BORD GAIS - EEEEEEEK!!!!

shoelaceface

we moved into our appartment two months ago and changed over all bills into our name, rang Bord Gais and did the same! No correspondance since so thought everything was ok!

Woke up Monday morning to NO ELECTRICITY!! Rang Bord Gais who said we had no account set up. So we realised that when we rang up bord gais when we moved in we got through to the gas department and they only set up an account for the gas! we didnt know this though, assumed it was all done when we heard nothing! I Know now its wrong to assume!! They didnt send us a bill, any notification that it would be cut, absolutely nothing!!

So rang up Monday and they said it would be highly unlikely that it would have been reconected that day. Got fobbed off yesterday with the same story. At that point water wasnt running into the bathroom because the pump couldnt work, we couldnt heat water so no showers and our freezer was defrosting and food was beginning to thaw out, the house alarm beeped non stop as the power was gone. So as you can imagine we were getting extremely frustrated. Had to charge our phones in the car to call Bord Gais! REALLY ANNOYING. Told us yesterday evening that it takes 48 hours which would have brought us up to this morning.

Woke up this morning, still no sign of it coming back! Rang Bord Gais 5 times today and eventually they said they would put us on the 'priority list' and we were reconected at 12:30, over 50 hours after being cut off. There was a reconnection fee but we told Bord Gais that they could look after that which they did

So now we are left with a fridge full of food that has gone off, a freezer full of food that has thawed out and cant be re-freezed! Definetly over €100 worth of food in the freezer alone.

We feel that we were treated very unfairly when we were not given any notice at all. We pay all of our bills ontime and should a problem arise we sort it straight away. But obviously when we wernt informed that there wasnt a name on the account why would we suspect that there was a problem.

You have to ask yourself, what if it was the middle of Winter and it was an elderly person in our position. Is that the way they would be treated??? If we hadnt kept ringing and ringing and were not put on the priority list how long more would be waiting!

We dont understand that if work is being carried out in your area for a small amount of time you get a weeks notice indicating the times! if you dont pay your bill, you get a warning, a bailiff would even give a warning!! So why didnt we get a notice of the intentions??? That is our main gripe, the fact that we got no warning. Of course we would have prevented it if we were made aware.

On those grounds is there anything we can do, can we claim for the food lost? Who should we complain to other than Bord Gais.

Tim M-U

It was proberly esb that disconnected it and a misunderstanding by bordgais energy.

All the comments i have heard of bg energy are good. from i can see their customet care is very good. They have alot of problems and they try to fix them as quickly as possible. your issue was a misunderstanding. I'm sure if you post 'em a letter they might give you compensation.

Jenroche

With regard to the food you lost, check your household insurance policy. A lot of policies cover you for this, OP.

Jen ;->

shoelaceface

Tim M-U wrote: »

It was proberly esb that disconnected it and a misunderstanding by bordgais energy.

All the comments i have heard of bg energy are good. from i can see their customet care is very good. They have alot of problems and they try to fix them as quickly as possible. your issue was a misunderstanding. I'm sure if you post 'em a letter they might give you compensation.

No to be fair, customer services were doing the best they could and we made the point to each one we spoke to that although we were annoyed we were not directing it at them as an individual. They deal with enough without getting the blame for something they were not responsible for!

Our complaint is towards the company for cutting it without notice, not customer services!

Max Power1

Disconnections are done by ESB networks, not BGE.

I'd say, however, the disconnection was an automated request due to no active account at the address. Which would be down to BGS not activating your account at the address....

empirix

actually i done the same, registered for electricity and never done the gas, it was my fault, the esb disconnected you as bord gais are something like the front end but the actual work is carried out by esb networks division,think its vice versa for gas, i.e. bord gias networks division does the work etc,its deregulated market now, something like that!

Cabaal

I'm curious, ok you called through to the Gas department, had you been tranfering your electric you would have had to give details from the ESB bill and also a meter reading.

Clearly you didn't give these to the electric dept so what did you think would happen?

Top be honest given it was "your assumption" that the Gas Sales Department would also somehow transfer your electric I fail to see how BG are at fault here, the same goes for ESB.

old_aussie

shoelaceface wrote: »

Our complaint is towards the company for cutting it without notice, not customer services!

If you didn't have an account how would they know who to notify?

dudara

Cabaal wrote: »

I'm curious, ok you called through to the Gas department, had you been tranfering your electric you would have had to give details from the ESB bill and also a meter reading.

Clearly you didn't give these to the electric dept so what did you think would happen?

Top be honest given it was "your assumption" that the Gas Sales Department would also somehow transfer your electric I fail to see how BG are at fault here, the same goes for ESB.

Was the electricity account already with BG when you moved into the premises?

_feedback_

Sorry OP but it's completely your own fault. As far as they were aware, the house was unoccupied and they cut it off until a new account is set up. The gas and electricity divisions are completely seperate. I'm sure if you even mentioned the word electricity on that original phone call you would have been told it's nothing to do with them.

You assumed as you say yourself but assumed wrong. No use blaming anyone but yourself.

shoelaceface

the house had an account open with them since it was built, when the people moved out they removed their names from the account and told them there was new tenants, we were then to replace it with our names. Bord Gais sent one letter, so we followed the instructions and set up a direct debit. We then got a confirmation letter for BORD GAIS ENERGY that they had our direct debit set up via the energy bill-pay direct debit. There was nothing to suggest on that letter that it was gas only! This is the first time we ever had to set up bills in our own name, so it was all new to us! Also when we rang originally to set up the account we werent ringing the gas department specifically, just bord gais itself.

That end of it was all a misunderstanding on both sides which i do agree with, but i just dont see why they wouldnt send a letter a few days before to say it was going to be cut and if there was no reply from tenants then fair enough!

oh and meter readings were given by the landlord to start it for us when the previous tenants name was removed.

Dublin_Gunner

old_aussie wrote: »

If you didn't have an account how would they know who to notify?

If there is energy being used at an address with no active account, a letter is always sent to "The Occupant".

I have seen this numerous times.

ESB really should have sent a letter out so the account could be activated.

patrickc

when i moved lately, BG transferred me to the electricity department and asked me did i want my electricity with them, i was with them in the last house anyhow, but still they asked me.

as said above a letter is always addressed "to the occupant" after you move in asking what to do with the electricity, if nothing has been done with it.

none

OK, I think I know that Bord Gais has two departments for Gas and Electricity. Which is actually not as straightforward as it could be as they indeed sometimes refer to themselves simply Bord Gais Energy without naming either Gas or Electricity.

But now I learned that they have another department, Bord Gais Heat, which makes even less sense. That's if the main use of either Gas or Electricity is not for heat.

Basically, I've been in an apartment for nearly two years and always paid Bord Gais Gas bills but yesterday I got another letter saying I owe them more than a grand as I wasn't paying my Heat bills. Well, I never even knew about such a thing as Heat bills. There was never any notification either by the landlord or Bord Gais so I had no idea there's more to energy bills than just Electricity and Gas.

Yes, I moved to Bord Gais Electricity from ESB in the beginning of this year but I certainly didn't sign up to Bord Gais Heat. Anyone knows about such department and pays three energy bills for Electricity, Gas and Heat?

watty

Why is State Bord Gais selling State ESB at all due to regulator hiking price artificially to give "Competition".

It's Thatcherite philosophy gone mad. Stick with ESB. Complain to TD. This is a waste of resources of both State companies and a farce.

markjbloggs

watty wrote: »

Why is State Bord Gais selling State ESB at all due to regulator hiking price artificially to give "Competition".

It's Thatcherite philosophy gone mad. Stick with ESB. Complain to TD. This is a waste of resources of both State companies and a farce.

100% agree, total stupidity that is wide open to abuse

none

So anyone knows about Bord Gais Heat or pays Bord Gais two separate Gas bills???