Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My last point refers to a landline provider. People can probably work out which it is but we are not going to name it. The provider's staff rings people and says, "We want to update your package", to which people reply, "I would like you to email me that detail", which elicits the response, "I can sign you up now but I cannot email you the detail". In that instance, I replied, "I do not make any decision without seeing exactly what I am getting, and the terms and conditions," and the response I got was, "No, we cannot. We are not in a position to give you that information." I do not think it was a scam call. I have no doubt that the provider knew enough about my contract, and could tell what tariff I was on and knew all the various things. I do not think that a provider can ring up customers and say to people that they want customers to switch online. I was told that I would get fibre, the service will not use copper anymore, that the signal quality and landline calls will be better, plus the price would remain the same or be a tiny bit less. I replied, "Yes, but I want to see the detail. I want to see what I am getting now and what I will get, which is reasonable." However, my provider was unable to provide information and that call only occurred in the last two or three weeks. People should get information before they are asked to switch. Let us bear in mind that many younger people probably do not have a landline in their home and many older people rely on landlines. Therefore, a lot of the customers providers deal with are older people and may not be as with it when it comes to consumer terms. I have no wish to denigrate older people by saying that but they may not be as focused on these things as somebody watching their budget a bit more. It is not okay that providers offer things but say to people that they must sign up without any detail being as to what they will get, what the improvements are, what the contract is and whether there are downsides. If a provider is going to ask customers to change to a new contract, then it should be willing to give the details in writing.