Consumer Protection

Regulatory Requirements

The Communications Regulation Act 2002 gives ComReg a statutory role in protecting consumer’s welfare and ensuring regulatory compliance by electronic communications service providers. This includes areas such as the universal service provision of telecoms access, consumer rights and pricing transparency.

ComReg achieves these objectives in a number of ways:

Monitoring compliance by eircom as Universal Service Provider.
Monitoring service provider’s compliance with their regulatory requirements including the following areas: contracts, tariff transparency, codes of practice, directory enquiry obligations, direct marketing opt - out register, complaint handling and mobile roaming charges.
ComReg also actively works with external bodies and organisations to promote competition and user interests. ComReg actively meets on a quarterly basis with the Consumer Advisory Panel who provide independent advice to ComReg on a diverse range of consumer issues and inform ComReg on the views and needs of different groups such as residential, small to medium enterprises, large businesses and people with disabilities.
ComReg has also established a Forum on Services for People with Disabilities. Membership of the Forum comprises service providers (fixed line and mobile), The National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI), National Disability Authority (NDA), People with Disabilities in Ireland (PWDI) National Association for Deaf People (NAD) and the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI).

Contracts

Contracts

Retail contracts offered to consumers by any service provider providing connection or access to the public telecommunications network are required to comply with Regulation 17 of S.I. No. 308/2003 European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services)(Universal Service and Users' Rights) Regulations 2003.

Service Provider Contact Details

The contract shall specify the identity and address of the supplier in the contract as required under Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Pricing Information and Charges

Particulars of prices and tariffs and the means by which up to date information on all applicable tariffs and maintenance charges must be specified in the consumers contract as required under Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations. Service providers are further required to be bound by the Directions of Document No. 03/86 which provides that in accordance with Regulation 18 of the Universal

Service Regulations service providers shall provide a direct link from the homepage of their website into the tariff information section of their website and provide printed tariff information in response to a reasonable consumer request.

In addition ComReg Decision D11/04 (04/86) requires that all service providers providing a publicly available telephone services (PATS), or individual elements of such a service, shall observe the requirements and adhere to principles set out in the ComReg Code for Tariff Presentation. This Code requires the presentation of accurate and comprehensive tariff information that is accessible to the consumer.

Refund arrangements

Any compensation and refund arrangements which apply if contract service quality levels are not met must be specified in the contract in accordance with Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Modifications and Changes to Contracts

A service provider shall, not less than one month prior to the date of implementation of any proposed modification, notify its customers to that service of the proposed modification in the conditions of the contract for that service, and their right to withdraw without penalty from such contract if they do not accept the modification. A consumer in such circumstances may withdraw from his or her contract with the service provider, without penalty if he or she does not accept a proposed modification: Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Quality of Service

Consumer contracts must specify the services provided, the service quality levels

offered and time for the initial connection to take up the service: Regulation 17 of

the Universal Service Regulations.

Maintenance

The types of maintenance service offered must also be specified in the service provider contract; in addition maintenance charges should be set out: see Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Duration, Renewal and Termination

The duration of the contract, conditions for renewal and termination of services of the contract must all be specified: see Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Pre-Contractual Obligations and Notification of Terms Generally

In addition to obligations in relation to the content of consumer contracts,

service providers have duties to provide relevant contractual information in advance. They also owe duties as regards fairness and adequacy of notification of terms of the contract. Such duties under common law ought to be observed to the extent that they are applicable.

Note:

Under statute law the provisions of the following may also be relevant if applicable but do not fall under ComReg’s remit.

Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980

The Distance Selling Regulations,

The Unfair Terms Regulations

Emergency Services

Service providers offering a Publicly Available Telephone Service (PATS) shall take all reasonable steps to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency services (see Regulation 19 of the Universal Service Regulations) and shall also ensure that consumers are able to call the emergency services (on both 112 and 999) free of charge in accordance with Regulation 22 of the Universal Service Regulations.

Note:

When providing information to customers about emergency access numbers,

service providers should refer to the European harmonised ‘112’ emergency code aswell as the original ‘999’ code.

Directories and Directory Inquiries

Under Regulation 4 of the Universal Service Regulations the designated

Undertaking (eircom) shall ensure that a comprehensive directory of subscribers is made available to all end-users or that a comprehensive telephone directory inquiry service is made available to all end-users. Under Regulation 21 (1) of the Universal Service Regulations an Undertaking providing a PATS service shall ensure that customers can have an entry in a directory and a directory inquiry service set out in Regulation 4. Under Regulation 21 (2) of the Universal Service Regulations an Undertaking that assigns telephone numbers shall meet all reasonable requests to make available, for the purposes of directory inquiry services and directories, the relevant information. Also under Regulation 21 (3) of the Universal Service Regulations an Undertaking providing a connection to the public telephone network to end-users shall ensure that all such end-users can access operator assistance services and a directory inquiry service, in accordance with Regulation 4.

Data protection and privacy laws including the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2003 and the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services)(Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 S.I. No. 535 of 2003 (hereafter the Data Protection and Privacy Regulations) should be complied with to the extent that they are applicable.

National Directory Database (NDD)

Under Regulation 14 of the Data Protection and Privacy Regulations an Undertaking referred to in Regulation 21(1) or 21(2) of the Universal Service Regulations shall, for the purposes of Regulation 13(2)(b) or 13(4)(b) of the Data Protection and Privacy Regulations, record or cause to be recorded in the NDD, a request to the operator or notified to the relevant Undertaking, that the subscriber does not consent to unsolicited calls for the purpose of direct marketing or to such calls by means of an automated calling machine or a facsimile machine to a line of that subscriber.

Call Line Identification

Service providers should ensure that rules in relation to calling and connected line identification are observed. Service providers are obliged to comply with these obligations as set out in Regulation 8 of the Data Protection and Privacy Regulations 2003.

Number Portability

Number Portability is an end user (consumer) right, and an obligation on all service providers providing (‘PATS’) under the Universal Service Regulations. Service providers providing a PATS service should ensure that subscribers can retain his or her number. Service providers are obliged to comply with this obligation as set out in Regulation 26 of the Universal Services Regulations.

Complaint Procedures

As per Regulation 17 of the Universal Service Regulations the method of initiating procedures for settlement of disputes, in accordance with Regulation 28 of the Universal Service Regulations, must be specified in any end-user(consumer) contract. Regulation 28 provides that without prejudice to any legal rights of action which may apply, a service provider shall implement a code of practice for handling complaints from consumers in respect of an alleged contravention of these Regulations. It sets out several matters which such a code of practice shall include. Service providers are further required to be bound by the Directions of ComReg Document No. 03/89 which provides that all service providers subject to Regulation 28 (1) of the Universal Service Regulations shall amend their code of practice (required by ComReg decision notices D13/01 and D06/01) for handling complaints from end users to include a specific provision to allow for reimbursement of payments and payments in settlement of losses incurred in the event of a complaint.

The provisions of the following may also be relevant and service providers should observe these provisions to the extent that these regulations are applicable.

The Unfair Terms Regulations;

The Consumer Protection Act 2007

The Distance Selling Regulations,

Universal Service Obligation (USO)

By law, ComReg is responsible for regulating the Irish electronic communications sector. One of ComReg’s responsibilities is to select a universal service provider (USP), to set requirements and to monitor its performance. In July 2003, ComReg chose Eircom and, with the consent of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, designated it as the universal service provider for three years. When this period came to an end in July 2006, eircom was again designated as USP for a further four years.

What is universal service?

Universal service means the basic services that should be available to all people and organisations. Together these are known as the universal service obligation (USO). In the case of telecommunications, this includes: providing access (phone lines) at a fixed location, providing printed phone directories, providing public payphones, providing services to disabled users, and introducing methods to help consumers control spending and keep costs affordable.

Eircom requirements

use all reasonable efforts to make sure that connections to the publicly available telephone network can send and receive data at a rate of at least 28.8 kbps, if necessary by removing carrier systems equipment and increasing the data speed on certain lines
to meet all reasonable requests for connecting customers to the public telephone network and offer publicly available telephone services
tell you how it intends to provide the connection and avoid using carrier systems where possible
make sure it deals with your request for connection promptly, inform you when a survey will be carried out and keep you up to date on the progress of your request
publish details of its quality of service performance in relation to connection times
inform all people applying for a phone line about its code of practice for handling complaints
provide a printed telephone directory that is updated every year, maintain the National Directory Database (NDD)
make sure that public payphones are provided to meet the reasonable needs of customers, tell you how it intends to provide the connection and avoid using carrier systems where possible, provide means where customers can control spending

If the estimated cost of meeting the request is less than or equal to €7,000, the person or organisation applying for the connection will pay the standard connection charge. If it is greater than €7,000, eircom will pay the first €7,000 and the applicant will pay anything over this if they want to go ahead with the connection.

What is not covered by the universal service obligation (USO)?

ISDN and broadband internet connections, mobile phone services and directory enquiry services.
Fault repair
ComReg set binding annual USO quality of service performance targets for fault repair times in May 2008. These annual targets take effect from 1 July 2008 for eircom and are as follows:

80% of fault repairs shall be completed within 2 working days
95% of fault repairs shall be completed within 4 working days
99.8% of fault repairs shall be completed within 5 working days
All fault repairs shall be completed within 10 working days

Where the applicant agrees a date for fault repair with eircom, the annual performance target shall be 95% of fault repairs to be completed by such agreed date.
These targets are part of Eircom’s universal service obligation. Quality of service performance in relation to these targets is published quarterly by ComReg by way of an Information Notice and eircom also publishes performance on its website,www.eircom.ie.