Sir, – Conor Pope's Pricewatch report in Monday's paper was as sad as it was predictable ("Three continues to bill after customer dies", Pricewatch, May 16th). A communications company yet again callously disregarding a customer's rights and refusing to act, even after its mistakes are pointed out to it. In this case, it was taking money from a dead person's bank account for years and refusing to pay a refund when caught out. It had the effrontery to threaten the customer with a debt collection agency.
One would expect that these companies should be shaking in their boots each Monday, when time after time Conor highlights their wrongdoings, but no, they seem to be impervious to criticism and then add insult to injury with half-baked apologies asserting that they pride themselves on the level of service to their customers, but that in this one instance they fell short of that ideal.
ComReg is the body entrusted with regulating these communications companies. Perhaps it is are shortstaffed or overworked, but whatever the cause, someone would want to get the finger out before it becomes the laughing stock of the nation. If it were persuaded to call in these errant companies and inform them that a very serious view is taken of such cases, meriting hefty compensation to be paid out to the injured customers, and failing this they would risk court appearances, it might direct attention to the seriousness of the failings of these companies. Until such action is taken, or political scrutiny initiated, I feel that Conor shall keep filling Monday’s Pricewatch with similar stories. – Yours, etc,
BOBBY CARTY,
Dublin 6W.