ComReg wins "Bend Over Backwards" award.

How nice: We bullshit Irish consumers again and win another award. Oh the joys of bureaucracy! See for yourself:

Dear John Doherty,

Congratulations. Another prestigious award goes to your Office.
The winner of the 2004 B.O.B. award is one of your valued staff members, the manager of Consumer Management and International Affairs.
If ComReg stays as it is we see the potential for many more worthy recipients of this award in its ranks.



The “B.O.B. 2004” (Bending Over Backwards Award) goes to:

Bobby Hannon
Consumer Affairs Manager, ComReg,

for ever so dexterously bending over backwards, thus satisfying the desire of Eircom’s Directory Enquiry Services to evade ComReg's consumer protection measures which the very same

Bobby Hannon
Consumer Affairs Manager, ComReg,

has helped to put in place earlier.


2 reasons why Bobby Hannon deserves the B.O.B. 2004 award:

Background: In August 2004 the Irish Communications Regulator ComReg has put in place regulation (see footnote 1) to protect the users of telephone Directory Enquiry Services, to be effective by 1 October 2004.

Bobby manages to bend over backwards so far that Eircom can totally evade the consumer protection measures of ComReg's Direction 1.

1. ComReg ordered: DQ providers have to “publicise their separate customer service number” for consumers to be able to get information about the DQ pricing or request printed tariffs.

Here comes the strange bit: Eircom Directory Enquiry give their "separate customer number” as 1901, which is of course not the separate Eircom Directory Enquiry customer service number.

Do the following right now (it’ll cost you nothing and you can talk to a machine!): Ring the 1901 and find out the price for Directory Enquiries!
Hint: Would make a nice feature on radio or TV to have a recording of your call to 1901.
We just rang three times today, see results in footnote (2)

Do you agree with Bobby Hannon’s statement, rejecting our claims that Eircom was not adhering to the ComReg regulation?

That’s what Bobby has to say: “ComReg has investigated, and can confirm, that it is possible to receive information on the pricing of both the national and international DQ services via eircom’s 1901 customer service enquiries number…”

If you don’t agree with Bobby, why not let ComReg know? You can write an email to info@comreg.ie, or directly to Bobby bobby.hannon@comreg.ie or ring ComReg at 01 804 9600 and ask for the consumer section.

2. Comreg ordered “When advertising or promoting its service a Directory Enquiry service provider shall indicate the applicable charges, or alternatively, indicate where such information may be obtained.” (again from Direction 1)

Watching the Eircom Directory 11811 promotion on the national weather forecast on RTE, TG4 and TV3 is sufficient to see that this is not sponsorship as in “the national weather forecast is sponsored by Eircom Directory Enquiry Services” but an advertisement in breach of Comreg’s direction 1 (neither tariffs are given nor a number where the tariffs can be obtained) and the existing sponsorship regulations of the Broadcasting Commisssion of Ireland (21.3 of the BCI code is very clear: “Sponsorship involvement in any programme must not constitute advertising.")



While the Broadcasting Complaints Commission is currently dealing with a private complaint in the matter, Bobby sees no problem with Eircom making nonsense of the ComReg directive by flaunting the consumer protective measure in its multi million euro promotion with the weather on national TV.

Bobby has this to say: “ComReg is satisfied that the ‘11811’ sponsorship arrangements are not in breach of decision notice D 12/04 'Access to Tariff Information on Directory Enquiry Services'”.

Well bent over backwards, Bobby!
Eircom’s Directory Enquiry business is worth some 35 million a year to them. Adequate consumer protection and price information could harm the profits. So Eircom will be glad it can circumvent the directions Comreg has issued, not least because of Bobby’s dexterity.

Keep it up Bobby, don’t mind your spine!

XXX
October 2004 The B.O.B. awards committee.



P.S.: By awarding the B.O.B. award to Bobby we are not insinuating or suggesting that Bobby did things not covered by the code of bureaucratic practice or that he is in the pockets of Eircom. We are simply fascinated how useless ComReg is to do simple common-sense consumer protection.
Not so fascinating is of course the fact that this pseudo-independent 180 strong bureaucratic outcrop of the Department of Communications seems to suffer from chronic collective Stockholm Syndrome when dealing with Eircom. ComReg managed to sell out Ireland's Internet and Broadband future to some Eircom fatcats and place Ireland at the bottom of all the EU and OECD broadband league tables, doing immeasurable damage to Ireland's economic and social development.

P.P.S.: Bobby might want to suggest to "Irish Psychics Live" to change from advertising into "sponsorship" deals, thus they can get rid of having to add the nasty bit about "calls cost € 1.90 per minute", which is not good for business, as Eircom is well aware.

Footnotes

(1)
“Direction 1
When advertising or promoting its service a Directory Enquiry service provider shall indicate the applicable charges, or alternatively, indicate where such information may be obtained. The cost to a user of obtaining such information should not exceed the cost of a local telephone call. The Directory Enquiry service provider should also publicise their separate customer service number in printed material.
(issued in its decision notice D 12/04, 12 August 2004, link to the doc)


(2)
Attempts to get DQ information from 1901
Saturday, 30 Oct 2004

First attempt at 10:00 : Gave up after going through the menu and waiting to be connected to an operator for 15 minutes.

15:40 : After 5 minutes on the menu I got to speak to an operator. She told me that a call to DQ was “58 cent per minute.” When I said I wanted one number, how many minutes would that take, she told me for one call it would be “around 60 or 62 cent.”
I asked for the price of International Directory Enquiry and was told “the price for International numbers is the same.”

18:15 : No service after 6 pm on Saturdays or on Sundays


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