Consumers Association of Ireland lays off all its staff
- Thread starter Brendan Burgess
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Brendan Burgess
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They used to rent offices on Upper Mount Street and thought it would be a good idea to own their own HQ.
It looked like a good idea for a few years, as property prices and rent increased.
But you are right, they could have just as easily bought a property for half the price somewhere else.
Brendan
It looked like a good idea for a few years, as property prices and rent increased.
But you are right, they could have just as easily bought a property for half the price somewhere else.
Brendan
If the report about the CEO of the CAI fabricating complaints is true, you would have to wonder how on earth they will ever be taken seriously again.
All the more ironic given that the CAI regularly accuses other organisations of misleading consumers, and its CEO is on the Board of the Financial Services Ombudsman.
All the more ironic given that the CAI regularly accuses other organisations of misleading consumers, and its CEO is on the Board of the Financial Services Ombudsman.
Brendan Burgess
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- 52,177
The Consumers' Association of Ireland says it has been inundated with complaints in the past week from concerned parents who have used the school book online retailer schoolbooks.ie.
It is strange that the CAI is now getting so many complaints since its decision to stop publishing the magazine and let go all their staff.
3,000 complaints from UB customers
and now
"inundated" with complaints about schoolbooks.ie
It is strange that the CAI is now getting so many complaints since its decision to stop publishing the magazine and let go all their staff.
3,000 complaints from UB customers
and now
"inundated" with complaints about schoolbooks.ie
BudgetBrenda
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I used to be a member. In recent times they've had their AGM on a thursday lunchtime in central Dublin. Not exactly easy for members to attend if they're (a) not in Dublin and (b) they dont work in the centre of Dublin. That sent out the message to me that they dont want people coming. if they did they would hold it at the weekend. And I didn't like not getting information on salaries in the accounts, only a total figure which tells you nothing. they of all people should be open and transparent. The quote from CEO Jewell about his salary being under €100,000 when he was asked, i took to mean it used to be much more, when times were better. Why should the CEO of a small organisation with about 6/7 staff that basically only produces a magazine earn a six figure salary? What qualifications does this fellow have. I finally left when I read in the Times about THREE directors going as they couldn't get fnancial and other information. Shocking.
According to the Sunday Times, the National Consumer Agency has written to the Consumer Association of Ireland complaining that members are unable to cancel their direct debits with the CAI.
According to the article, the CAI is ignoring/delaying requests to cancel members 96 EUR per year subscriptions. The CAI has lost a significant number of members in recent months.
Meanwhile, the CAI phones are 'down'/have been disconnected.
According to the article, the CAI is ignoring/delaying requests to cancel members 96 EUR per year subscriptions. The CAI has lost a significant number of members in recent months.
Meanwhile, the CAI phones are 'down'/have been disconnected.
The asking price has recently [broken link removed]. The property has still not sold.
S
SinKav1
Guest
Here is the article that CiaranT is referring to...
CAI accused in subscription row
The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI), which has railed against shoddy service for the past 46 years, has been asked to explain why members are experiencing long delays when seeking to cancel membership, which costs €96 a year, writes Niall Brady.
John Shine, director of commercial practices at the National Consumer Agency, a statutory body set up to tackle consumer issues, wrote to the CAI in the past two weeks following complaints by members frustrated by the association’s failure to cancel their membership, which is paid quarterly by direct debit. Members face a €25 administration charge if they tell their banks to stop the direct debit before the CAI, a registered charity, cancels their subscriptions.
A fall in membership, which declined from 5,500 in 2008 to 3,300 by last summer, accelerated following the CAI’s decision in June to replace its monthly magazine, Consumer Choice, with a slimmed-down online alternative. The decision stemmed from a cash crisis at the association, which has laid off all permanent staff except for Dermott Jewell, the chief executive. The CAI has put its headquarters in Dublin on the market for €695,000.
Attempts to contact Michael Kilcoyne, the CAI’s chairman, and Raymond O’Rourke, its vice-chairman, were unsuccessful.Jewell was also unavailable. In the latest online edition of Consumer Choice, Jewell criticised UPC, a cable company, for imposing administration charges which he described as “outrageous”. The magazine advises members that the administration charge will be applied to CAI cancellations. The charge is not always applied in practice, the CAI said.
CAI accused in subscription row
The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI), which has railed against shoddy service for the past 46 years, has been asked to explain why members are experiencing long delays when seeking to cancel membership, which costs €96 a year, writes Niall Brady.
John Shine, director of commercial practices at the National Consumer Agency, a statutory body set up to tackle consumer issues, wrote to the CAI in the past two weeks following complaints by members frustrated by the association’s failure to cancel their membership, which is paid quarterly by direct debit. Members face a €25 administration charge if they tell their banks to stop the direct debit before the CAI, a registered charity, cancels their subscriptions.
A fall in membership, which declined from 5,500 in 2008 to 3,300 by last summer, accelerated following the CAI’s decision in June to replace its monthly magazine, Consumer Choice, with a slimmed-down online alternative. The decision stemmed from a cash crisis at the association, which has laid off all permanent staff except for Dermott Jewell, the chief executive. The CAI has put its headquarters in Dublin on the market for €695,000.
Attempts to contact Michael Kilcoyne, the CAI’s chairman, and Raymond O’Rourke, its vice-chairman, were unsuccessful.Jewell was also unavailable. In the latest online edition of Consumer Choice, Jewell criticised UPC, a cable company, for imposing administration charges which he described as “outrageous”. The magazine advises members that the administration charge will be applied to CAI cancellations. The charge is not always applied in practice, the CAI said.