On 25 April 2012, ComReg notified Eircom (then in Examination) of its finding that Eircom had failed to comply with its obligations in Regulation 25(6)(b) of the Universal Service Regulations (SI No. 337 of 2011). In particular, ComReg considered Eircom's conditions and procedures for contract termination acted as a disincentive to consumer switching by charging consumers who failed to give the requisite one month notice.
On 29 November ComReg notified Eircom that it had amended the original notification of non-compliance, and cited additional aspects of Eircom's terms and conditions, which ComReg considers individually and cumulatively prevent consumers from switching providers, including required contact with the Eircom "Save" team, and other complex termination procedures.
Eircom has until 17 January 2014 to state its views; if ComReg is not satisfied with Eircom's responses, it may take the matter further and bring an action in the High Court. This should be a salutary reminder to telecommunications operators to ensure that their contract termination procedures are fair not only on paper, but also in practice, and that these procedures need to be kept under review.
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