Comreg reveals two-thirds of all complaints received in 2020 were from Eir customers

DUBLIN: Complaints about telecom service provider Eir are not over. Electronic communications regulator Comreg revealed that two-thirds of the overall complaints received in the first nine months of this year were from Eir customers. The regulator confirmed that 3744 complaints had been received from Eir customers during this period.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Network Committee, Comreg chairperson Garrett Blaney said that over the past two months, Eir customers have been subjected to unacceptable waiting times.

Meanwhile, The Chair of the Committee, Kieran O’Donnell, criticised Comreg for having no real control or effectiveness when it comes to non-compliance. He asked the regulator to write to the committee outlining the specific legislation that they needed. But Mr. Godfrey replied that it would not work.

Mr. Godfrey said that it was not possible for the regulator to take telecom service provider to court. He said that long waiting times are not in themselves, a violation of the obligations that providers must comply with. However, he said that some of the problems underlying those calls might be a breach that Comreg can pursue.

Mr. Godfrey added that the regulator cannot tell a service provider that they must answer phones within a certain period of time, but they can say that operators need to have an effective way for customers to log complaints. “If they fall down on that part of the process then we can take sanctions,” he said.

Earlier, Eir CEO Carolan Lennon had told the Oireachtas Committee that remote working, staff shortages and IT challenges were hampering Eir’s customer service. Ms. Lennon also admitted that the company recently started receiving 230,000 calls per month.