Eircom yesterday dismissed a report claiming that the company was making millions of euro from hidden charges for equipment that customers are not using.

The report stated that the company, the State's biggest fixed-line telecoms provider, was charging consumers for equipment such as handsets and switching apparatus, which does not exist or is obsolete.

It also stated that Eircom's bills were not transparent and did not outline for what it equipment it was charging customers. The report said that Eircom's results showed it made €31 million from equipment rental last year.

Eircom rents equipment to business and domestic users, but they also have the option of getting this from other suppliers. The telecoms equipment market has been liberalised since the 1990s.

A spokeswoman yesterday denied that the company was charging people for equipment that they no longer used. She said that, where subscribers informed the company that they no longer wanted or used equipment, it stopped charging them for it.

"We have actually sent out reminders highlighting this to customers," she said.

Eircom director Mr David McRedmond told a radio news programme that the company rejected that it charged customers for equipment they did not have. "There is no policy of hidden charges and there are no hidden charges," he said.

Mr McRedmond added that Eircom's billing and charging systems were very transparent.