# Eircom give no time to pay bill



## bond-007 (7 Jun 2007)

Just received my eircom bill today. The bill was issued on May 24 and I only received it today. Bill was due today. 

What is going on with them. Surely I am allowed time to pay? I am glad now we are not on direct debit. 

Anyone else get their bills so late?


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## ClubMan (7 Jun 2007)

Maybe they were delayed while they figured out who they had  recently?


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## Sn@kebite (7 Jun 2007)

bond-007 said:


> Just received my eircom bill today. The bill was issued on May 24 and I only received it today. Bill was due today.
> 
> What is going on with them. Surely I am allowed time to pay? I am glad now we are not on direct debit.
> 
> Anyone else get their bills so late?



This happened to me and i took my time paying it. They rang me and asked for payment/partial payment and i told them they sent it out late. Turned out because i had a good track record of paying on time they believed me so that was that.

So you should be ok.


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## bacchus (7 Jun 2007)

Did you not get email notice end of May that your bill was available online?


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## idontknow (7 Jun 2007)

I've always had this problem with them. They actually cut me off once. I rang them and gave out hell to them. I was only in the new house a year so I think thats why they cut me off so quick. I gave them my old address and told them to take a note of the fact that we've had an account with them for years. Not so quick to cut me off now...

I keep meaning to write into them to complain about the delay in issuing the bills. Perhaps we should all write to them.!


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## Brooklyn (8 Jun 2007)

I used to have the same problem with Esat and they never answered my complaint letters and emails. The best way around it I found was to set up a direct debit and just leave enough money in the bank account to ensure the bill was covered (might involve saving a little bit out of each paycheque if you're poor, like me).


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## DrMoriarty (8 Jun 2007)

BT managed to 'lose' my DD mandate, thank God! They also subsequently managed to lose all trace of a cheque payment that they'd successfully cashed, weeks previously. Now I pay their bill online by credit card _after _I've checked it for errors, and when I'm good an' goddamn ready. I wouldn't _dream _of authorising them to take it by DD again.

Isn't it ironic that these (tele)communications companies are so appallingly poor at, eh, communication...?


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## Megan (8 Jun 2007)

bacchus said:


> Did you not get email notice end of May that your bill was available online?



How would you get email notice if you hadn't signed up on the  eircom website? Are you saying they know your email address without you giving it to them.


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## mo3art (8 Jun 2007)

I got my email notice and paid my bill straight away as I am registered with their website.  However I also still have not received my "hard" copy bill.  Interesting.


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## bacchus (8 Jun 2007)

Megan said:


> How would you get email notice if you hadn't signed up on the eircom website? Are you saying they know your email address without you giving it to them.


 
I simply thought that a person with 1150 posts or so on AAM certainly has some interest in making use of the internet, hence my question.


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## Mers1 (8 Jun 2007)

DrMoriarty, 

Be afraid!! BT also lost my DD mandate and mysteriously found it 2 years later and took a "large sum" of money from my account (€320) eventhough I had being paying online/laser since the a/c was opened.  On tackling them they claimed they had no trace of payments from me!!!!! I sent copy of bank statements to them and eventually 7.5 weeks later I got a refund. Have obvioulsy stopped dealing with them

Unbelievable.......


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## Sn@kebite (8 Jun 2007)

bond-007 said:


> What is going on with them. Surely I am allowed time to pay? *I am glad now we are not on direct debit.*



?? Would being on DD not save all this hassle and make it easier for you?


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## mo3art (8 Jun 2007)

No because if you budget or depend on money being in your account to pay bills then a dd is not the way to go.  It's easier then to make a payment when you have the money.


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## shesells (8 Jun 2007)

If you were on DD you actually could claim the payment back. It's a condition of the Direct Debit guarantee that you get your bill in writing at least 7 days before the DD takes place. Any payment that breaches those conditions you are entitled to be refunded. Happened me with O2


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## MB05 (8 Jun 2007)

I work for eircom and I usually don't try to defend their actions as there is no excuse for most of it.  I feel one of the main problems with eircom is that they have outsourced a lot of areas, the printing of its bills being one of them.  

I'd say the problem lies with the company they employ to do the printing and the eircom personnel charged with handling that relationship.  Your bill was processed on eircom's side on the 24th of May but the other company must have been late printing them down and posting them.  I think they are supposed to turn them round in 24 hours.  

Staffing is a major issue in eircom.  A lot of areas have been outsourced and the communications between the parts left in eircom and the other company's are weak.  We have had numerous owners in the last few years and they only care about statistics.  They manipulate staff figures to improve the stats so that they can sell it on after they have extracted all they can from it.  

Outsourcing and staff redundancies are taking their toll on the company and at the end of the day it's the remaining staff and customers who will pay the price.


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