Eir still tops for consumer complaints to watchdog

Eir said that it making "substantial progress" on its care wait times, having hired more than 200 new care agents in recent months, which it claimed was leading to "significant improvements."

The amount of complaints and issues raised by customers in relation to Eir has fallen sharply in recent months, figures from the communications regulator have shown — but it is still generating the highest amount when it comes to telecommunications firms.

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) figures for the last quarter of the year showed that its consumer care team recorded 2,120 fixed service provider issues for Eir, and a further 689 in relation to its mobile service.

Some 974 issues were recorded for Vodafone in relation to fixed services, which denotes calls and broadband. A further 440 issues were recorded for Sky Ireland, 278 for Virgin Media, and 139 for Imagine. 

In relation to mobile services, after Eir's 689 issues, 464 issues were recorded for Three, and 451 issues were recorded for Vodafone.

The total number of issues recorded for fixed service providers in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 4,681, a 4% decrease compared to the quarter previously.

While Eir's 2,120 figures in the fourth quarter were a vast improvement on the third quarter total of 2,872, the firm was far ahead of its competitors in the fixed market when it came to issues recorded — albeit that it has by far the biggest market share.

Of the 2,120 issues, just 661 were complaints, compared to 1,062 complaints in the quarter previously.

Issues for both Vodafone and Sky rose in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous figures, with complaints about the former going from 183 to 295. 

The issues most raised for customers were loss of service, overbilling, cancellation disputes, intermittent service, and availability.

Eir said that it making "substantial progress" on its care wait times, having hired more than 200 new care agents in recent months, which it claimed was leading to "significant improvements". 

A spokesperson said that the average wait time for its main care line has been five minutes over the last two months, and that complaints are down by more than a third in the last three months. 

"Despite the renewed level 5 lockdown, which has led to a substantial reduction in the number of queries our retail teams are handling, we continue to see substantial improvement in call handling times. 

"Mondays are typically the busiest day of the week for customer care queries and so to help customers choose the best time to call we publish wait times for our general billing and care line on eir.ie," he said.

Market awards

Meanwhile, consumer comparison website Switcher.ie has crowned Vodafone as Ireland’s best broadband provider and Virgin Mobile the best mobile phone operator.

Sky Ireland was named TV provider of the year, as well as having the best content and bundle deals.

Managing director of Switcher.ie, Eoin Clarke, said the awards provide consumers with the information and confidence they need when choosing which provider is right for them.

“The Irish telecoms market is full of variety when it comes to products and services and now more than ever, when the competition between providers is so fierce, consumers need reassurance that the service they’re choosing is the best one for them. 

"The Switcher.ie Awards help to give consumers independent feedback, by taking the opinions and experiences of real people to make sure the winners are truly the providers who offer consumers the best service."