IFA Telecom pays €7,500 penalty

Your phone or internet service provider must provide you with certain information on your bill and in your contract.

IFA Telecom paid ComReg a penalty of €7,500 and has undertaken to come into compliance with the relevant regulatory obligations. This followed an investigation where ComReg raised concerns regarding the appropriate Consumer References on IFA Telecom's customers' bills and the provision of contractual information.

Reference Numbers

Consumer references are the numbers required to switch service provider. They appear on your bill with names like Universal Account Number (UAN) and Circuit Reference Number (CRN). Your account number and phone number might also be consumer references as they could be required to switch service providers. Service providers should include all of your consumer references on all of your bills, so you do not need to get them from the provider you are leaving when you decide to switch.

Cooling Off Rights

When you sign up to a contract and you change your mind, you may have a right to cancel it during a "cooling-off" period. The rules around the cooling-off period depend on how you signed up to the contract. For contracts made over the phone or online i.e. at a distance, you have the right to cancel within 14 days. For contracts made through a door-to-door sale, you have the right to cancel within 30 days. If you sign up in-store or if you are a business customer, you are not entitled to a cooling-off period.

Broadband Speed

Internet service providers are required to include broadband speed information in your contract including:

• the minimum, normally available, maximum and advertised download and upload speed of your home broadband;
• the estimated maximum and advertised download and upload speeds of your mobile internet;

For full details see the recently issued Information Notice.