# Should an Eir salesman on my doorstep know which provider I am currently with



## MOD353 (25 Apr 2018)

I apologise for the long title on this thread but can't think of another way to word it.

An Eir salesman called to my door today. He commented that I am presently with Vodafone. I asked how he knew this and his reply was that it is his job to know. I persisted with my question but he repeated that it is his job to know and proceeded to tell me how Eir could better any contract I have with Vodafone. I told him I would need to think about it and sent him away.

My question is this: how would this man know who my present provider is?

If anyone can help me out here I would be very grateful.


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## RETIRED2017 (25 Apr 2018)

He may have being a Salesman for Vodaphone before  Eir and still have a list of Vodaphone  customers they move around quite a lot,


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## LDFerguson (25 Apr 2018)

RETIRED2017 said:


> He may have being a Salesman for Vodaphone before  Eir and still have a list of Vodaphone  customers they move around quite a lot,



Wouldn't that be illegal?


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## Brendan Burgess (25 Apr 2018)

Report it to the Data Protection Commissioner.

Or maybe ask eir first.

Brendan


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## RETIRED2017 (25 Apr 2018)

LDFerguson said:


> Wouldn't that be illegal?


I suspect it would Just flagging door to door sales persons selling broadband /phone services move around quite a lot ,If OP was with Eir and moved to vodaphone in the past they may have a record ,
He may have found out from your neighbours or friends he signed up,


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## MOD353 (25 Apr 2018)

Thank you very much everyone - it's been bothering me all evening. I'd say this young man could sell snow to Eskimos which is how he got me off the subject so easily.

I had thought that it must be a breach of Data Protection in some way so I will take Brendan's advice if I get no joy from Eir.


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## Andy836 (25 Apr 2018)

Don't Vodafone piggyback on Eir's cabling so presumably Eir knows who you're with.


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## ant dee (25 Apr 2018)

Sales people take good notes and give lists to one another.


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## Leper (25 Apr 2018)

Interesting thread this. The main thrust is (in my opinion):- 1. Do Eir salespeople know which provider you are with? 2. Do salespeople from other providers know who you are with too?

Other thrust:- Knowledge of your provider  "it is his job to know" - No it isn't; his job is to sell his product not to condemn another.

Other thrust again:- Does Eir have an unfair advantage over other providers?

Hmmmmmm! . . . another area for the Regulator to regulate, perhaps?


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## dub_nerd (26 Apr 2018)

A quick Google search brings up loads of online sites claiming to be able to do a carrier lookup for a phone number. I tried my own on one of them and it got it wrong, but that's not to say another site couldn't do better. UK sites claim they are using Ofcom information. Another thought that occurs to me is that when you sign up with a carrier you can port your existing phone number to them. Presumably they must be able to figure out who the current carrier is. In short, I'd say this information is either freely available, or is at least available to the phone companies whose salespeople are knocking on your door.

P.S. I never, _ever_ entertain salespeople or any other cold caller at the door. Too much of a "hustle" situation, and too many slick talkers looking to keep you talking and waste your time. I explain my policy politely, tell them I am willing to take a brochure or look at their website but not to have a conversation, and if they don't get the polite version of the message within one sentence I shut the door in their face. I hate being unfriendly but, well ... they didn't knock at the door to make friends with me.


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## JohnJay (26 Apr 2018)

You don't have a Vodafone broadband router sitting on your hall table beside the front door, by any chance?


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## odyssey06 (26 Apr 2018)

"If you have an offer to make, put it in writing on official company paper and sign it. I'll take a photo of you with it."

Don't trust anything a door to door salesperson says. They can mis sell you, flat out lie and you have little or no come back. It is a strategy to evade call recording.


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## demoivre (26 Apr 2018)

MOD353 said:


> An Eir salesman called to my door today. He commented that I am presently with Vodafone. I asked how he knew this and his reply was that it is his job to know.



Were you with Eir before Vodafone?


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## jdwex (26 Apr 2018)

Maybe they got through to your voicemail, and could tell by the greeting?


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## MOD353 (26 Apr 2018)

Thank you for all the new replies.

Demoivre: We have been with Vodafone since at least 2011. 

dub_nerd: I generally don't entertain doorstep salesmen. I don't even know why I entertained this man yesterday - must be losing my touch!

JohnJay: No, the router is tucked away in a cupboard out of sight.


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## michaelm (26 Apr 2018)

He may have guessed or someone at you address may have told an Eir cold-caller sometime over the last 7 years that you were with Vodafone and that is on his list.  You shouldn't let it bother you and there's no profit in pursuing it.


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## MangoJoe (26 Apr 2018)

What's your Wifi Network called (ie Wireless Router SSID) - If you're with Vodafone it will quite often be something like *Vodafone-3476256734.
*
Even if it isn't that obvious then the SSID format is probably recognisable to anyone interested enough to then tie this to a particular provider. 

If this is the case then you're literally broadcasting this information for anyone with a phone to see...... (The relative signal strength would further indicate which house and so on.) 

PS I hope your life continues to be so uncomplicated and stress-free that this triviality could sustain an entire evening of bother - I'm envious


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## MOD353 (26 Apr 2018)

Thank you MangoJoe - apparently if you stand outside my house and check for WiFi your phone will tell you that we have Vodafone. I do not understand the hows and wherefores of this but it has now been changed. And no, someone standing outside cannot use our WiFi - it is password protected. I am the least technical person on the planet so don't ask me to explain it all. 

I didn't lose any sleep over this "triviality" and, to be honest, I didn't stress about it either  Maybe my wording could have been better  but we are warned so often about protecting our identities etc that it just made me think. And yes, my life at the moment is reasonably uncomplicated - but, as we all know, that could change in the twinkling of an eye........ so don't be too envious


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## demoivre (26 Apr 2018)

MOD353 said:


> Demoivre: We have been with Vodafone since at least 2011.



And before that who were you with?


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## MOD353 (26 Apr 2018)

Thank you michaelm - now that I sort of understand what happened I realise that there is absolutely no point in pursuing the matter.


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## MOD353 (26 Apr 2018)

Demoivre: I honestly can't say for definite but I think it might have been TalkTalk.


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## lukegriffen (27 Apr 2018)

Andy836 said:


> Don't Vodafone piggyback on Eir's cabling so presumably Eir knows who you're with.


I'm pretty sure it is illegal for Eir Retail Sales guys to access any info from Eir Wholesale systems, to stop them poaching.
The sales guy probably had an x% chance of guessing right, but he should have framed it as a question,even if he knew somehow, rather than making you suspicious.


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## MrEarl (29 Apr 2018)

Hi,

Your broadband provider may not be the same company that provide your landline.  Also, in built up areas, there may be two or three strong signals from different providers, particularly if the houses are located very close to each other and each one gets a service from a rival provider.

Regardless of who provides your services, I would not have thought that they should be sharing individual information without your consent, and I certainly don't think a salesperson would be permitted to retain records if individual customers of Vodafone, if they were moving employment.

I wouldn't let it rest tbh.  The more of us who tolerate things like this, the worse it becomes.  I would log a formal complaint with Eir.  Give 'em hell !


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## Leo (30 Apr 2018)

MOD353 said:


> Thank you MangoJoe - apparently if you stand outside my house and check for WiFi your phone will tell you that we have Vodafone. I do not understand the hows and wherefores of this but it has now been changed. And no, someone standing outside cannot use our WiFi - it is password protected.



By default, every Vodafone router broadcasts your wireless network name, and that name starts with 'vodafone-'. Without broadcasting the name, anyone wanting to connect will have to go through a couple of extra steps of manual configuration to connect to your network. 

Unless you have admin access to the router to change the network name (SSID), or to disable SSID broadcasting, then it's still advertising Vodafone to anyone within range. Password protecting the wireless network will not change this, all Vodafone routers are configured to be password protected out of the box anyway.


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