A woman whose teenage daughter installed "free" Internet software from a British magazine on sale here is facing a £3,000 phone bill for international calls.
The Co Wicklow woman, who did not want to be named, told RTE's Liveline programme yesterday that the software had come with a computer magazine called Internet Adviser.
As part of the software, the telephone number of the British Internet service provider (ISP) is automatically installed on the computer. From this point, all Internet calls are routed to this number.
The system works well for British readers of the magazine, as they incur only local call charges. Those dialling the number from this State are charged at international rates.
The woman told The Irish Times that there was nothing in the magazine to indicate that it should be accessed only from the UK. She was shocked when she received a call from Eircom to alert her to the impending bill, which comes to £2,500 plus £500 VAT.
"I have never owed a penny in my life . . . I don't know how I am going to pay it," she said. She was a deserted wife who had bought a computer for her daughter on hire purchase because of its educational benefits, she added.
The editor of Internet Adviser, Mr Cliff Douse, said that until now he was not aware that it was possible to access the Internet from Ireland using the free disk. Internet users in the State would normally go through an Irish Internet service provider and not incur international charges.
In addition to the Internet software, the disk contains other packages which can be used on any computer in any part of the world.
"We think this is a really awful thing to happen and it is being looked into," Mr Douse said.
The current issue of the magazine will be published in a few days, complete with the same Internet software. However, Mr Douse added that the next issue would carry a warning to the effect that the disk should be used to access the Internet only from the UK.
Mr Forrest Duncan, product manager of Mad As A Fish, the ISP in question, said he was not aware that the magazine was sold in this State. "It came as a complete shock to us when we heard the story as we hadn't expected anyone to use it to access the Internet from Ireland . . . we have every sympathy with the woman," he said.
"The incident also highlights the high cost of Irish international telephone rates," he added.
An Eircom representative indicated that this was an isolated incident and said that there had been no significant rise in unusually high telephone bills. However, a researcher on Liveline said that after the woman told her story, the programme received several calls of a similar nature.