Archive | December, 2010

Reasons from one company why they only provide 1890 numbers for their customers

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 6th December 2010 in Blog

This information come to light in a Google Alert recently. It shows two reasons why Imagine WiMax won’t provide their customers with a geographical alternative for their 1890 customer care numbers.

Their first response to a customer query was:

The reason we have an 1890 number is because this number is charged at a flat rate for everyone in the country. So no matter where in Ireland you are calling from or what call package you have, it is a flat rate price. We feel this is the fairest option for everyone. Thanks.

When further pressed, they then came up with this plainly ridiculous excuse:

Hi Kevin, in the past we have used free phone and geo numbers as our main contact numbers however it leads to a lot of prank and irrelevant calls, basically people dial the number just because its free and block the lines for genuine calls. So the reason we and all other Telecoms provider don’t use geo numbers is to ensure the calls we receive are relevant and can be dealt with effectively.

And they then have the cheek to say “hope this helps”. Yeah, you hope it helps that it costs your customers more money than necessary to call you up. Nice!

Bank of Ireland changing from 1890 to 0818 number for Banking 365

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 6th December 2010 in Blog

Just noticed this on the Bank Of Ireland website –

If calling from your mobile, the new number for Bank of Ireland phone banking services is 0818 365 365. If you are calling from a landline, however, you can still use 1890 365 365.

From 8th September 2010, customers will only be able to reach us from a mobile by using this new number – 0818 365 365, while landline users will still be able to use 1890.

Since calls from mobiles to a 1890 number are significantly more expensive to operate, the Bank has followed other major companies and introduced a new ‘telenumber’ to cater for these calls. In most cases there will be no difference in cost to customers calling from their mobile since mobile operators generally charge the same for a 1890 call as a 0818 call. However, you should check with your mobile service provider for more information on your own charges.

To paraphrase Bank Of Ireland here:

We’re using an 0818 number instead of 1890 for customers calling from mobile numbers (the growing majority of our customers since numbers of landlines are falling) so that we can make money off our customers even as they call us for our help.

It costs businesses to provide an 1890 number, but businesses make money for themselves from an 0818 number. So, in theory, the longer you’re held on the phone when they make this change, the more money they’ll make for themselves.

It’d be interesting to see if there’s a longer wait time for Bank Of Ireland clients from September 8th.

Don’t forget though, that the geographical alternative for the 1890 or the 0818 numbers is still 01 404 4000.

Tip of the Week (The Sunday Tribune)

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 2nd December 2010 in Blog

The Sunday Tribune

Sunday January 25th, 2009

Gareth Naughton

Tip of the Week

Following on from last week’s bad value of the week – Smyth’s Toy Stores 1550 customer service number – the people behind Saynoto1890.com contacted Money Talks with a list of alternative numbers for similarly expensive lines used by various companies. We had no joy using the alternative for Smyth’s but many of the others listed worked and, as they were included in our free minutes, cost nothing.

Tip of the Week (The Sunday Tribune)

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 2nd December 2010 in Blog

The Sunday Tribune
Sunday May 18th, 2008
Eddie Lennon

Tip of the Week

Phone users are being ripped off when they make calls to government departments and large companies via 1850, 1890 and 0818 numbers. While mobile users who pay by bill have a block of “free” minutes credited to their phone each month, these minutes include standard land line and mobile numbers, but usually not other numbers.

Dialling these numbers can cost up to 49c per minute when calling from a mobile, and up to 8c a minute from a land line. Last week, the consumer awareness website ValueIreland.com published a useful list of land line numbers which you can contact as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive numbers. The list is available at www.SayNoTo1890.com.

Lo-Call comes at a high cost (The Irish Times)

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 2nd December 2010 in Blog

The Irish Times

Conor Pope

Monday, May 26, 2008

SOUNDING OFF : Ripped off? Stunned by good value? Write, text or blog your experience to us

Stan Conroy in Dublin wrote to ask if we had noticed how many advertisers and service providers are increasingly using 1850 and 1890 “lo-call” contact numbers. “Nearly all government public services now use these numbers,” he says, and while on the surface it might seem like a good deal for consumers, it actually can work against people.

“Many telephone subscribers have Eircom or BT bundles (and there must be tens of thousands) which include ‘free’ local and national calls but with the notable exception of calls to 1850 and 1890, for which there is a charge. So for us 1850 and 1890 calls are anything but ‘lo-call'” he writes.

“1850 calls are charged at the local rate irrespective of duration while 1890 calls continue clicking up cost as the minutes go by.

“As most 1890 calls are to call centres this can build up to be significant cost. By the time you go through all the menus and then hang on for someone to answer, 10 minutes can easily go by, at a cost of about 50c, and that’s before you start to discuss your query. If you could deal with a call centre in 10 minutes that might be ok but experience tells me that it can be much longer and often means a call back to get all the information I require.

“Many of my non-public services are happy to give me a local number when I ask, for example, for AIB, BOI, Hibernian Insurance, Anglo Irish Bank.

“But State services have a reluctance or an inability to give out a local number.”

He accepts that the individual cost per call is not enormous “but the cumulative amount lining the coffers of Eircom etc must be significant”.

10 tips to help you save on your phone bill

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 2nd December 2010 in Blog

RTE.ie Money

October 20th, 2008

7. Avoid non-geographic numbers

Most inclusive calls packages (such as BT Talk Plus) include all calls made to fixed (geographic) numbers, and exclude calls made to non-geographic numbers (ie 1890). If you need to call a non-geographic number, try to find out the geographic number for the business you are calling and dial that number instead. This can be obtained directly from the company itself or by visiting websites such as http://www.saynoto1890.com/ (Republic of Ireland) or www.saynoto0870.com (UK).

10 of the Worst Rip Offs – From You And Your Money

By 77FaOyXT0j6M1pI on 2nd December 2010 in Blog

You And Your Money

September 25th, 2007

This was published recently in the You and Your Money print magazine, and it’s available here online also. This is only a subsection of the whole article – just the bits relevant to this website.

Beat the rip-off merchants! Brenda McNally rounds up the top ten rip-offs to watch out for.

From banking errors and dodgy billing practices to straightforward overcharging, big business has little hesitation about squeezing Irish consumers. Fortunately, industry watchdogs and consumer groups are flexing their muscles on our behalf.

But if you really don’t want to be ripped off in 2008, don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

Take a look at our list of the top 10 ways consumers were ripped off in 2007 and, if you think you’ve been overcharged, don’t just pay whatever price you’re asked: exercise your vocal chords, query the bill and complain.

….

Locall and Callsave

Locall (1890) and Callsave (1850) telephone numbers look like a cost-saving option on paper, but that’s not the case for all of us. Irish consumers who are signed up to special telephone and mobile packages are needlessly paying up to €5 a time to ring ‘low cost’ telephone numbers.

This is because these numbers are excluded from the popular mobile and landline phone deals with exclusive minutes. The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) has highlighted the issue, calling on phone companies to include 1890 or 1850 numbers in their deals.

It has also said that firms with 1850, 1890 and 0818 numbers should do more to make their customers aware of how to make their calls cheaper.

If you’re on a special telephone package, make sure to check how much Locall and Callsave will cost you – if they cost more, try to find out the ordinary number for whatever company you’re looking to call. Why hold…

…

Alternative LandLine Numbers

You can beat the trap if you dial the ordinary landline numbers of companies: these should be listed on their websites or in telephone books alongside their 1890, 1850 and 0818 numbers. You can take down these numbers for a start:

AIB Phone Banking: 1890 242424 – use 01 6670024

Bank Of Ireland Phone Banking: 1890 365 365 – use 01 4044470

Bord Gais Energy Supply: 1850 632 632 – use 01 8190395

ESB Customer Supply: 1850 372 372 – use 01 8529534

VHI: 1850 44 44 44 – use 056 7753200

Hibernian Health: 1850 71 77 17 – use 056 7753200

Ticketmaster Ireland: 0818 719300 – use 01 4569569.

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