Comreg publish more USO stuff on Contracts and Dispute Resolution Procedures

spongebob

A lot of this is technical consumer contract stuff.....Comreg are in the role of the Consumer Protection Authority for Telecommunications instead of the ODCA .

The interesting bits.....or so I thought.....are around pages 25-30 of the document where Comreg gives a potted history of dispute resolution procedures. Wha?!? ya may say!

Anybody who has dealt with Eircom Chorus or NTL, to name 3 companies who generally consider the consumer a great inconvenience, would think that this potted history is a work of fiction, a tragic comedy in the Greek style if you wish..

Companies such as Eircom NTL and Chorus should have a system in place as follows.

1. A First point of contact for all complaints
2. A means of recording them
3. A timeframe to respond
4. "Procedures for resolving complaints" ....yeah, ignoring them is it?
5. Reimbursements and compensation "where appropriate"
6. Retention of records of said complaints for at least 1 year.

Why do I get a feeling that this system does not work? Comreg nevertheless seek to 'improve on' this system which is a laudable aim in itself.

Comreg would therefore your submissions on how the consumer may be treated properly by the Telco. Submissions by the end of March. All details are in the full document which is Here on the Comreg website in .pdf format

(One note, stats on complaints last year are Fixed Line 705 , Cable/MMDS 416 , Mobile 140 . Pro Rata that measn the Cable companies attract by far the most complaints to Comreg per customer.

If you wish to help matters along, you should experiment with your carrier in the NEXT 2 WEEKS to find out how 'well' their complaints procedures work at present. Read the steps 1 - 4 above and attempt to rpelicate. Always make sure you have the full name of the CS rep at the other end and find out what office they are in.

The consultation will work better if ordinary people can point to obvious weaknesses in the system.....Chorus (for example) may very well have a complaints procedure diocumented on their website but the website currently points all and sundry to a Cable Modem sales site.

The Eircom website is difficult to navigate and has no consumer section per se.

M

dahamsta

Comreg nevertheless seek to 'improve on' this system which is a laudable aim in itself.

ComReg seems to be of the view that an improvement on sh1te is more sh1te. What galls most is the fact that the price increases granted to Chorus and NTL were specifically tied to required improvements in service and customer service. In my area, Chorus' service has disimproved dramatically since the price increases. Customer service has improved only in the context of politeness on the phone - which is of course welcome - whereas resonsiveness to complaints and fault reports is still atrocious. Etain Doyle proves once again that her threats are spurious and her assertions are so much yammer and guff. Etain, we all know you'll get some cushy number in the commercial sector when you finish up with ComReg next year, so why don't you do us all a favour and just push off now, eh?

adam

spongebob

Have Chorus ground you down that far Adam ?