Eircom shows 'arrogant disregard for customers' - Imag!ne (about Smart Customers)

[Smiler]

See the full story here:
http://breakingnews.ie/2006/10/03/story279397.html


here's a quote:
Managing director of telephone service provider Imag!ne, Brian O’Donohoe describes Eircom's decision to cut off out going calls to 40,000 SMART customers without warning as showing an "arrogant disregard for consumers".

Hopefully with enough pressure, this incident with Eircom might get some pressure put on them.

[alan ford]

i am afraid that in today's world, when too much freedom is given to whom has the power and money,with little or no control by regulators of some kind, they just play their dirty game and swip every hobstacle out of the way. i also believe smart did the step longer than its legs ( as we say in italy) and we love you for this. the best internet provider in the world, technically and as an economic package, but one must admit it was too smart to be true.
and i promise you, if you die, i will not betray you with the thieves ( read EIRCOM) which by the way they still owe me 128 euros after i switched to smart.
i love you smart, get an aspirin, a good rest and tomorrow you ll feel better.;)

[(>_<)]

Yep, definitely won't be going back to scumbag eircon.
It's just a pitty we'll have to change phone number AGAIN.
Still, at the end of the day, Smart telecom came along and scared the other ISPs into giving us a better deal all-round.

[iblis]

This is akin to terrorism on eircom's part.

Join our service, or we'll disconnect your line as and when we please without any warning whatosoever. Then we'll make you wait ten days for the privilege of giving us your money.

How can this be allowed to happen? Are consumers not meant to be protected from these sort of attacks?

[alan ford]

sometimes they go hand in hand like lovers. sometimes their power is too much for competitors. i remember when satelite tv years ago broadcast for free for a while and allowed to clone cards and so on. everybody was happy and jolly. one day, booom. screens all grey and people addicted to new way of tv broadcasting queing to subscribe. to me it looks a little similar. eircom makes customer at the expenses of a little fish. i am sure that at least 50% will beg eircom to give them bb service, especially in areas where competition is not present yet. and it will be no more 35 € but over 50. unfortunately when this companies are very close to the state... try to disconnect your house from esb, what is the alternative? i always hear of free market, but what does it mean exactly?
ciao

[mbur]

I think with the bertiegate story on its last legs and the Almish murder story in wind up mode the press are looking for a new headliner and the move to cut phone services to us smart customers is well timed and serious enough to be that story.

Watch our eircom, you may have just made a major blunder that will cost you dearly.

[mbur]

I guess michael oleary's aerlinux story took our spot. (sp? Think about it)

It seems that the laws of the land mean nothing to eircon.

They illegally (without notification to or permission from the user) un plugged 4000 smart LLU customers and now want to be paid for their crime (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=52163034&postcount=556). In each case some one had to physically move a connection at the exchange so It was no 'accident'.

Now they are bullying and falsifying documentation (http://support.smarttelecom.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=903) on an as yet unknown scale.

This is a one company crime wave. Are we back in the wild west or what.

The real kicker in all this is that conreg seem to be complicit. What are the media waiting for?

[Wildrover06]

I emailed both the Gerry Ryan & Joe Duffy production teams on Thursday night, highlighting both the Comreg issue & eircom winback assault tactics, pointing out that the topic was bound to generate a vast response by listeners, not to mention the 45,000 Smart Telecom customers affected by recent events.

Unfortunately the timing is wrong. Its such a pity Bertiegate & the Aer Lingus issues were hotter topics, but I did read in another thread that a poster from Donegal has been talking to a Sunday Business Post journalist about their b/band being disconnected, so thats something. I think it's important that this issue is kept in the public eye as much as possible before people forget how eircom & Comreg have acted.

[mbur]

Yeah I tried the Ryan show and Pat Kenny.

It seems that 45000 can have their rights trampled and its not news . One company buys shares in another quite legally and it news. b*llsh*tt.

[Wildrover06]

Yea the more I think of it the more annoying it gets:mad: I'm sure that everyone here has been following the thread on boards.ie, there is one post by Fallschirmjager which is very pertinent IMO http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=52151161&postcount=316, particularly this bit:

...so finally, as i near then end of my rant...there is the famous poem about extremist behaviour...yes a tad dramatic, i agree, OTT, absolutely, and comparing this to the holocaust is just not acceptable, but the message is clear

first they came for the jews,
i was not a jew so i said nothing,
then the came for the communists,
i was not a communist, so i said nothing,
then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out
Some may think it's a bit OTT or dramatic - I don't. Give some people an inch & they will take a yard etc etc

We have to ensure that this topic somehow gets into the national media. Maybe local/regional newspapers or radio stations would be willing to report on it? Sometimes 'sniffers' from nationals pick up on items originally covered at local level.

[johnmd]

John Doherty



Dear Minister Dempsey


I wish to complain most severely regarding the debacle of what proceed the last week, in which Smart telecom customers were shoddily treated by Eircom, I am being a smart telecom broadband customer, I find it absolutely disgraceful that Eircom can sever the telecommunications of other telephony operator in such a blatant manner, giving the fact that Smart may have had outstanding debts.

But I do believe that this whole debacle is a direct result of the debacle in which your Government partners placed in action due to your privatisation of Eircom, in which you allowed Eircom to maintain absolute control over the lines and exchanges, this in itself created a monopolistic company, thus reducing any competiveness in the market, this has been shown through the reluctance of the LLU fiasco and subsequent court cases raised by all concerned parties, you yourself stated back in April that you were going to give more power to Comreg to make it a more useful authority, as to date this doesn’t appear to be the case, as 5 month later Eircom is continuing to show such disdain disrespect of authority and regulation.

I am wondering if you know that when Eircom took the action they did last week, are you aware that they are connecting a large majority of Smartbroadband customers from their network back to there own network, this is a blatant disregard to directives from Comreg, that a telephony service provider can do this on a authorisation has been verified by a third party or written confirmation has been received, I am one of these person affected, I only found out this as I Dialled 1901, and was passed through to an Eircom Representative, who after asking me a few question realised that I was connected on my old Eircom telephone number which has not been used since the beginning of the year. And the greatest Gal is that Eircom has failed to inform either myself or Comreg or even smarttelecom of this, how many other subscribers are in this status quo situation where we have 2 telephone numbers in use, and will end up with 2 bills, one from Eircom and the other from Smarttelecom.

I know that last week was a very bad week for your government, but as there is a strong lack of leadership in the current telephony sector, may I urge you to take what ever action is necessary to maintain competiveness in the market, by issuing real deregulation of the telephone industries, if Smartbroadband does collapse this will surely be down to the lack of action taken by yourself and Comreg, for whilst Eircom maintains control of the telephony lines, this will be a major hindrance of other market competition, now may I remind you that it was the government who invested in the M.A.N fibre optic cabling and since Eircom has been privatised they have invested close to nothing apart from selling off major assets, this is a chance for you to take clear and decisive leadership in the portfolio you have responsibility, I hereby enclose a copy of a complaint I have sent to Comreg on their own failure.

I look forward in hearing your response in this matter, as I feel it must be treated as a matter of urgency


Your Sincerely




Joh Doherty

Att:

(john_.m_doherty@eircom.net)


Comreg


Complaints regarding lack of responsibility


I am an irate customer of smart telecom, wishing to complaint about the lack of responsibility shown by the dept in which Eircom has blatantly shown toward all smart customers, in which they withdrew our telephone and broadband services without any notification whatsoever.

I thought your responsibility was to regulate all form of communication, but I feel that you have failed in this respect, though I am not fully aware of your actual mandate, but I am assuming it is to issue guidelines in re of provision and service offered not only to customers but businesses.

I am well aware of the fact that yourself and Smart have taken Eircom to court over the policy of local loop unbundling, and though it was award in essence to Eircom with some guidelines on how to achieve this, I lived in the UK and when we deregulated the state owned companies we ensured that no one maintained outright control for hindrance of competition, such as Bt own only the telephony service whilst another company maintain and responsibility of upgrading the lines and exchanges. And British Rail doesn’t own the rail track this is owned by railtrack but neither company is able to control each other. But the debacle in which you constantly allow Eircom to undermine your authority.

1) the debacle of LLU is still going on, yes there are talks, but these are only talks, it is due to this reason smart has been unable to get the growth in which it required as everything which smart required by Eircom, this company just dragged it heels, knowing full well that as it owns the lines, there was little in which could be done, as it left yourself with egg on your face as soon as you regulate Eircom in it monopolistic empire knows it can run to court and get your decision overturned.

2) now with Eircom pulling the plug on Smart, what will be done to ensure that Eircom doesn’t do this to another company who is trying to break into the market, and provide a real alternative to this monopolistic company, as yourself don’t seem to be able to tame the situation, as you have already shown yourself to be spineless

3) at the end of the day only person who benefit fully in this whole debacle is Eircom, as those of us on smart broadband will have to switch back to Eircom in order to be reconnected to the Eircom network, and after being informed that we will have to pay a reconnection fee of €125, through no fault of ourself, but through the debacle of Comreg in it failure to regulate the telecommunication sectors, now saying that 15,000 who are connected to the Smart broadband this will generate a healthy income of a minimum reconnection fee of €1875.000 and say also 15,000 x 2 monthline rental, whilst we wait for the opportunity of finding an alternative broadband providing as Eircom are not exactly fore coming in providing with an account number and UAN until we get our first bill, therefore this will generate another €750,000, and the bigger prize is knowing that one of it real competitor has been removed from the market, and it can once again truly dictate market force, known full well that yourself is unable to really provide solutions.

[Wildrover06]

Those letters describe the situation very well johnmd. If you haven't already,would you consider emailing them on to any of these (there are contact links on the sites)? Or any others in Donegal.
http://whoisireland.com/irishwebdirectory/Ireland-Donegal-News_and_Media.html

[johnmd]

as you see from the letters I can be articulate, but I feel it time to really stand up for the rip off ireland stance as this is what happening right now in the lack of severe competition companies who are monopolistic can ride rough shod over everyone, such as ESB and Bord Gais recent extortionate price increase and also in the new year Eircom is raising it line rentals as well

[pizzahead77]

John, you should really remove your postal address and phone numbers from these posts as you never know what happens.