Readers have a chance to have their say

UPCing is believing

It is, writes Bill Harte, “really important” that people recognise good service in addition to condemning the bad, a point we can’t argue with. “About 15 months ago I left Chorus/NTL after 20 years, simply because of the dreadful consumer service,” he writes. The company has featured so frequently on this page for all the wrong reasons that we practically had its communication spokeswoman’s number on speed-dial, so this news did not come as much of a shock to us. What followed was more of a surprise.

“Recently, I read of the new offer from UPC (the rebranded NTL) of 15 Mbit broadband, telephone and TV service. I was interested, but hugely sceptical given past experience,” he continues. He was also “reluctant to leave Sky, as their service was exemplary”. However, he says, the broadband service he was getting from Vodafone was “terrible”, so he decided “to take the plunge and order the triple play from UPC. I was dreading engaging with their customer service again — but what a surprise: polite and extremely helpful staff who confidently dealt with my few problems and even called me back to ensure I was happy”.

He says he contacted the company twice — once about the TV service and once over a “tricky issue” connected to his broadband. “Both experiences were hugely positive and I can recommend both the actual service and the customer service without hesitation. And the price is very keen. Credit where credit is due – a turnaround like this is worth publicising.” We agree.

Saving hundreds of euro the easy way

Pricewatch reader Nuala Smith contacted us with a commendable money saving story. “Last year I went to AXA in Bray to cover my two-bed rented house there,” she writes. “They sent their renewal this year for €534.71. So I searched about a bit and found Quinn Direct would cover the same house for €291.” She says she was so pleased she thought we might like to know about it.

Not such a fine hike

Aoife Ryan, on the other hand, wasn’t at all pleased last week. She was spending her “hard-earned cash” in Tesco when she noticed that the retailer has pushed the price of the Finest Dinner for two from €10 to €12. “Sneaky sods – a 20 per cent increase in the space of a week!” she writes, “I’ll stick to the MS deal with really good quality food instead.”

So tired of waiting for mortgage protection

A reader from Co Meath contacted us “as one of the many homeowners who found themselves made redundant in 2009”. The company he worked for went into voluntary liquidation in October 2009. He immediately set about activating his mortgage protection policy, to which he had been contributing since he bought his home in 1992.

“I contacted AIB, which in turn contacted TWG Services, based in England. I received a batch of forms to fill in, asking me to detail the nature of the redundancy, how much my monthly mortgage was and attempts I had made to secure employment,” he writes.

The forms also had to be stamped by his local Social Welfare office. “I heard nothing for four months. I then received similar forms all over again, requiring me to fill in the same boxes and repeat the process all over again.” In that time, he says, no insurance payments on the mortgage were paid out by TWG.

“On June 11th, out of the blue, I received notification that TWG had issued a cheque for €1,511 to cover the period from March 10th to April 9th. While the cheque was most welcome, I am now at a loss to determine why I have not been paid mortgage protection for November and December 2009 and January, February, the remainder of April, May and June 2010.”

He wonders if TWG are “adopting a policy of stalling payment in the hope that I and others will give up pursuing our legitimate claims.” Or perhaps the mortgage protection plan is flawed. He wonders how many other people have been left in a similar position.

“Others who have paid mortgage protection are struggling to get what is legally entitled to them.”

We did attempt to contact the company to find out more but were told that it could not discuss the cases of individual clients.