# Eircom talktime ..."most improved"?



## Dr Moriarty (29 Jul 2004)

*Eircom talktime ..."most improved"?*

Evening all,

Just wondered if anyone had any comments about the latest offering from the Eircon stable? I've a large family (including 2 teenage girls who just _luuurve_ to chat!) and for the last couple of years have been rate-tarting furiously around the place, trying to keep the 'phone bill down without cutting off their dialling fingers...

I've tried Vartec, SmartTelecom and God knows who else; am based in Limerick and currently have the landline with Chorus (Pre-Carrier Selection) and all three mobiles with Meteor, which helps somewhat. But between their bills and Eircom's line rental I still reckon I'm forking out the price of a modest holiday package each year, just so's they can all "stay in touch" :/ 

Lately I've been trying out Telestunt.ie for the international & mobile calls, and it seems to work OK, apart from the odd time (their VOIP servers are obviously not up to handling high-volume usage...). Made a big long call to my sister in France last month, for 36c (+ VAT)!  

But as the majority of our calls seem to be of the local, daytime, short-duration variety, I've been thinking of trying out the €29.99-monthly-fixed-charge-including-line-rental beast that is "Talktime"...

Up 'til now I've been paying the buggers €24 a month just for the length of copper, so I'm figuring that for the sake of an extra €6 a month I might as well cut out the Chorus bill (typically anywhere between €40 and, say, €140!) and see how it all pans out.

So — has anyone here tried it? Seen a bill yet? Had any pleasant (or nasty) surprises?

Jeez, what did we all do before we got "d'electric"...?!

Dr. M.


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## ninsaga (29 Jul 2004)

Euphony are now offering unlimited numbers of day, eve & weekend calls to local & national numbers for all calls up to 1 hour in duration each. This service costs €10 per mth inlc VAT.

The national calls are to the 32 counties so for €10 pm You can ring the north as often as You like - as long as each call is under 1 hr.

ninsaga


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## stobear (29 Jul 2004)

Dr. M, had the very desparate Eircom account manager at my door recently, trying to sell this, to be honest it looked like a good deal, but spitefully I stayed put with Esat, due to travel commitments and future irregular phone usage, but I might sniff them out again when I come back. I love chopping and changing to keep them on their toes, although they have yet to stand up in my opinion!!!


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## Dr Moriarty (29 Jul 2004)

stobear, do you mean to say someone actually called to the door?!? Jeez, I thought it was bad enough when they kept calling us up on the 'phone... :rollin 

I'm going to look closely at the last Chorus bill just to be sure about our average total minutes, but that Euphony deal certainly sounds tempting — thanks, ninsaga.

Looks like it might be a toss-up between
(a) going for the Talktime option, and hoping that the peak minutes don't prove a killer... (_unlikely_) or
(b) continuing with the Eircom line rental (€24 a month), plus the Euphony Talknow deal (€10 a month), plus continuing to use Telestunt as far as possible for the mobile and international calls.

Or maybe I should start promoting my own new customised telephony solution around our house. I could call it something catchy like "Shut-the-f***-up-and-get-off-the-phone!"...  

Dr. M.


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## Shufty (29 Jul 2004)

*euphony is the pyramid scheme is it not ?*

Rates



They still have a minimum charge of 6.35c per call and many of the free calls are to other euphony customers 

as it is a pyramid scheme every existing customer has an interes in selling it on to new custoers (their friends) to get the free calls.


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## stobear (29 Jul 2004)

*Re: euphony is the pyramid scheme is it not ?*

Funny that, they seem to target me.....I told them chap to call back next month when I return, he signed, he told me he cant cos my name is on a rota and he wont be around these parts for another 3 months, I was nearly as disappointed as he was!!


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## Dr Moriarty (29 Jul 2004)

*Re: euphony is the pyramid scheme is it not ?*



> minimum charge of 6.35c per call and many of the free calls are to other euphony customers



Are you sure about that, Shufty? That rate card is for their Talk3000 package — but in the Talk_Now_ presentation it doesn't say anything about the calls having to be to other Euphony customers, it just says "unlimited free landline to landline calls in Ireland at ANYTIME" (_sic_) — the only exclusion being "non-geographic" numbers like 08x, 18xx, 15xx, which are billed by Eircom. (I'd still use Telestunt for the mobile and international calls...) [broken link removed]'s the Talk_Now_ rate card.

ninsaga, do actually use Euphony yourself?

Dr. M.


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## Cuchulainn (30 Jul 2004)

*talk talk*

Doc: almost the same symptoms as yourself. So bad I blocked all outgoing calls except local. And of course paid for the privlidge of that too. Used Vartec for majority of calls and did indeed whittle down costs quite substantially. However as with you I studied this latest offering from Eircom and decided to give it a go. I was advised by the eircom employee I was talking to on the phone to that my best bet was Package 1 (29.99 per month) but she was 'blind' to the Vartec charges which I was also paying so I  for opted for Package 2. this includes rental, call a 'friend' for 'free' for (cant remember the number of minutes' and so many hours included in the package. If you exceed the package the calls are still cheaper. Willing to give it a go anyway. First bill with new charges has not arrived yet so I cannot judge just yet. I assume I will get details included with account which is due in  mid August.


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## Dr Moriarty (30 Jul 2004)

*Re: talk talk*

Thanks, Cuchulainn, let's compare notes a month or two down the line...(?)

In the end, I decided to go — provisionally! — with the Eircom rental + Euphony €10-a-month deal for unlimited local/national calls + Telestunt for mobiles & international — in fact, once the paperwork goes through, I'm going to block the DECT 'phone for direct-dial calls to mobiles, so that "they" _have_ to go through the Telestunt prefix for those (I'll stick up a little note near the base unit in the hallway explaining the rationale in simple terms (and if they don't like it, they can kiss my "hairy yellow"...!)

That Eircom Talktime deal would have tempted me, too, except that I know, from scanning the bills, that my dear lady wife likes nothing better — once the kids have been dropped off to school — than having a good old natter with her cronies, usually between ten-ish and one-ish. ...And who could blame her..!?!  'Cept — when said cronies aren't at home — she doesn't think twice about dialling their 085, 086 or 087 numbers... I've more than once had single calls cost me over the €10 mark! (_Aside to AAM's (sizeable) female readership: I'm not being misogynist here — just speaking from empirically verifiable experience..._)

_Voyons donc..._ I'm sure that if I'm in error about this in any respect, I'll be pulled up sharply — either by the denizens of this estimable discussion forum, or by my (slandered) wife. In either case... what's the Latin for _Mea culpa_, in advance...?


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## ninsaga (30 Jul 2004)

*Re: talk talk*

Sorry Shufty - but You need to check Your facts.

A free call is a free call - appears as €0.00 on the phone bill. This includes calls to ANY local or national number around the 32 counties 24/7. 

You will be charged for the all if it exceeds 1hr in duration - other than that - €0.00. 
Dr M - the Talk 3000 service is no longer being offered (only the first 10mins are free for each off peak loc/nat call)- the new service is called Talk Now - again where loc/natcalls up to 1hr anytime.

Details are here.....
[broken link removed]

ninsaga


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## Martin (30 Jul 2004)

*Re: talk talk*

Am in the process of swithing from Esat BT to Euphony for local and national calls.

Intend using Telestunt for mobile/international calls.

Anyone have a tel no for Telestunt or know what are their rates for calling mobiles from landline as I cannot seem to find either on their website and have not yet received a reply from an e-mail query to them.

Thanks


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## shufty (31 Jul 2004)

*The pyramid aspect*

Ninsaga, have you used this system yourself like the previous poster asked

Is there any obligation on you to sell it on pyramid wise to keep the package or is it 10 a month, do not exceed one hour and that is that, no other obligation.


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## Tracy (1 Aug 2004)

*gaelic telecom*

just read about this in local paper has anyone used it?
www.gaelictelecom.ie


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## ninsaga (3 Aug 2004)

*Re: gaelic telecom*

I have been a  euphony customer for a couple of years now - prev on the Talk 3000 package. The TalkNow package was only introduced on July 1st.

There is no obligation on anyone to sell this on. As You ask...
"is it 10 a month, do not exceed one hour and that is that, no other obligation" Yes that is it. Remember though that the free calls are local & national only.

They also offer add on packages for calls to mobiles were You basically buy a set amount of minutes as You need them. More details on that on their web site though.

ninsaga


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## Martin (4 Aug 2004)

*Euphony and Telestunt*

Line Rental with Eircom.

Switching almost complete from Esat BT to Euphony for local and national Talk Now package.

My question is when I am up and running with Euphony
can I straight away proceed to use Telestunt for mobile and international calls and on whose bill Eircoms or
Euphony will Telestunt's charges appear.

Thanks


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## Dr Moriarty (4 Aug 2004)

*Re: Euphony and Telestunt*

On the Eircom bill, Martin — 1890* and 0818** are their local rate/national rate numbers respectively, so even if you have PCS with another operator calls to those numbers will be billed by Eircom.

From the Telestunt site:

* Local rate: Sa-Su: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 4.92 ct/min 

** National rate: Sa-Su: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 4.92 ct/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 8.17 ct/min 

Dr. M.


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## Martin (4 Aug 2004)

*Euphony and Telestunt*

Thanks Dr.

Euphony's rates to mobile are quite good for calls from landline compared to Eircom and Esat BT.

Euphony's are:
Calls to:
Vodaphone  16.18 Day  6.24 Ev    3.4 W/E
O2             14.37       11.25        2.02

I presume using Telestunt is cheaper.   Can you confirm
their rates and what prefix would I use and again on whose account would calls to mobile appear - on Euphony's or Eircom's.

Thanks.


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## ninsaga (4 Aug 2004)

*Re: Euphony and Telestunt*

Martin,
           Those Euphony rates you've posted for calling mobiles don't look right. Here is what they are....

 Mobile Calls        Peak    Off Peak    Weekend
Vodafone (087)    23.00   17.50           13.50  
O2 (086)             23.00    17.00          13.25 
Meteor (085)       28.00     17.50         13.50 

Alternatively one can use one of the Flexi packages as follows....

No. of minutes & cost per month
Flexi100          €17  
Flexi200          €31
Flexi400          €58
 Flexi1000       €136

ninsaga


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## Martin (4 Aug 2004)

*Euphony and Telestunt*

Ninsaga,

Your correct.   On checking again with euphony I am told now that the rates I was quoted for were in Sterling.
Thanks for the info.

Martin


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## shufty (6 Aug 2004)

*Thanks for the euphony clarification.*

The Telestunt rates for 0818 National Rate are incorrect

Should be 
8.17 day
4.92 eve

and

4.92 WEEKEND

To ring Irish mobiles you use 0818 at all times. 

8.2c day
5 c eves and weekends 

No other costs involved or account setup required 

Easily the best deal I know of.


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## Martin (17 Aug 2004)

*Telestunt*

To Dr Moriarty

You say that my charges from landline to mobiles will appear on my Eircom bill to whom I only pay rental.
When I contacted Eircom to chech this out the receptionist did'nt know what I was talking about but rang me back later to say that someone in Eircom's office have heard of Telestunt and that the call to mobile charges would appear on my next Eircom bill.

Here's the catch.  I have just received my Esat BT bill
through which at the moment I make all calls and I find the calls I made using Telestunt's prefix to 0818 appearing on their bill.   What are Eircom referring to in this case?

To Shufty:

Are you positive about that weekend rate of 4.92 cent.

I cannot see anything on Telestunt's site to say this and
Dr Moriarty thinks it's only 1.92c at the weekend.

Thanks


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## Martin (17 Aug 2004)

*Telestunt*

Shufty:

Sorry the Dr thinks it's 1.26c to call mobiles at the weekend.

Thanks again


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## Dr Moriarty (18 Aug 2004)

*Re: Telestunt*



> the Dr thinks it's 1.26c to call mobiles at the weekend



Martin (& Shufty),

So does Eircom! What I quoted above —
Local Daytime 4.92c 
 Evening 1.26c 
 Weekend 1.26c 
National Daytime 8.17c 
 Evening 4.92c 
 Weekend 1.26c 
— is from the Eircom website, and I just rang 1901 to confirm it...

_[Edit]_ P.S. Martin, I can't understand why those calls showed up on your EsatBT bill, 'though — I thought Eircom "owned" those 1890/0818 prefixes. Maybe ask EsatBT about it?


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## Cuchulainn (20 Aug 2004)

*phonetalk*

Dr.M: Got my first bill today under the talktime 2 arrangement. Rental and vat on rental as stated €68.
1000 off  peak minutes all used up ( oddly enough there was  no extra charges and no indication of any calls being made off  peak outside  these 1000 minutes, which I find unbelievable.) there was additional charges for daytime calls , mobile calls, premium rate and enquiries and that total bill which also had a refund of calling barred charges of €4 came to €89. One point I have to query is the call a friend for 'free'. I advised them of a number for this and said number appears a number of times in the 1000 all Ireland off peak minutes and there is no indication anywhere else to show that the free 400 'free' minutes has  been used up anywhere else, which means that I should have a carryover to next billing period of any calls which are supposed to come under the call a friend for free option ( up to the 400 minute mark, and then they can deduct them off the 1000 All Ireland minutes if necessary. Barring that the account appears ok. So now have to make sure that family are not using Vartec except during peak hours.


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## Dr Moriarty (21 Aug 2004)

*Re: "talktime 2 arrangement"...?*

Cuchulainn,

Firstly, glad to hear you're seeing an improvement...  

But I'm puzzled — from what you've described here, it sounds like you're not on the "Talktime" package, but their older "Talk3000" — the one they were offering up to last July, which included line rental and a bundle of free off-peak minutes, then separate charges after that for your peak-time calls (plus mobile & international, of course).

The more recent "Talktime" package — see ninsaga's distinction above, and my own link to the rates card — is a different beast altogether. You pay:
(a) Eircom for the line rental (€48.54 incl. VAT every two months, billed separately by Eircom)
(b) Euphony €10 incl. VAT per month for unlimited local and national calls, any time of the night or day — as long as no single call exceeds 60 minutes
(c) thereafter, you can choose to buy "bundles" of minutes to mobiles & international numbers, depending on what you think you'll use — and Euphony certainly beats Eircom for these, 'though not dramatically moreso than other operators (which is why you'd rightly use the Vartec prefixes for these at peak times...)

Now it may well be that the bill profile you've described in your own post is what works out best for your lot's usage patterns — loads of free off-peak minutes, plus a bit of mobile & international traffic — but not too much during peak times...(?)

My problem, though, has been more the cost of loads of (usually fairly short) peak-time local calls — like to the "best friend" who lives four doors away! :mad  — all attracting the minimum call charge of 5.6c or whatever it is. What I'd really like to achieve is a combination of:
(a) €24.27 a month line rental to Eircom, plus
(b) €10.00 a month flat rate to Euphony for all the local/national calls they want, and then
(c) use Telestunt for all the mobile & international stuff — i.e. billed by Eircom, but at 1890 & 0818 rates (see above my clarification to Shufty). I've actually now set up our DECT 'phone to bar all calls dialled directly to any 08* number, and loaded the relevant Telestunt prefix into the phonebook as the first entry — "AAAll mobiles"! — just in case the little angels might "forget", or be in too much of a hurry to go to all the bother of punching in a few extra digits. What a cruel and unnatural father, eh..? :rollin   

If I'm right, this little arrangement should give me:
A flat-rate monthly spend of €35 (incl. VAT) to cover rental and unlimited local/national calls*, and then calls to mobiles on top of that, but _via_ Telestunt, at rates of 8.17c/4.92c/1.26c per minute, depending on the time. Oh, and the odd international call, at local rates. Then — as Ian Dury might have put it — "won't I get a crinkly mouth!"

_* Thinks: must see if I can programme the 'phone to automatically cut off after 59 minutes..._

Now, where did I leave those Summer 2005 holiday brochures...? :smokin  

Dr. M.


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## tracy (21 Aug 2004)

*re*

I think I need what the good Dr is  talking about all our calls are made to local and mobiles during the day hubby is semi retired builder nothing made after 6pm just do not know how to go about setting up things


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## Cuchulainn (21 Aug 2004)

*talktime*

Dr M: I appear to have 'signed up' signed up to something called talktime and on band 2. I am not unhappy with the first result, and when I queried with Eircom yesterday why the 'free' friend minutes were deducted from the 1000 all-Ireland minutes they assistant stated that it should not have happened that way and that they were seperate. The real puzzler for me was the I used up EXACTLY the 1000 minutes and there was no bill for any excess which is strange. As you have stated I have an awful lot of evening and weekend calls so maybe I will give it another month before looking at your option, which looks good but as Tracy says how do you sign up for it? 
ps for what its worth there was 6 calls of over 1 hours duration during the previous two monthly period. Better half has relatives all over the shop, Dublin, Clare, Galway, Monaghan, Norn Iron, and 1 hours calls are almost the norm at weekends.
Cheers


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## Dr Moriarty (21 Aug 2004)

*Re: talktime*

1) Cuchullainn, I'm as puzzled as you are, at this stage..! Hope it works out for you, either way — anything that brings the feckin' 'phone bills down has to be good news! — and we might yet compare notes on this again. Incidentally, I'd have to say that Euphony's customer services aren't managing any better than what I'm used to from Eircom — I e-mailed and rang them on July 29th to arrange the switchover, and also rang Chorus to close my PCS a/c with them. Chorus — for once! — reacted fairly promptly, closed my a/c on 10th August and sent me their final invoice. But in the meantime, having heard nothing further from Euphony about my new a/c with them, I rang them again and said "look, I've closed my a/c with Chorus, so as of now now am paying for everything at Eircom's rates; your guy told me on the 29th July I'd get a pack in the post and my a/c with you operative within 5 working days, and still zilch — what's the story?" Best I could get from them was that my original application _had_ been received ('cos all my details were on file) — and they'd send out all the stuff again... :/

So — still waiting, and ever-hopeful...!

2) Tracey, notwithstanding my rant above, I'd suggest you just give them (Euphony) a ring at Freefone 1800-357142 — presuming you have an Eircom line. As for the mobile & international calls, see the posts above for details of Telestunt's rates. All I can tell you is I'm using them, and it seems to work. And you don't have to contact them or set up a new a/c or anything... The prefix for calls to Irish *mobiles* is *0818-270101* (wait for the voice prompt, then dial your number as usual and add "#" at the end) — and for *international* calls to nearly anywhere, the prefix is *1890-943123*. But have a look at their website (link above) for fuller details...

Slán go fóill,

Dr. M.
Bring back the carrier pigeons, is what I say...

P.S. [_"ps for what its worth there was 6 calls of over 1 hours duration "_] Cuchullain, a large birch cane is what you & me need...!


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## tracy (21 Aug 2004)

*re*

ta Dr M will ring Euphony on Mon do I then just tell Eircom of the change, 
will I still get a landline bill from Eircom? and I also have the internet 25 hours for 9.99 with them, help is much appreciated


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## Dr Moriarty (21 Aug 2004)

*Re: re*

Tracey,

Ask Euphony, but as far as I know they'll have to send you a package which includes a form to be signed and returned — and which they will then forward to Eircom — saying you want all your calls routed through Euphony in the future. Which means there's no need for you to contact Eircom yourself ...except to tell their bloodhound sales reps when they "cold-call" you that no, you _don't_ want to move back to them! But you might want to call them to ask about what happens the €9.99 internet package. If you go for the Euphony €10-a-month deal,  your line rental is still going to be going to Eircom, so in theory keeping on your internet package shouldn't be a problem. Mind you, at this stage nothing would surprise me when it comes to telcoms operators..!


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## tracy (22 Aug 2004)

*re*

thanks Dr M take the rest of the evening off  you have earned it!!


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## Tracy (24 Aug 2004)

*re*

contacted Euphony today with a view to changing from eircom it appears that my husband has to do the change as his name is on account and they have to get permission for credit check as he is out of the country for another 6 weeks I decided to contact Eircom and get my name on account then phoned euphoney again but they can do nothing till I get phone bill form eircom in 2 months time, well my momma did tell me there would be days like this


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## RitzFitz (26 Aug 2004)

*Re: Euphony and Telestunt*

hi there,

 I am thinking of using Telestunt now for mobile calls. What is the definitive answer to costs to mobiles ? does it vary according to which mobile number you are calling ( 086 , 087 etc ) ? And finally how do these calls show up on an eircom bill ? 

thanks for any advice 

ps. I am thinking of signing up to the new UTV Talk offer also, as most of my calls are weekend and evening ( and usually quite long ones ) .


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## shufty (26 Aug 2004)

*We were not sure if w/e was 1.26 or 4.92 to 0818 for mobile*

Either is a lot cheaper than anything else around though

I still say its 4.92c a minute to ring  an 0818 number at the weekend  and not 1.26c as they said on the telestunt website , I dunno anyone else under 10c a minute so it matter not . Same price to all mobiles yes.

www.telestunt.ie


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## RitzFitz (26 Aug 2004)

*Re: We were not sure if w/e was 1.26 or 4.92 to 0818 for mob*

thanks Shufty, 

   have you used them already ? if so how do these calls show up on an eircom bill ? 

cheers


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## shufty (27 Aug 2004)

*the total cost*

4.92c to eircom and nothing directly to telestunt , eircom pay them out of the 4.92c 

its 8.1c daytime during the week to ring an 0818 number but over 25c to ring a mobile direct 

I had a pushy woman trying to sell me euphony once so i dislike them since , god she was a bag .


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## din0saur (27 Aug 2004)

*UTV to offer free calls weekends and evenings*

UTV to offer free calls weekends and evenings

Irish Independent 27th Aug 2004

TV FIRM UTV has entered the residential telephone market here and has introduced a number of free calls and cut-rate offers that, it expects, will entice Eircom customers to change.

According to UTV, it expects to take up 300,000 customers in the first 12 months. This would represent 5pc of the fixed-line market.

UTV Talk is offering free calls at evenings and weekends to anywhere in Ireland and the UK.

The new product is being backed up by a €1m TV and radio marketing campaign.

It also claims 10pc savings on standard Eircom local, national and international call charges, and 5pc savings on standard Eircom call charges to Irish mobiles.

According to Scott Taunton, group business development director at UTV, the company will offer the services using its own infrastructure and that of Eircom and Esat BT.

And he expects a further shake-up in the market in the future. "More competition is inevitable and it will put pressure on existing operators," he said, "but, at the end of the day, it will be the consumer that will determine the level of competition.

"We're delighted to introduce the most competitive telephony service in Ireland, from a company that Irish people know and trust."

The introduction of single billing to the fixed line market has already increased competition with the likes of Esat BT and Smart Telecom offering an alternative to the incumbent.

UTV Talk is also offering single billing and is charging the same line rental as Eircom.

According to the company, a transfer from a current service provider can be arranged without a disruption of service.

Customers can also keep their existing telephone numbers.

"The telephony market has been renowned for confusion about pricing combined with a lack of real competition, which has been very frustrating for customers.

"With UTV Talk there are no hidden charges, no catches, free really means free," he said.

UTV is already in the Irish internet market and its broadband products have gained a 5pc market share in the last year.

Ailish O'Hora


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## RitzFitz (27 Aug 2004)

*Re: UTV to offer free calls weekends and evenings*

just got this reply from Telestunt regarding their charges : 

The access numbers for calling within Ireland are:
Landlines               1890 943 123          local rate *         
Mobile                  0818 270 101          national rate ** 

* Local rate: Sa-Su: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 4.92 ct/min 

** National rate: Sa-Su: 1.26 ct/min
Mo-Fr 6pm/8am: 4.92 ct/min
Mo-Fr 8am/6pm: 8.17 ct/min 

so it seems that weekend rates to mobiles are charged at 1.26 cpm after all.


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## shufty (27 Aug 2004)

*again*

Telestunt Lied To You. Comreg Complaint time I fear. 

Here is the Eircom Price list , it is accurate.

[broken link removed]

see the 0818 link when you get to the above page , I linked it below. 

[broken link removed]

PAGE 10 there confirms that the rate  ex vat er second is the same at evenings and weekend, 0.0678 per second

0.0678 x 60 = 4.068 x 21% Vat = 4.92c

The weekend rate is 4.92c and not 1.26c

4.92c is still half what anybody else charges at the weekend for a call to an irish mobile from an irish landline so you are not being ripped off


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## RitzFitz (27 Aug 2004)

*Re: again*

thanks Shufty !


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## Dr Moriarty (28 Aug 2004)

*The ever-shifting sands of Eircon rates..!*

Shufty, glad to see you splitting hairs again!  

I noticed that that .pdf document is dated 18 March 2003 — nearly 18 months ago — so I decided to give them a ring (again!)

I wasn't making it up when I said I'd confirmed those rates I mentioned above; I'd actually checked on their online call calculator and taken the rates from  — _and_ verified same on 1901. But now, a few days later, that online call calculator gives rather different readouts — try it yourselves! So I rang 1901 again, asked to speak to a supervisor, told her that I was ringing on behalf of a business client and asked her to settle an argument we were having in the Finance Office regarding national call rates. She said she'd a "new sheet" on her desk as of this morning, and that the latest rates are as follows:

Call a national number (as in outside your local area) and pay
8.2c daytime
4.9c evening
1.26 weekends

But call the so-called "National rate" 0818 prefix, and you'll pay
7.7c daytime
5.1c evening
4.4c weekend

Go figure...:rolleyes 

No wonder they don't dare list their tariffs in the 'phone book anymore. No wonder noone wants to buy their bloody shares (this time!). No wonder they've had to employ small armies of commission-only sharks, cold-calling and door-stepping gullible people in an attempt to "winback" _[sic]_ some of the custom that's been haemorrhaging out of the company over the last year or two...

I'd love to see someone pull them up — under ASAI/Comreg regulations, maybe? — for all the conflicting (published) rates. As of now, both their online call calculator and their website rates sheet are inaccurate, each in different ways.

But then I suppose there are too many ex-ministerial cronies still on the board for something like that to happen..?

I swear, I'm going back to the pigeons!

Dr. M.


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## shufty (28 Aug 2004)

*Its a Comreg issue the ASAI does not cover Eircom website*

>I wasn't making it up when I said I'd confirmed those rates I mentioned above; 

I believe you good Doctor . I really do  

Comreg require Eircom to publish their full rate sheet as it is now , thats what I linked  in my post . They should NEVER operate any other rates save on discount or bundle schemes but they give me a headache just reading them  because they are designed to bamboozle and most people are not on them anyway .

If the 'real' rate is different to the published rate  then Comreg will take a dim view of it as per all of the recent billing disasters that have befallen our major carriers. The real rate may be what the Biddy told you or it may be what is on the website, if we had a penny for every lie we'd been told by Eircom over the years then we would be rich would we not. 

Contact bobby.hannon@comreg.ie about the Eircom variance and the Telestunt misleading statement by email where they mixed up the national weekend rate and the 0818 weekend rate  . Bobby is the Head of consumer stuff in Comreg


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## Dr Moriarty (28 Aug 2004)

*Re: Its a Comreg issue the ASAI does not cover Eircom websit*

Wouldn't doubt you, shufty... 
I've e-mailed the bould Bobby a link to this thread — hope that's not against AAM policy? I'm quite happy to be quoted on anything I've said above.

Dr. M.


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## podgeandrodge (2 Sep 2004)

*0818*

Hi
I too have been down the 0818 charge route - this time with www.budgettelecom.ie who, surprise surprise are quoting the correct rates for 0818 which are 4.9c/min off peak/wkends & 8.17c/min peak. I confirmed this awhile ago with Eircom (requiring heart surgery after the amount of idiots in Eircom that didnt even know what 0818 was).  On the UTV calls service, ive just signed up - and confirmed with them that an 0818 is a "non geographical number" and as such will be charged exactly the same as Eircom.  So, apart from the 12 month minimum contract applicable with UTV - and you will be responsible for the years rental if you leave them - they beat Eircom Talktime hands down.


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## din0saur (9 Dec 2004)

*telestunt now using 1520 for irish mobiles*

Just read this topic with interest and then noticed that Telestunt are now quoting a 1520 number for calls to irish mobiles. These calls cost 15cpm which is still cheaper on average than eircom although callers to Vodafone and to a lesser extent O2 could save money at the weekend by reverting to eircom.

telestunt.ie:
Ireland (fix)           1890 943 123        local rate *
Ireland (mob)        1520 932 601        15

eircom:
Vodafone (087) Mobile Phones
 &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Daytime &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 23.07c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Evening &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 19.46c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Weekend &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 11.57c
O2 (086) Mobile Phones &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Daytime &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 23.07c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Evening &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 17.66c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Weekend &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 13.95c
Meteor (085) Mobile Phones
 &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Daytime &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 29.19c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Evening &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 19.46c
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Weekend &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp 15.23c


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## Dr Moriarty (10 Dec 2004)

*Re: telestunt now using 1520 for irish mobiles*

...As long as your call charges are with Eircom.

See  for what can happen with Euphony PCS — and I assume the same lark may arise with other providers...(?)

Dr. M.


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## setanta (10 Dec 2004)

*Re: telestunt now using 1520 for irish mobiles*

Thanks to the good doctor I used telestunt quite a bit over the last few months, however lately every time I've tried to dial the 1520 number its either engaged or 'not there'. Could this be an Eircom ploy?


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## Dr Moriarty (10 Dec 2004)

*Re: telestunt now using 1520 for irish mobiles*

Perhaps. Although 'ploy' suggests some form of intelligence at work... :lol


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