When the automated operator doesn't get the message

We've Got Mail:Gillian Smyth recently made a call on her mobile to the directory enquiry service 11811. When the automated voice asked her if she wanted to be connected, she declined in a "firm and clear voice". The machine decided to ignore her, however, and rang the number for her anyway.

"I know this is costly so I was annoyed," she writes. She promptly rang directory enquiries back and "an operator apologised and said she would credit my account with a landline call".

Our reader told her she was using a mobile, and was told it was policy only to make landline call refunds. "I wonder what the price difference is. I think this is unfair practice," she says.

We do too, and so investigated further. If you call 11811 on a landline it costs just over 80 cent. If, when prompted, you say you wish to be connected, you get your first 30 seconds free and then pay 0.36 cent for every three seconds you speak. So if you dial the enquiry service and are subsequently connected automatically and spend 10 minutes on the phone it will cost you a fairly hefty €1.50 via a landline. It costs even more when you make the call, as our reader had, using her mobile.

Given that Gillian had not wanted to be connected, it seems unfair to impose any kind of charge on her at all. We contacted the company to see what it had to say. A spokeswoman told us that Eircom's policy of only crediting landlines existed because the company was not in a position to credit another phone provider's bill.

She said that if our reader made her call using a Vodafone account then the charge would appear on that bill and only Vodafone could credit her. "Eircom has approached on a number of occasions the mobile operators to discuss the possibility of setting up a credit or rebate process," the spokeswoman said. "Until such time as a credit agreement is put in place the only option open to Eircom is to credit a nominated Eircom landline." She also pointed out that Eircom did try to ensure its customers were not left out of pocket in circumstances such as these.

They'll take a mile

David Bradley from Drogheda recently booked holiday tickets costing €4,000 and was told by his travel agent that he would have to pay an extra 3 per cent if he paid by credit card. "This would amount to €120," he writes, "so I paid by cash. However, I consider that I lost €40 as the credit card I have pays 1 per cent back to me on my usage of the card.

"The travel agent justifies the surcharge on the basis of fees they have to pay to the credit card company," he continues, "but I don't accept this as being valid, as many people use credit cards for goods and services which they otherwise could not afford." As a result, retailers benefit from business which they would otherwise not be getting. Bradley believes this should more than compensate them for any fees they have to pay to the credit card companies.

"Given the fact that we already pay €40 per card per annum in stamp duty, I believe the credit card companies should look after consumers by imposing a regulation that retailers cannot impose surcharges. Retailers would then have the prerogative of choosing either to comply or else accepting cash only."

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan to us.

It's a long shot

Like many other golf enthusiasts who subscribe to Sky Sports, Denis O'Shaughnessy from Limerick was disappointed when Setanta outbid their rivals for the rights to show the American golf tour. "As if to show what we were missing, Padraig Harrington shot a glorious 63 to lead the Nissan Open in California last Thursday week," he writes. He rang Chorus inquiring if the savings Sky would make by losing out to Setanta would be passed on to subscribers. "Needless to say, the answer was an emphatic 'no'."