'A terrible thing' - why Eir's mistreatment of customers was more than just irritating

A training manual provided to eir employees by parent company Eircom warned them that they would face disciplinary proceedings if they obeyed Irish laws covering customer complaints.

The same manual also outlined a series of “trigger words” that would allow people calling the company with complaints to have their concerns dealt with in an expeditious fashion. If those words were not used, the concerns raised by customers frequently went nowhere.

In a case taken against the company by the communications watchdog ComReg before Dublin District Court, the telecommunications company pleaded guilty to 10 breaches of the law related to its failures to acknowledge customer complaints, to provide a complaint response within 10 working days, and to provide an email address to progress a complaint after 10 working days. These are requirements of regulations governing the telecoms sector.

But now eir says the documents were taken out of context and that ComReg made 'incorrect claims'. What is not in doubt is that customer mistreatment by telecoms companies is nothing new, says Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope.

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