnected my phone from the service by punching my instructions for the answering service on my line to be discontinued, and it was!.

If you are suffering the type of underhand selling that you describe. Then I recommend that you either visit or call your local {CIC} i.e. thats, Citizens Information Centre,who offer a fully computerised Free & Confidential advice/information service to all citizens. Similar to a Citizens Advice Bureaux. Very useful ?

If you are dealing direct with Eircom customer services. Then it is hard to beat the old snail mail registered post letter. Has always worked for me.

God luck.

Yours,

paddy20;)

spongebob

find out who their company secretary is (companies office website)

send the registered letter to him/her they are a legal officer of the company

the company secretary must answer in writing ...unlike the 1901 biddies

M

OHP

You get a letter saying a company saying they are offering you a Flat in England for £10,000 a month. Man what a great offfer it is and you should not miss out on it and then it goes into a load of waffle etc etc etc. And at the bottom ofthe letter in small writing is this. If you do do not reply to this letter we will assume that you would like to avail of this offer and we will make the necessary arrangements for you Is this the sorth of thing that is happening?
If so it is totally illegal!


OHP

zynaps

I'd say the likelihood is you have call waiting on your phone.
So.. turn it off with *43# (I think).

Sorry if that came across as patronising and you don't have call waiting on, but I've never had a problem with eircom interrupting my connection (other than when I was connected through eircom net, does it all the poxy time), except when I've had call waiting on

It'd be handy if eircom set up an internet notification thingy that beeped you or something if someone was calling your line.
You'd have to have something running with an open port with a UID, and their thing working in tandem with the exchanges, I guess, but still

And if they were smart, they could even do whizzo stuff like let you listen to your messages or even take the call online or something!

But they're not smart.

zynaps

De Rebel

Originally posted by Muck
find out who their company secretary is..........

Fecks sake Muck, its one J.G.Ryan, haven't you read enough of his head wrecking diarrhoea ..... course now that he doesn't have a chain of shops to post his missives in maybe there is an excuse for you forgetting

Boston

Dustaz call answering may very well be free on your Phoneline, but if it is, its extremely recent. And the person making the call was always charged the standard rate.

His point is correct, a service he doesn't want is knocking him off the internet forcing him to reconnect and also charging the caller a fee. Personally I'd make a complaint to the competition authority.

spongebob

James G Ryan
Company Secretary
Eircom
114 St Stephens Green West
Dublin 2