Latest opinion of Smart

I was finally worn down by the persistence of calls from Smart and agreed to try them out for a while.
I'll be moving from Eircom Talktime. Under that I was making most of my calls off peak and fell within the free minutes allowance. The only drawback was the cost of all other calls, including local calls are billed at an All Ireland rate. With Smart of course, I'll pay for the "free" calls I get from Eircom, unless I get those people I call to also switch to Smart.
I have 10 days to change my mind about the jump to Smart.
What's the latest view of AAM users about the Smart residential option and how do you find the service?
HAs anyone ever swapped back to Eircom or another phone service provider from Smart? How did you find that process?

smart

Ash
On what basis do you think you ARE getting a better deal from Smart given that you accept you are now going to pay for all the previously free calls? If it's due to the broadband offer being included you will probably save money but only when the broadband is given to you - are you now paying Eur35 a month plus calls as opposed to Eur27.99 incl calls with Eircom?

Re: smart

I think u only pay the €35 a month when you get the broadband installed and until then you just pay normal line rental...
J

Re: smart

I was finally worn down by the persistence of calls from Smart and agreed to try them out for a while.

Click to expand...

Surely you don't have to put up with this? Complaining that you do not wish to be contacted could solve that problem?

Smart change or not?

Podgeandrodge,

I may have made a rash decision by agreeing to switch but I still have the ten days to change my mind, right?

My most frequent landline calls are national made to a family member. On the Eircom Talktime package which I've only tried out for one billing my bill was €60.
There was a lot of pressure to give Smart my most frequently called numbers so that they would then contact them, tell them I'd changed and encourage them to do the same - all because Smart to Smart calls are free any time of the day. I didn't give the numbers, but said I'd tell my contacts and let them approach Smart if they wanted.
Line rental is €24.18 plus all Smart calls versus
Eircom Talktime €27.99, peak time calls and several hundred minutes off peak free calls.
On reflection, I think the only way my Smart phone bill will be less currently than the Eircom Talktime bill is if my most frequently called numbers also change.

As Fagin used to say, I think I better think it out again....

Re: Smart change or not?

If the main thrust of your phone activity is during off-peak hours you could consider switching the UTV's Talk service. You pay them (instead of Eircom) line rental (same as Eircom) and then you pay just for peak-hour calls. All off-peak calls to local, national and fixed lines in the UK are free.

Alternatively, Euphony do unlimited (< 1 hour long) local and national calls, peak and off-peak, for €10 a month.

smart

Fatherdougal is right. Are all these frequent family calls you are making during the day mon-fri or off peak. If off peak UTV is the only obvious way to go (unless you fall well within the talktime minutes). Euphony is the option if those calls are day time. Esatbt offer similar package for daytime but it's Eur25 a month on top of rental.
Smart only comes into the equation if you require the broadband - and EVEN if you have broadband and rental for Eur35 a month the fact that you pay for all your calls - if there are a lot of calls you could well end up paying more in the long run.

Re: smart

I agree that Euphony is best in this case and besides, the sales practices from Smart and their agents leave a lot to be desired.

Re: smart

Actually, I wonder if telephony providers are discussed by His Hobbsness in SMTM as part of budgeting. I don't get to watch this so I was wondering if someone can tell.

changed my mind

I thought long and hard and did my sums a lot closer and decided to pull the plug on the switch to Smart. The bottom line is I'll end up paying for a lot of calls, albeit it at a rate less than Eircom's usual rate, which I'm currently getting free off peak from my current Eircom package.
I phoned Smart this morning to tell them so but only got the option of leaving a message. Funny that when they always seem eager to talk in person and at length when pressuring a potential customer! I left my message clearly but to be sure, I'll also send written notification of my change of mind within the 10 period.
Let's see how easy they deal with a change of mind and whether there's any interruption of my phone service.
Stand by.