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ESB "Disconnection Visit/Fee" Fee??

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  • 22-09-2009 9:44am
    #1
    Dangel4x4
    Registered Users Posts: 255 ✭✭


    Right, I lost my job back in March and had trouble paying bills...

    To cut a long story short I was threatened with disconnection in July by the ESB, so I phoned the nice people in the credit control department and paid €350 of the outstanding €700, with a promise to pay the outstanding balance in installments. I was assured I was no longer in danger of disconnection by the lady I spoke to...

    So fast forward to yesterday. The July-Sept bill comes in, and buried in the middle of it is a "Disconnection Visit / Fee" of €88+VAT. I was never actually disconnected at any stage, and I never even got a visit from a man in a little yellow van. I phoned ESB customer service and was told that "a disconnection visit was booked". I asked how a "booking" was sufficient reason to charge me a hundred quid, but no answer was available. I then asked for proof of this booking, ie a work order or something like that. Nothing. So basically they want money for a "service" which was never provided, and of which no proof of a booking exists.

    The person on the other end of the phone was getting bored with me at this stage and said she would lodge a complaint for me... :rolleyes:

    Just to clarify - I have no problem paying a legitimate disconnection fee. If I had been disconnected from the supply I can see how a guy from the ESB would physically have to call to my house, and how a charge would be necessary.

    Has anybody else had one of these bogus charges on their bill, and what have they done about it?

    Seems to me to be a cynical charge on people who are already in difficulty with their bills...


Comments

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    #2
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    This might be of use
    http://www.cer.ie/en/electricity-retail-market-complaints-and-disputes.aspx


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    #3
    Dangel4x4
    Registered Users Posts: 255 ✭✭Dangel4x4


    Thanks for that link, but their website does say that they can only investigate unresolved complaints.

    So basically I have to exhaust the ESB's complaints procedure before they would entertain me... Oh well. :)

    Am I just being cynical or are these regulator type bodies fairly toothless anyway??


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    #4
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    Most of the regulators in Ireland are toothless. As far as I can see, they tend to capitulate to the business that's being regulated, rather than try to protect the consumers.


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    #5
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    All I'll say on this one is give ESB a chance to deal with the complaint. It won't take long to "exhaust" their procedures, as you put it. Reserve comment until you get a response other than the call centre on your initial call.


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    #6
    Dangel4x4
    Registered Users Posts: 255 ✭✭Dangel4x4


    Blaze Loud Raffle wrote: »
    All I'll say on this one is give ESB a chance to deal with the complaint. It won't take long to "exhaust" their procedures

    How right you were. Got a call yesterday evening reinforcing the position the first person who answered the phone took.

    Like Carol Beer in Little Britain - "Computer says no". :rolleyes:

    She laughed when I mentioned complaining to CER. Says it all really...


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    #7
    foggy_lad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    Dangel4x4 wrote: »
    How right you were. Got a call yesterday evening reinforcing the position the first person who answered the phone took.

    Like Carol Beer in Little Britain - "Computer says no". :rolleyes:

    She laughed when I mentioned complaining to CER. Says it all really...
    write in to the esb with a formal complaint and ask for details of when the disconnection/visit took place! afaik they can not charge you for a visit that never took place and also can not charge you for threatening to disconnect you!


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    #8
    Fnergg
    Registered Users Posts: 270 ✭✭Fnergg


    Seeing as you were charged the fee it is virtually certain that ESB Networks - who do the disconnections for all the suppliers including Bord Gais and Airtricity - had scheduled the disconnection call on the day you contacted ESB Customer Supply. If the job was scheduled - at the expense of other jobs - then the fee stands and this has been agreed with the Regulator.

    Neither is this charge peculiar to ESB Customer Supply - it is applied by all suppliers in similar circumstances because the charge is passed on to them by ESB Networks and so the supplier recoups it from the customer as in this instance.

    I appreciate the difficulties you must have encountered when you lost your job but why did you allow the bill to build up to such a degree that you were on the point of being disconnected? It wasn´t as if you had not received enough reminders.

    I am amazed at how often people just ignore the electricity bill hoping it will go away. Electricity is a vital as food and shelter and yet many will give priority instead to things like mobile phone bills and the like. It´s not as if the electricity bill is a huge cost: in the average household it accounts for about 5% of average monthly expenditure.

    ESB Customer Supply now has an online Laser payment option available on its website - you can pay as much and as often as you like. Paying, for instance, Euro 20 or so each week towards the next bill will have the back of it broken by the time it arrives.


    https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/pay/startPayInit.do


    Regards,

    Fnergg


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    #9
    TechFreak
    Registered Users Posts: 136 ✭✭TechFreak


    The regulator actually has alot of power in this area under the Electricity Act of 1999 unlikey comreg and the others.

    Ive had dealings with them in the past in relation to an issue I has with another supplier.Their decisons are legally binding upon a supplier but not upon you.


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    #10
    Rev. BlueJeans
    Closed Accounts Posts: 600 ✭✭✭Rev. BlueJeans


    Just a note to add. As far as I'm aware the supplier (and hence the hapless customer) should have only been charged the fee if the call was scheduled as an appointment. NPA (non payment of account) calls are rarely scheduled in this manner, although they are prioritised, as Networks have to complete them within a short timeframe to avoid being penalised by the CER.

    Unless a network technician actually called and could not gain access this fee should probably not stand, I'd hazard.


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    #11
    coorly
    Registered Users Posts: 11 ✭coorly


    Just a note. It seems unfair to have ESB disconnected, which happened to me lately. At the same time, it was nobodies fault but my own. In my defence, I didnt receive a warning in the post(due to our an post service who are up to their eyes). Saying that, to be fair,I knew that my bill was well overdue. I had applied for a loan to pay it in full, and thankfully was able to draw it down when i realised I had been disconnected. When I rang ESB, they were so helpful and understanding and did their best to reconnect me ASAP. I was only without supply for 20hrs and learned in those hrs how important it is to maybe pay a few quid a week for a service you cant be without. People need to keep in contact with them if they are in arrears, its all too easy to blame the supplier. At the end of the day, they do provide a service and cant be expected to do it for free. I, for one, will be paying E10 p/w through laser or internet banking in future, small price to pay really.


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    #12
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,518 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    Moved to Talk to ESB Customer Supply

    dudara


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    #13
    ESB CS: Chris
    Closed Accounts Posts: 141 ✭✭ESB CS: Chris


    Hi Coorly,

    I am glad to hear that this matter was swiftly resolved for you and that your power was restored within 20 hours.

    If a person is unable to clear their bill within our credit terms of 14 days, it is important to contact us to discuss the matter as early as possible. Our contact details are listed here.

    We do not want to disconnect any of our customers and we will always aim to set up a mutually agreeable payment plan for customers with outstanding balances on their account. If you agree and adhere to a payment plan, it will ensure that your property is not disconnected

    Many thanks
    Chris


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    #14
    ESB CS: Chris
    Closed Accounts Posts: 141 ✭✭ESB CS: Chris


    Dangel4x4 wrote: »
    Right, I lost my job back in March and had trouble paying bills...

    To cut a long story short I was threatened with disconnection in July by the ESB, so I phoned the nice people in the credit control department and paid €350 of the outstanding €700, with a promise to pay the outstanding balance in installments. I was assured I was no longer in danger of disconnection by the lady I spoke to...

    So fast forward to yesterday. The July-Sept bill comes in, and buried in the middle of it is a "Disconnection Visit / Fee" of €88+VAT. I was never actually disconnected at any stage, and I never even got a visit from a man in a little yellow van. I phoned ESB customer service and was told that "a disconnection visit was booked". I asked how a "booking" was sufficient reason to charge me a hundred quid, but no answer was available. I then asked for proof of this booking, ie a work order or something like that. Nothing. So basically they want money for a "service" which was never provided, and of which no proof of a booking exists.

    The person on the other end of the phone was getting bored with me at this stage and said she would lodge a complaint for me... :rolleyes:

    Just to clarify - I have no problem paying a legitimate disconnection fee. If I had been disconnected from the supply I can see how a guy from the ESB would physically have to call to my house, and how a charge would be necessary.

    Has anybody else had one of these bogus charges on their bill, and what have they done about it?

    Seems to me to be a cynical charge on people who are already in difficulty with their bills...

    Please note, this is an old thread from September 2009. This matter was dealt with at the time.

    If you have a query for David, myself and the rest of the ESB Customer Supply team here on boards, it is best to post in a new thread instead of re-using an older one.

    Thanks a mil
    Chris


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