The budget mobile operator, 48, is being subjected to a regulatory probe after it announced a price rise for customers despite promising that tariffs would remain “for life”
48 faces a Comreg investigation
Adrian Weckler
The Irish telecoms regulator has opened an investigation on the mobile operator’s budget, 48, after it announced a price rise despite assuring customers that it wouldn’t.
The operator, owned by Three, is to shorten its billing period from monthly to every four weeks, an 8.3pc price rise, from July.
It had repeatedly promised customers in promotions and advertising campaigns over the last two years that its monthly tariff would remain unchanged “for life” for those who signed up.
Customers have complained about the price increase. Speaking to the Irish Independent, one described the operator’s move as “sly”.
“It’s screwing extra money out of people who trusted your initial marketing when you said the cost they’d pay was ‘for life’,” another customer complained in conversation with the operator on Twitter.
A spokesperson for the Irish telecoms regulator, Comreg, said the operator is currently subject to a compliance investigation on the issue.
“ComReg is aware of this matter which it is investigating and we cannot comment on an ongoing compliance investigation,” said a spokesperson for the regulator.
In an email to customers on the issue, 48 defended the switch from monthly to four weeks as being “common among prepay operators”. Its online customer service agents have responded to complaints with the phrase “sorry for the inconvenience”.
The Irish Independent has approached the operator for comment on the price rises.
48 is one of a wave of budget mobile operators spun off by Irish telecoms firms to capture a bigger share of the prepay market. Launching at €7.99 per month for all calls, texts and data, the operator now charges €12.99 every four weeks for new signups.
The company is still promising on its website that those who sign up for its tariffs now will avail of the “for life” pricing rate.
The Irish Independent has also approached the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) on the matter.
Irish telecoms operators have raised prices by up to 11pc in the last year. Several operators have put in place structural annual rises on top of inflation-linked rises. The current inflation rate stands at over 8pc, which is the same as 48’s current price rise.