Bord Gais - anyone else suffering at their hands?

Toffypop

I'm having serious issues with Bord Gais and am wondering if anyone else has had similar problems and how they resolved them? Their driving my absolutely nuts at this stage!
I moved into a new rented apartment in May. Rang Bord Gais, gave them the accurate meter reading and went about things as usual. Huge bill came in July - estimated. Read the meter (noted that the estimated units was 1,000 more than the actual reading), rang them with the reading and was told that a new bill was on the way.
August - no bill. Rang them to query where it was (I had been advised that it would take 2 - 3 weeks for a new bill) only to be told that it's not their policy to issue a new bill. Was told to read the meter on a specific date in September and I'd have a meter read bill sent out. I duly complied, read the meter and rang them with the reading.
Still no bill! Rang them again last week and had to provide another meter reading as of today's date to get a bill. Apparently they can't use the original meter reading provided. And it's not procedure to send a bill mid month.

At this stage I've been using electricity for 5 months with no bill and they told me that the next one isn't due until November which means in total 7 months electricity with no proper bill received. I've been on the phone more times than I can count to them over the last 5 months and still no resolution. I never thought it'd be this hard to pay a bill!!!

Has this happened anyone else? I'm ready to tear my hair out with frustration at this stage - and am anticiapting a nice big bill of 7 months electricity usage for my pain!

dudara

There have been several threads on this topic recently. The general news seemed to be that Bord Gais had recently changed their billing systems.

MunsterCycling

We just changed to them so will be keeping a close eye on the situation

foggy_lad

dudara wrote: »

There have been several threads on this topic recently. The general news seemed to be that Bord Gais had recently changed their billing systems.

they changed their billing system well over a year ago and they are still having serious issues with electricity and gas customers.

i think it has more to do with staffing levels and outsourcing of meter reading and bill production than anything else.

User Friendly

No issues so far with them,thank God.

changed to them about a year ago.

Blanchboh

Switch to Airtricity!! The reps are real nice, they have lovely green jackets. Giving 20% discount on gas rates now !! Actually one of the reps is really handsome too!! Id nearly call him dishy

disco girl

I had one of these lovely reps from Airtricity call the other day.....doesn't understand the meaning of the word "NO THANKS". He even tried to say that when I switch I don't sign a contract..........:rolleyes:

kn

I would advise the OP to make a payment in the Post Office of what he estimates what his bill to date should be from the meter reading plus the standing charges. That way there can be no come back on you if they get on your back for making no payment in several months.

Blanchboh

disco girl wrote: »

I had one of these lovely reps from Airtricity call the other day.....doesn't understand the meaning of the word "NO THANKS". He even tried to say that when I switch I don't sign a contract..........:rolleyes:

Thats right, you dont sign a contract!! Not with Board Gais you dont!! and with Aitricity you dont HAVE TO either!

disco girl

Thats right, you dont sign a contract!! Not with Board Gais you dont!! and with Aitricity you dont HAVE TO either!

I don't understand, if you don't have to sign a contract with Airtricity then why do they have this in their T&C's

Biggest Save - Fixed Term – Gas and Electricity



1. Maximum discounts based on “Biggest Save eBundle” product (e-Bill and direct debit), with gas and electricity at one address as a single account. Other discounts apply for postal billing.
2. Fixed term contract, for a period up to 12 months (the remainder of the sign-up month plus the next 11 months, assuming valid gas and electricity meter reads provided at sign-up).
3. Gas discounts track regulated retail gas standard tariff unit rates for the period of the contract, or up to de-regulation of retail gas unit rates, whichever is the shorter. Thereafter SmartSaver Standard gas unit rates apply.
4. Electricity discounts based on comparison to regulated retail electricity unit rates as at 01st Oct 2010. Prices fixed for the period of the contract (not including Electricity Pass-Through Charges which may go up or down, and may be passed on.) Thereafter SmartSaver Standard electricity unit rates apply.
5. Gas and electricity standing charges apply – and may vary from other suppliers.
6. €100 termination fee will apply if the contract is broken prior to expiration of fixed term contract. Contract will be deemed to have been broken if: the customer moves their gas and/or electricity to another supplier, or moves their gas and/or electricity to another Airtricity product or changes payment method from direct debit.

Full terms here: http://www.airtricity.com/roi-domestic-biggest-save-terms-and-conditions

rameire

you sign a contract for that specific service
they do provide different services which have different t's & c's for which no contract is necessary.

the only thing you need to know is
If you change to Flogas, BG, ESB, Airtricity and select a service that does not require a contract you have to stay for a period of 30 days i believe.

it is beneficial to move and be a tariff slut, i am and i love it.

i dont understand why people do not move and save money.

there are people who say im staying with ESB, BG and waiting for them to reduce their prices.
they are not going to pat you on the back and say well done, your great, heres a lollypop, go suck on that.

rameire

rameire wrote: »

go suck on that.

In fairness, they might say that to you! :pac:


Changed to BG about a year ago, no problems since, much like a poster above, said.

Rachob

Hi everyone,

Quick question, has anyone had difficulty getting a bill from Bord gais?

We have been renting our apartment for well over a year and still have no bill from them.

When we moved in, we received a letter stating that we had to contact them within 10 days to set up our account or the gas would be cut off ( not the most welcoming letter I've ever had...) so I rang and gave them my bank acc details and that was that. Since then we have had no bill.

I have emailed them after a good few months to inform them of the situation, they replied apologising, said that it was a billing error on their end and said one would be sent out within a few weeks, but nothing yet. That was nearly a year ago!!

I haven't been rushing to contact them about the bill as things are tight financially, but in all fairness - it's their business, I have informed them we have had no bill, is it really the customer's duty to chase a supplier to insist they receive a bill?

I know it is a service we have used and ultimately we will have to pay for it, but seeing as this is clearly an error on their part, i'd like to think we can work out a payment plan when the time comes.

Another part of me hopes that we will just hear nothing from them again and when we move out of here we'll have just gotten away with it!

Basically I am wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience and what was the outcome?

Thanks

dudara

Threads merged

dudara

jor el

Rachob wrote: »

I haven't been rushing to contact them about the bill as things are tight financially, but in all fairness - it's their business, I have informed them we have had no bill, is it really the customer's duty to chase a supplier to insist they receive a bill?

Yes, it is. If you have been using the gas for a year, and haven't paid anything yet, then you'll be in for a rude awakening when you do get a bill.

Rachob wrote: »

I know it is a service we have used and ultimately we will have to pay for it, but seeing as this is clearly an error on their part, i'd like to think we can work out a payment plan when the time comes.

I wouldn't count on that. It is possible, but you're not guaranteed it.

Rachob wrote: »

Another part of me hopes that we will just hear nothing from them again and when we move out of here we'll have just gotten away with it!

That won't happen, and even if it might, don't be counting on it anyway. Keep at them until they give you the bill, but after a year, that's going to be nasty.

Rachob

Thanks jor el for taking the time to reply.

I'm not under any illusions as to how bad the bill is going to be really. I have paid for gas before so I know roughly how much has accumulated.

It's more the principle really. If they mess up and don't send out a bill - even after we have contacted them about it, should we really be penalised by getting a bill for a few thousand in one go? Should we be the people to beg for a payment plan when they failed to bill us? In my line of work, if I neglect to invoice someone, it's on my shoulders - when I do contact them, I can't insist on immediate payment as the mistake was mine not to invoice them in the correct time frame.

I know in commercial situations Bord Gais do set up payment plans - when business owe a lot of money, so I would like to think they would extend the same courtesy to us. (I have first hand information from someone who works in accounts for a medium sized company who had a fairly big BG bill and have a plan set up)

I have emailed the consumer rights organisation just to see where we stand legally, will post anything useful I discover.

If there is anyone who has had this situation with them before, I'd be really interested to hear what happened.

Thanks

Edited to ad: Another thought that occurs to me, if they have upped their rated in the time since we have been here - which I would think they have, will we get charged the 1.5 years of usage at the current highest rate? Eeek!

Blanchboh

disco girl wrote: »

I don't understand, if you don't have to sign a contract with Airtricity then why do they have this in their T&C's



Full terms here: http://www.airtricity.com/roi-domestic-biggest-save-terms-and-conditions

Airtricity have two differnt packages for dual customers. 20% on gas and 6% on electricity which is the Biggest Save! This is a fixed term agreement which is breakable! its €100, believe me most would save that after two bills anyway!

Or you can have 10% discount on both electricity and gas with no fixed term

ABajaninCork

Have you thought of getting a payment card from BG/ESB? That way, it won't matter too much when the bill comes. If you've been making regular payments, then you cannot be cut off.

Continue to read the meter monthly, make a note of the reading and call it over to BG/ESB. Make a note of the person you speak to and remind them the bill is outstanding. Is there an Ombudsman to whom you can complain?

If the electric is from BG, then I don't think they've got round to payment cards yet. But if you have a bill just take it down to the Post Office with your payment. They scan the bill and attach the receipt to it.

HTH

foggy_lad

I have been billed late by bord gais for almost two years and they are still trying to blame the post but their customer care admitted to me it was the agency they used to print and post customer bills.

Possibly related to the loss of laptops some time ago with customer details but now my bills are created on their system with a payment and direct debit date giving 14days but the paper bill is not printed off for at least a week after!

Their customer care is useless and have been blaming everything else for months just delaying dealing with the problem and refuse to escalate it so I can't pass it on to the energy regulators

kildare.17hmr

Rachob wrote: »

When we moved in, we received a letter stating that we had to contact them within 10 days to set up our account or the gas would be cut off ( not the most welcoming letter I've ever had...) so I rang and gave them my bank acc details and that was that. Since then we have had no bill

Id get onto my bank and stop any direct debit from them before they apply for one, you will be charged if it comes baclk unpaid

I bought a house 3 weeks ago. The Gas was switched off due to the previous tennant. They called out to swtich on the gas for me. When they got her , they said its too dangerous and they are not going to switch it on .

So 3 weeks later i have no gas and i have 2 bills , one for 28 euro in which the call out date was changed, and another bill for the call out in which they didnt switch on the gas.

The funny thing is , i have no account with them i have no gas with them and yet i am billed.

Claudius64

Blanchboh wrote: »

Switch to Airtricity!! The reps are real nice, they have lovely green jackets. Giving 20% discount on gas rates now !! Actually one of the reps is really handsome too!! Id nearly call him dishy

Please please get your facts straight
firstly only Bord Gais customers get the 20% discount, Flogas customers dont!(They dont tell you that in their ads)
Second, to get the 20% you have to also move your electricity to them, accept e-billing and pay by direct debit. They insist on e-billing because of the cost to them of flying the prin ted bills over from the U.K. and enveloping and dtamping them here so they look like an Irish company.
Thirdly, you have to read your own meter, because as Airtricity is a British Company, (thats right folks, Scottish and Southern Electricity) they work on a quarterly billing system so the meter reads taken by ESB Networks and Bord Gais Networks are bi-monthly and no use to them, if you dont read and submit your own meter reading you get an estimated bill!
Lastly, at a time of the worst recession in living memory you will be sending your money to the U.K. to support U.K. jobs.

Catalpa1

Posted this in Alternative electricity suppliers worth a read for this about to switch
Airtricitys Biggest save analysis not looking too good
I have no issue with any electricity or gas supplier but I found this from Bonkers.ie the most interesting analysis. I have seen I have posted the link and also the most important bits.
The problem is like with house prices we have no national reference point/database. Airtricity are using average consumptions for the UK which are way higher than here in their calcualtion

http://www.bonkers.ie/blog/42-airtri...reat-land-grab

But anyway, lets play ball with Airtricity, take their gas and electricity consumption figures of approx 21,349 kW/h (or units) of gas and 6,098 kW/h of electricity and see what we get.
Airtricity Biggest Save eBundle
Annual Cost:
€1932.46
Bord Gais Paperless (electricity) & Flogas Standard (gas)
Annual Cost
€1936.14

Flogas Standard (gas) & Airtricity Smart Saver Online (electricity)
Annual Cost:
€1936.75

Airtricity are cheapest if you use as much gas and electricity as they say, but there’s only €3.68 in the difference between them and a Flogas/Bord Gais mix. Plus if you were with Bord Gais and Flogas or Flogas and Airtricity, you wouldn’t be tied in for a year, which would allow you to wait and see what the new ESB has to offer.
What’s really interesting about this though is if you use something more akin to the Irish gas consumption figures, you get a different picture. If we use say 13,800 kW/h of gas and 6,000 kW/h of electricity, a Bord Gais & Flogas or an Airtricity & Flogas combination is actually cheaper than Airtricity’s Biggest Save deal.

Flogas Standard (gas) & Bord Gais Paperless DD (electricity)
Annual Cost:
€1598.43
Flogas Standard (gas) & Airtricity Smart Saver Online (electricity)
Annual Cost:
€1599.03
Airtricity Biggest Save eBundle
Annual Cost:
€1624.51
So really what were seeing here is that the Airtricity deal is a good one regardless but particularly if you’re a high gas user. But if you’re a lower gas user and an average or higher electricity user, you’d be better off with Bord Gais or Airtricity for electricity and Flogas for gas.
In the UK, home energy tariffs are now more complicated than mobile phone bills. Before long we’ll see the same thing in Ireland. Without a standard by which tariffs can be compared, savings figures from suppliers will become completely meaningless.
To allow us to compare energy tariffs properly the regulator needs to publish agreed national average household energy consumption figures and suppliers should be required to use them when making savings claims. That way we could easily work out whether deals like these are worth switching for or not.

Blanchboh

Claudius64 wrote: »

Please please get your facts straight
firstly only Bord Gais customers get the 20% discount, Flogas customers dont!(They dont tell you that in their ads)
Second, to get the 20% you have to also move your electricity to them, accept e-billing and pay by direct debit. They insist on e-billing because of the cost to them of flying the prin ted bills over from the U.K. and enveloping and dtamping them here so they look like an Irish company.
Thirdly, you have to read your own meter, because as Airtricity is a British Company, (thats right folks, Scottish and Southern Electricity) they work on a quarterly billing system so the meter reads taken by ESB Networks and Bord Gais Networks are bi-monthly and no use to them, if you dont read and submit your own meter reading you get an estimated bill!
Lastly, at a time of the worst recession in living memory you will be sending your money to the U.K. to support U.K. jobs.

I know a few Airtricity staff, they have huge office in Sandyford. Do you only buy Irish groceries, its all done in Dunnes Stores is it?

Airtricity until recently estimated all bills, they work an a bi monthly billing system!

You get an exact bill every second bill if you do not read your own meter, exactly like you do with ESB and Bord Gais!

Airtricity was started by an ex-director of Born Na Mona! He still has a great say in things there too!

angel01

I moved to Bord Gais for Electricity (as I am with them for Gas) I got the bill today and it was double when it normally is.. They told me to take a meter reading for the next bill in December.

Not impressed at all. I will be giving readings to them every time now :mad::mad:

Won't move to Airtricity as you have to take a 12 month contract

missmelo

angel01 wrote: »

I moved to Bord Gais for Electricity (as I am with them for Gas) I got the bill today and it was double when it normally is.. They told me to take a meter reading for the next bill in December.

Not impressed at all. I will be giving readings to them every time now :mad::mad:

Won't move to Airtricity as you have to take a 12 month contract

Hi Angel01, I also moved to Bord Gais for electricity, i have lived in my house 3 years and always had a low bill, i prided myself on it .

But i got my first bill from Bord Gais the other day it was late coming but was still only for 2 months, and the biggest one i have ever had, totally disgusted where is the saving????
Also a girl i know changed to them same time as me, exact same thing happened her but higher than mine, and she is never home???? leaves early and is gone till late at night, its a joke.
Is there a reconnection fee for esb?

rameire

missmelo wrote: »

Hi Angel01, I also moved to Bord Gais for electricity, i have lived in my house 3 years and always had a low bill, i prided myself on it .

But i got my first bill from Bord Gais the other day it was late coming but was still only for 2 months, and the biggest one i have ever had, totally disgusted where is the saving????
Also a girl i know changed to them same time as me, exact same thing happened her but higher than mine, and she is never home???? leaves early and is gone till late at night, its a joke.
Is there a reconnection fee for esb?

why dont you ring them with your meter reading, if the bill is high, it must be an estimated reading.

angel01

missmelo wrote: »

Hi Angel01, I also moved to Bord Gais for electricity, i have lived in my house 3 years and always had a low bill, i prided myself on it .

But i got my first bill from Bord Gais the other day it was late coming but was still only for 2 months, and the biggest one i have ever had, totally disgusted where is the saving????
Also a girl i know changed to them same time as me, exact same thing happened her but higher than mine, and she is never home???? leaves early and is gone till late at night, its a joke.
Is there a reconnection fee for esb?

As far as I know they don't do actual readings very often, there is no saving with them at all. I don't think there is a reconnection fee.. I am going to give them an actual reading in December (when my next bill is issued) and if it is still big. I am moving back to ESB :mad:

They claimed because my previous 3 bills were estimated and this was an actual reading.

I still can't get over how expensive it was, I never had that kind of bill from ESB and I don't (in my opinion) use loads of Electricity..

rameire

ok
firstly.
there is a saving.
the reason the bills are higher is due to an estimated bill.
if you move back to esb the rates are higher. thus it will cost more.

also. bord gais do not do the meter reading.
esb networks do the reading for all the electricity customers and then give these readings each of the relative companies.

by moving back to esb you will be costing yourselves more money.

just ring bord gais and give them the meter reading and say you want your current bill amended, and do not want to wait until the next bill to rectify the estimation.

missmelo

rameire wrote: »

why dont you ring them with your meter reading, if the bill is high, it must be an estimated reading.

Hi, i rang bord gais and i was told this was an actual reading, so how am i saving with them if its more expensive?

The lady said that i have started using more units? I have not changed anything, and am generally very careful about leaving stuff on etc

Then she said well then the bill was actually a few days over the normal period, but even a few days shouldnt make much difference.

Sounded like a guessing game to me, im gona check my next bill if its the same im outta there

rameire

ok so the current reading is correct.

next thing is to check the unit rate you are being charged on the account.

with bord gais i think the rate calculated on the account is the esb rate, and the discount is taken off on the bill as a percentage discount like 10% or 12%
so check the rate of your last esb bill and compare it against the bg bill.

also check if the last esb bill is an estimate. they should really have closed off the account with an actual reading but they may not have done so.

also compare the last reading on the esb bill and the first opening reading on the bg bill, they should be the exact same.