Eir fined €2.4m and ordered to refund tens of thousands of overcharged customers

The communications watchdog has fined eir’s parent company Eircom almost €2.5 million and ordered it to repay tens of thousands of customers it overcharged over a period of several years.

Eircom reached a settlement with the Commission For Communications Regulation (ComReg) ahead of a High Court action which will see it pay a fine of €2.45 million and identify customers who have been overcharged over many years and process refunds.

According to ComReg there are an estimated 76,000 customers with an associated revenue value of approximately €6.7m in line for money back from the company.

Late last year ComReg issued High Court proceedings against Eircom following what it said was a “series of enforcement actions” it had taken against the telecommunications company.

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Those actions saw Eircom convicted in 2015, 2017 and 2018 of 26 offences connected with the overcharging of customers between 2015 and 2021.

ComReg also carried out two other investigations into Eircom for further instances of overcharging.

One such investigation was related to the period June 2018 to March 2019 with the other related to a period from September 2019 to September 2020.

[ Pricewatch: Warning of ‘Eir trap’ after older couple left hanging on internet connection ]

“The information obtained in these investigations demonstrated incidents where customers were overcharged by Eircom and had successfully sought a refund for the overcharge,” ComReg said.

However it was concerned there were “many more customers also overcharged by Eircom that had not identified the overcharge nor had they successfully disputed the overcharge with Eircom.

It applied to the High Court for a restraining order to stop Eircom from overcharging its customers.

The proceedings were fixed for hearing on April 25th however they were settled before reaching the Commercial Court with details released on Wednesday.

In addition to the fine, the refunds will focus on customers that were incorrectly charged due to an issue with a “broken bundle” on the customers’ account.

Customers that were charged in circumstances where the customer had requested their service be ceased and Eircom did not process the customers cease request will also be in line for a refund as will customers that were charged early cease charges in circumstances where the customer was permitted to cancel without penalty.

Eircom has also promised to “implement a series of “Forward-Looking Measures” to improve their existing billing processes.”

[ Eir tops list for calls to consumer watchdog last year ]

The forward-looking measures will focus on implementing processes and procedures which will include system upgrades and will see Eircom “proactively reviewing credits and disputes that could identify potential billing issues not already addressed”.

Eircom has also committed to appointing an Independent Auditor to review the effectiveness and implementation of both sets of measures referred to above.

In a statement eir said it was “engaging with ComReg regarding its concerns about the possibility of the historical and inadvertent overcharging of certain customers in respect of electronic communications services.”

A spokeswoman said the company had “already commenced a review process of an agreed cohort to identify any unresolved instances of incorrect charging and will ensure any such customers are reimbursed as soon as possible. eir apologises unreservedly to any customer who we identify as part of the review, as having been inadvertently charged incorrectly and has committed to actively processing any refunds that may be identified.”

The company added that it would also undertake “a robust review of current billing practices, to ensure their effectiveness. eir has engaged an independent auditor to verify both its historic and forward looking reviews”.