The company has written to TDs and senators saying it is involved in an ongoing regulatory process with Comreg, and does not want to be biased.
Last month, Eir pleaded guilty to 12 charges of failing to comply with legal requirements relating to the complaints handling process. The company admitted that it had not handled customer complaints properly and paid a fine of €7,500.
A district court judge described Eir as a “disgrace” after hearing evidence that the telecom had warned staff they could be punished if they handled customer complaints in accordance with the law.
An Eir training manual for its officers stated that under no circumstances should complaint telephone numbers or web page addresses be given to customers, and that any staff member found to do so would be subject to disciplinary action.
Eir has since said the instruction was taken out of context, describing Comreg's characterization of the manual as “incorrect”.
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications invited both Comreg and Eir to a hearing tomorrow to discuss the issue, but only the regulator agreed.
Gerry Horkan, committee vice-chairman and Fianna Fail senator, said: “Eir have told us they are not in a position to get in now. Once they are able to do so, and once any legal hurdles have been overcome, we hope to engage them sooner rather than later to discuss this matter and their activities in general.”
Today's news in 90 seconds – May 21, 2024
A spokesperson for Eir said: “Eir is currently engaged in an ongoing regulatory process initiated by Comreg, and it would therefore not be appropriate to attend a hearing at this time. As an alternative, we have invited the committee to visit our care centers to meet senior staff and colleagues where we can educate them on our approach to customer service.”
In a briefing note on the enforcement procedure sent to the committee, Eir said it had written to Comreg following the recent case “which corrected the allegations made in the district court”.
It says that, given the existence of an ongoing regulatory process, “we would not want to put any party in the position of inadvertently intervening or potentially influencing the outcome.”
Eir added that it also did not want to risk “any legal proceedings that might follow”, suggesting it could still take Comreg to court over the process.
TDs and Senators were also given details of the “significant” investments the company has made in customer service. Eir says it has set up four care centres: in Sligo, Cork, Waterford and Limerick.
Eir said independent data from Comreg for the first quarter of 2024 showed the company had the lowest rate of complaints for voice and broadband customers in the market, at 2.8 and 7.6 per 100,000 subscribers respectively.
The company said that, “recognizing the special role that politicians play in the community in Ireland, it has established a dedicated customer support point of contact for the exclusive use of Oireachtas members.
This is open during the Dail period and, according to Eir, 'dedicated' staff have answered an average of 20 to 25 questions from politicians each week.