Communication issues: Pricewatch readers’ complaints about Eir

This week we have complaints about Eir. First up we have three different stories about the telecom provider. And while they are all different, there is a common theme – the difficulties people are continuing to have trying to make contact with the company and having issues resolved.

First up there is a reader called Rachel who mailed us with a long list of complaints about Eir. In her first sentence she said that she was dealing with “no coverage, overcharges, not receiving calls and texts, phone keeps locking, complaints made, no reply, no call back, no refund, stuck in contract”.

She says she has pleaded with the company to release her from her contract without avail.

“I have three young kids and am back to work. I work in the emergency services and I’m on call. But I don’t know if someone is calling me as I don’t get notifications to say X was calling. They can’t set up voicemail for me either so I don’t get calls and work have to try text me.”

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She says she had a sick child during the pandemic and “waited all day for the doctor to ring back with an appointment. At 4pm I rang the doctor and tore the head off the poor girl who told me they tried me at least six times and I was told to go to hospital before 5.30pm with my child.”

Rachel lives over an hour away from the hospital in Galway and had to arrange for her husband to come home to mind the other two children.

“I have done all the checks they have asked of me, repeated myself 55 times, asked for a copy of my notes and call recordings, which I have never received. I’m at the wits end. It’s affecting my work life and my personal life. I’m paying €135 for house and mobile. The house phone is perfect but I can’t change as they won’t let me out of my contact without paying €1,200.

She says her problems have been ongoing for more than 12 months. “I don’t know where to go or what to do. I have offered the phone back to them. I was 15 years with Vodafone and have to say what a fool I was to leave them for a cheaper package when my phone package with Eir may as well be for a toy phone.”

‘They said they would call me back – the callback never came’

I thought you may be interested in my story which involves trying to sign up to Eir, starts the mail we received from Mary Jenner. “They asked for my eircode and came up with a different address. I pointed this out and I was told it was rectified. However, when the courier was delivering the modem he called me from the incorrect address.”

So Mary redirected him to her house. “An appointment was made for an engineer and I called to rearrange as it didn’t suit. I was informed that as the address had been recorded incorrectly they would have to cancel the account and open a new one with the correct address. That was on April 14th. I tried to contact them again and eventually got through on the webchat as I pretended I was a new customer and was told to call the ‘fulfilment section’.”

“I sent an email to the CEO but got no reply. I contacted them again last week to set up a new account. I had the same problem with eircode – something to do with their compatibility. They took my phone number and said they would call me back.”

The callback never came.

Webchat

Mary also included the transcripts of her webchat. We have changed the names of the staff to Tom, Clare and Kate and our reader’s eircode for obvious reasons.

Hello! Next available customer representative will be with you shortly. Tom has joined the session.

Tom: Hi and welcome to Eir. My name is Tom, how may I help you today?

Mary: Hi I am considering changing my broadband package to Eir and am interested in the €29.99 package for 12 months.

Tom: No bother at all Mary. May I ask who your current supplier is please and for your eircode?

Mary: My eircode is DXXXXX and I am with Virgin.

Tom: Perfect just a moment Mary and I'll see what we can offer :) While you're waiting may I get your full name and mobile just in case the chat drops.

Mary: Mary Jenner 087XXXXXX.

Tom: Super stuff.

(Incorrect address shows up here)

Tom: Is that the correct address?

Mary: No.

Tom: No bother I'll do a manual search now.

Tom: Is this your address (correct address shows)?

Mary: yes.

Tom: Always worth double-checking with Dublin addresses :) So Mary we can offer you our broadband there for €29.99 a month for 12 months. Do you have any existing accounts with Eir mobiles at the moment?

Mary: Yes.

Tom: Brilliant. Your order has been placed and you'll receive an email with all the details in the next 24 hours You'll also be contacted by the engineer to arrange an installation if required. You'll then get an email with a date and time when your equipment will arrive and when the service should activate. You'll also get an account number which you can use to log on to myeir.ie and access Amazon Prime and Eir sports for free. Have a great day and enjoy the weather :)

Two weeks later

Hello! Next available customer representative will be with you shortly.

Clare has joined the session .

Clare: Good afternoon, you are chatting with Clare from Eir online sales team. How can I help you?

Mary: On April 14th I signed up for broadband and landline with Eir. I received the modem but had to rearrange a call for the installation. However, it turns out that you had the wrong address, even though I told Tom at the time that the address he had linked to my eircode was incorrect. He told me he corrected it manually. I then contacted your office and a lady told me that she would have to cancel the order and put through a new order. That was two weeks ago. I have heard nothing since.

Clare: Hi Mary. While I would love to help you, I do not deal with such queries. I deal with sales only. If you call fulfilments on 1800 303 733 and speak to them, they will be happy to help you. My apologies.

Mary: But I need sales as the original account number I was given has been cancelled. Can you get someone to call me? I have been trying to contact you for days.

Clare: Unfortunately, there is nothing else I can do here for you. I deal with sales only. I can't re-provide orders like this, you need to call fulfilments. I cannot arrange callbacks. Owing to this, I will need to disconnect this chat. Again, my apologies. Thanks for chatting with Eir.

Clare has left the session

Two more weeks pass

Hello! Next available customer representative will be with you shortly.

Representative Kate has joined the session.

Kate: Welcome to Eir online sales. My name is Kate. How can I help you today?

Mary: I want to sign up for the broadband deal for €29.99 for 12 months.

Kate: Hello, I am happy to assist you with your order. May I have your full address and eircode so I can check what is available in our system for you?

Mary: My eircode is DXXXXXX

Kate: Thank you. Do you have a number to share with us just in case chat get disconnected before sorting things out for you?

Mary: 087XXXXXX

Kate: Who is your current broadband provider at that address?

Mary: Virgin.

Kate: Ok no bother, please bear with me one moment.

(Incorrect address shows up here with a different eircode)

Kate: Is that your address?

Mary: No.

Kate: Is that a newly built estate?

Mary: No. When you type my eircode into the eircode website you should come up with my correct address.

Kate: Thank you, one moment please.

Correct address shows up

Mary: Yes that is correct. Hi, are you still there?

Kate: Yes, sorry checking with back office because I cannot find your address, can I give you a call back in the next hour or so?

Mary: Sure, no problem.

Kate: I will contact you as soon as I get your address in our system talk to you soon.

Representative (CS3) has left the session.

Chat session ended.

‘They are persisting to look for payment after I cancelled on my mother’s behalf’

A reader by the name of Fiona had a much shorter query. She has been trying to close her mother’s Eir account for many months. Fiona’s mam is in a nursing home. In January Fiona filled out a medical incapacity form in which she explained the need to cancel the phone account. “When I never heard back from them, I went and cancelled the direct debit and when picking up post from [my] mother’s house, it seems they are ignoring that and persisting with looking for payment. My mother has asked me to act on her behalf.”

Eir response

We contacted eir and received the following statement: “Our care team has been in contact with all three customers and have resolved these issues to their satisfaction. While the details of each case are quite different, we absolutely understand the critical importance of reliable connectivity and the difficulty and distress it can cause if something goes wrong.

“We apologise for not resolving these issues when they arose. Our mobile network team has reviewed the coverage issue around Rachel’s home in Galway, they will develop a new site north west of [her home] later this year, this site will enhance mobile service in [the town] and surrounding areas.”