Airtricity - Big mistake!!!

seabre

Hi All

I switched to Airtricity in April 2010 when a rep called to my door. I signed up for e statements which gave me further discount but meant I did not rec a paper bill but had to check my account on - line. We discussed paying over 10 months of the year giving a payment break if you like but I'll be honest I cannot remember the specifics of this.

To summarise I was very happy for a while and for the first 6 months of the service I was very happy and my bills were roughly 150 bi - monthly on average. In Oct 2010 I was billed and paid by DD 180 euro which I thought was a bit higher but still had no complaint. In Dec I was not charged at all so I logged on to Airtricity to check and it showed my account was 180 in cr so I assumed this was the 10 mth payment plan kicking in and expected my next DD to come out in Feb 2011.

Feb came and went without any DD being presented so I got concerned again and logged on to see what my account standing was - It showed I was still 180 in cr so I assumed they had over estimated me for the prev payments. In early march 2011 I was shocked to find that Airtricity had presented a DD for 630 euro to my ac - needless to say I had insufficient funds and the DD was unpaid.

To cut to the chase after several letters - phonecalls etc Airtricity admitted that it was an error made by their billing dept who just had not bothered to follow up on my account after an over estimation in Oct 2010! A week later they sent a bill for 900 euro for immediate payment ( they added a further 300 euro because I had switched to B Gais (forseeing difficulties about this)

When I called them to query the 900 euro they said I didn't really owe this amount and they would put a payment plan in place for the closing bal of 650 euro. I then approached them via e mail to see if they would offer me any discount for the inconvenience etc that they had caused - I got no answer for 2 weeks but today rec a letter threatening such attrocities as:Legal Proceedings, Judgment against my property, attachment of earnings etc etc.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to my rights in this situation or where I would go to find out my rights in this case.

Also want to forewarn people as to the service you can expect fro this co! My advice if thinking about switching - Think v v hard before you do - cheaper rates = poorer service!

jor el

seabre wrote: »

... so I assumed ...

There's the problem right there. Instead of checking, and verifying, reading your meter, and making sure that all was right, you made an assumption that you didn't have to pay any more. Why oh why do people keep doing this, and then immediately blame the service provider. It's not impossible to do a meter reading, in fact it only takes about 30 seconds. Airtricity even give you a free meter box key to open it with.

seabre wrote: »

I got no answer for 2 weeks but today rec a letter threatening such attrocities as:Legal Proceedings, Judgment against my property, attachment of earnings etc etc.

Atrocities? A bit over the top no? You're the one that skipped out on your bill by moving to Board Gais. They have a right to seek the debt that you owe them, and to do it in court if necessary.

seabre wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to my rights in this situation or where I would go to find out my rights in this case.

You have the right to pay the bill you owe. You have the right to ask Airtricity to work out a payment plan, since they failed to bill you properly. That's it.

seabre wrote: »

Also want to forewarn people as to the service you can expect fro this co! My advice if thinking about switching - Think v v hard before you do - cheaper rates = poorer service!

I have always advised people to keep an eye on their own bill and meter reading, and not make stupid and reckless assumptions.

Le Graduate

Did you put your detailed complaint in writing to Airtricity?

And I believe the reason they put an extra €300 charge on when you left to go to BG was the security deposit but they shouldn't be charging this to you know but I'm not sure.

Priori

Best be careful, the last few threads complaining about Airtricity were locked...

seabre

Sorry perhaps shouldn't have mentioned the co name. Have to say though I did keep checking my account online as was my only means possible. Surely the emphasis is on a company of this size to have an efficient administration and billing system.

At no point have I denied owing this money to them - I simply asked for a discount and a repayment plan which, I think considering that they have completely admitted that this error was entirely their fault, is not unreasonable!

What is unreasonable is for them to expect that I have this money available to give them in a lump sum and to threaten me like they have should I not pay up in 7 days - a bit rich considering their billing was askew for 6 months!

I have made initial contact with the NCA who have indicated that I have a very strong case. I have been told that no judge in the country would give the the time of day in a court seeing as due diligence on their part etc has not been adhered to its not as though they were continually contacting me with regards to my ac going into arrears! They didn't even make this information available to me on my online account!

It is reasonable for any consumer who takes up a contract with a utility co to expect that they will recieve regular bills stating the status of their account! The previous poster would do well to remember that consumers have very strong rights in this country however large companies feel free to use all sorts of scare tactics to undermine these rights.

If a financial institution was so neglectful of their reminders to customers and then demanded payment of a balance - not only would they be laughed out of court but the ombudsman and the press would be all over them!

Sorry mods if I shouldnt have mentioned the co name - feel free to delete it from the post - I had not intention of starting a witch hunt!

dudara

Priori wrote: »

Best be careful, the last few threads complaining about Airtricity were locked...

I locked them because they were veering off topic and not related to specific consumer issues. In this instance, the OP has a specific complaint, so I am happy for this thread to proceed, so that he can receive advice. If this veers off course, I will review the thread.

dudara

BMF Plint

they done me in the exact same manner. Strangely its the exact same amounts as the OP

Staplor

I had a similar incident, emailled their complaints, followed their procedure right up to the one before comreg, they waived the switching fee in the first year, acknowledged I had been miss sold a product, which is being addressed in training of their sales staff. All of which I have in an email from Airtricity.

All in all I feel they were a complete disaster to deal with and I would never ever recommend them to anyone for their service or the poxy hold music which is their adverts on a loop. If I ever see a space pony I'll shoot it in the face.

sendit

Well if you assumed you didn't have to pay then thats your own falt not Airtrcity's. Also you the one that skipped out on the bill by moving to Board Gais. They would be well within there right to get what you owe them.

seabre

sendit wrote: »

Well if you assumed you didn't have to pay then thats your own falt not Airtrcity's. Also you the one that skipped out on the bill by moving to Board Gais. They would be well within there right to get what you owe them.

Ok I'll repeat this for the third time for the benefit of posters who do not or cannot understand the language I used - ie English!

I never assumed I didn't have to pay nor was I skipping out on the bill by moving to Bord Gais! I simply switched provider because I could not rely on Airtricity to provide the service I needed - that being a billing system that allowed me to check Bi Monthly where I was with regards to payment.

They are within their right to get what I owe them however I a also well within my right to seek a payment plan and/or discount for them failing to provide the service I signed up for! If I got a loan from the bank and they give me the funds but failed to set up the direct debit for the repayments on the loan I can assure you they would have to recognise their error and rectify suitably!

This case is no different and something that people should be aware of when signing up to their service.

Had their contract stated " We may from time to time not bill you for 6 months and then threaten you by any means possible to get the payment in full" - I can assure you I would not have signed up!

Max Power1

seabre wrote: »

Ok I'll repeat this for the third time for the benefit of posters who do not or cannot understand the language I used - ie English!

I never assumed I didn't have to pay nor was I skipping out on the bill by moving to Bord Gais! I simply switched provider because I could not rely on Airtricity to provide the service I needed - that being a billing system that allowed me to check Bi Monthly where I was with regards to payment.

They are within their right to get what I owe them however I a also well within my right to seek a payment plan and/or discount for them failing to provide the service I signed up for! If I got a loan from the bank and they give me the funds but failed to set up the direct debit for the repayments on the loan I can assure you they would have to recognise their error and rectify suitably!

This case is no different and something that people should be aware of when signing up to their service.

Had their contract stated " We may from time to time not bill you for 6 months and then threaten you by any means possible to get the payment in full" - I can assure you I would not have signed up!

So you want free electricity?

Come off it, you know you used the product and you will pay for it.

This will either be voluntarily or through a court judgement.

coolabula

why not go to the post office weekly and pay €20 or whatever you can afford, or pay online if it suits, by the time they get round to issuing court proceedings you will have most of it paid off and there will be nothing to bring you to court over.

This happened me with another place (not saying name) they wouldnt agree to a payment plan I could afford and kept threathning court, so I just paid what I could afford, through online banking.
They will never refuse money and once you are paying something they wont go any further.

foggy_lad

Max Power1 wrote: »

So you want free electricity?

Come off it, you know you used the product and you will pay for it.

This will either be voluntarily or through a court judgement.

You should really read the last post from the op,

I never assumed I didn't have to pay nor was I skipping out on the bill by moving to Bord Gais! I simply switched provider because I could not rely on Airtricity to provide the service I needed - that being a billing system that allowed me to check Bi Monthly where I was with regards to payment.

If this went to court any judge would agree that the debt is owed. That is not in question!

Because the company were so incompetant as to not seek payment for monies owed by direct debit which they had not just agreed upon but in most cases insist on then any reasonable rational judge would now side with the customer on how that debt is to be repaid, as the company have had ample opportunity to collect on the debt.

I would offer tham €5/month.

sendit

seabre wrote: »

Ok I'll repeat this for the third time for the benefit of posters who do not or cannot understand the language I used - ie English!

I never assumed I didn't have to pay nor was I skipping out on the bill by moving to Bord Gais! I simply switched provider because I could not rely on Airtricity to provide the service I needed - that being a billing system that allowed me to check Bi Monthly where I was with regards to payment.

They are within their right to get what I owe them however I a also well within my right to seek a payment plan and/or discount for them failing to provide the service I signed up for! If I got a loan from the bank and they give me the funds but failed to set up the direct debit for the repayments on the loan I can assure you they would have to recognise their error and rectify suitably!

This case is no different and something that people should be aware of when signing up to their service.

Had their contract stated " We may from time to time not bill you for 6 months and then threaten you by any means possible to get the payment in full" - I can assure you I would not have signed up!

Yes but you moved to Board Gais when you owed Airtricity money thats skipping out on there bill if you ask me.

Im fairly sure thats how any company who are owed money go about getting it

seabre

Max Power1 wrote: »

So you want free electricity?

Come off it, you know you used the product and you will pay for it.

This will either be voluntarily or through a court judgement.

At no point have I said I want free electricity or indeed that I would not pay the outstanding amount!

I would however suggest that if you cannot understand what posters are clearly stating please get someone who does to explain the posts to you in a manner you do understand or refrain from posting unhelpful and useless replies.

foggy_lad

sendit wrote: »

Yes but you moved to Board Gais when you owed Airtricity money thats skipping out on there bill if you ask me.

Im fairly sure thats how any company who are owed money go about getting it

If i owe a company money because they are so useless they dont send me any bills for several months then moving to another company is not skipping out but ensuring you are getting the quality product and service you are paying for!

I would be really stupid to stay with such an incompetant system while they tried to sort out their mess! i would move ASAP and let them negotiate a final billing figure with me and allow me time to make sure i am not being ripped off with a €300 deposit for a company i have left!

sendit

foggy_lad wrote: »

If i owe a company money because they are so useless they dont send me any bills for several months then moving to another company is not skipping out but ensuring you are getting the quality product and service you are paying for!

I would be really stupid to stay with such an incompetant system while they tried to sort out their mess! i would move ASAP and let them negotiate a final billing figure with me and allow me time to make sure i am not being ripped off with a €300 deposit for a company i have left!

If you move to another company because you owe another company then your trying to get away with not paying the one your moving from.

You cant negotiate a final billing figure as you say you'll be charged for what you've used and cant demand to pay less for it

Max Power1

seabre wrote: »

At no point have I said I want free electricity or indeed that I would not pay the outstanding amount!

I would however suggest that if you cannot understand what posters are clearly stating please get someone who does to explain the posts to you in a manner you do understand or refrain from posting unhelpful and useless replies.

Yes you did.

Your tone is most unhelpful.

seabre wrote: »

Ok I'll repeat this for the third time for the benefit of posters who do not or cannot understand the language I used - ie English!

I never assumed I didn't have to pay nor was I skipping out on the bill by moving to Bord Gais! I simply switched provider because I could not rely on Airtricity to provide the service I needed - that being a billing system that allowed me to check Bi Monthly where I was with regards to payment.

They are within their right to get what I owe them however I a also well within my right to seek a payment plan and/or discount for them failing to provide the service I signed up for! If I got a loan from the bank and they give me the funds but failed to set up the direct debit for the repayments on the loan I can assure you they would have to recognise their error and rectify suitably!

This case is no different and something that people should be aware of when signing up to their service.

Had their contract stated " We may from time to time not bill you for 6 months and then threaten you by any means possible to get the payment in full" - I can assure you I would not have signed up!

drBill

For most people the whole purpose of a DD is to avoid having to monitor their meter/account/etc with a fine tooth comb. And it requires placing a considerable degree of trust in the supplier to charge the correct amount at the correct time - something which in this case Airtricity have clearly failed to do.

This is why I never sign up to DD. The sales people promise you a world of convenience and sometimes discounts but in return you are effectively handing them the keys to your safe. And given that so many of them use estimates instead of readings these days, it's very easy to end up in this situation where balances can accumulate and/or massive transfers are done. Just recently I had a estimates-based gas bill for over e400 which was revised down to under e30 after I gave them a reading - something which I couldn't have done if a DD was in place.

Don't know why everybody is being so hard on the OP on this one. The expectation was that DD would make things simpler and more convenient, which it did not. The OP has not attempted to avoid paying what they owe. The only reason the money was not paid was due to a foul up by Airtricity - which they have admitted. They are fully entitled to take their business away from Airticity at any time, and were absolutely right to do so.

token101

Why didnt you go back to ESB?? Why pay a 300 quid deposit w/ BG when ESB will just set u up for nothing (assuming youre paying DD) and give better prices than Airtricity and BG?? Heard horror stories from Airtricity at work.....one guy didnt get a bill for six months and eventually decided to call them (why he waited six months is beyond me) got stung for a bill for nearly 2500. Agreed its very poor service, but at the same time he owed the money, knew he owed money all along, and should have known better than to trust a hopelessly inefficient company to sort him out.

sendit

You know your going to get a bill every 2 months and if you dont then why do people wait 6 months before doing anything about it and then complane when they get a big bill? Granted Airtricity should be sending bills on time but its up to you to do something as soon as you notice something is wrong insteed of sitting around wating for someone ealse to do it

seabre

Max Power1 wrote: »

Yes you did.

Your tone is most unhelpful.

I am giving you the benefit of doubt here - that you genuinely cannot understand what I have said. Please quote where I said I would not pay and I will accept your point.

seabre

token101 wrote: »

Why didnt you go back to ESB?? Why pay a 300 quid deposit w/ BG when ESB will just set u up for nothing (assuming youre paying DD) and give better prices than Airtricity and BG?? Heard horror stories from Airtricity at work.....one guy didnt get a bill for six months and eventually decided to call them (why he waited six months is beyond me) got stung for a bill for nearly 2500. Agreed its very poor service, but at the same time he owed the money, knew he owed money all along, and should have known better than to trust a hopelessly inefficient company to sort him out.

Thing is when he signed up he wouldnt have known they were a hopelessly inefficient company. People have lives and families and jobs etc - They sign up for DD for the very reason it gives the ability to pay your bills without having to be constantly checking - otherwise whats the point? Its not unreasonable for them to assume that a large company such as Airtricity have the correct systems in place to debit him bi monthly as they promised under contract they would do.

seabre

token101 wrote: »

Why didnt you go back to ESB?? Why pay a 300 quid deposit w/ BG when ESB will just set u up for nothing (assuming youre paying DD) and give better prices than Airtricity and BG?? Heard horror stories from Airtricity at work.....one guy didnt get a bill for six months and eventually decided to call them (why he waited six months is beyond me) got stung for a bill for nearly 2500. Agreed its very poor service, but at the same time he owed the money, knew he owed money all along, and should have known better than to trust a hopelessly inefficient company to sort him out.

I didnt pay a 300 quid deposit with BG - you have me worried now! Have I jumped out of the Frying pan and into the Fire! Might give ESB a call today like you suggest;)

foggy_lad

sendit wrote: »

If you move to another company because you owe another company then your trying to get away with not paying the one your moving from.

But if you move because a company has completly messed up their billing system and has not been taking the money you owe even though they agreed this with you and with the direct debit scheme?

Are you calling the op a thief?

You cant negotiate a final billing figure as you say you'll be charged for what you've used and cant demand to pay less for it

In this case the op was being charged a €300 deposit for a company they had left. And the op is within their rights to negotiate a payment method considering the company has been so remiss in not collecting payment wich was supposed to be automated!

Max Power1

seabre wrote: »

I am giving you the benefit of doubt here - that you genuinely cannot understand what I have said. Please quote where I said I would not pay and I will accept your point.

enough examples below?

Why do you assume you should not pay for all the service used?

Your general condescending tone is most unwelcome.

seabre wrote: »

I then approached them via e mail to see if they would offer me any
discount

seabre wrote: »

simply asked for a discount

seabre wrote: »

I am ... well within my right to seek a .. discount.

If I got a loan from the bank and they give me the funds but failed to set up the direct debit for the repayments on the loan I can assure you they would have to recognise their error and rectify suitably!

This case is no different and something that people should be aware of when signing up to their service.

Had their contract stated " We may from time to time not bill you for 6 months and then threaten you by any means possible to get the payment in full" - I can assure you I would not have signed up!

sendit

foggy_lad wrote: »

But if you move because a company has completly messed up their billing system and has not been taking the money you owe even though they agreed this with you and with the direct debit scheme?

Are you calling the op a thief?
In this case the op was being charged a €300 deposit for a company they had left. And the op is within their rights to negotiate a payment method considering the company has been so remiss in not collecting payment wich was supposed to be automated!

Yes if they messed up they can leave but you still have to pay the company you leave.

They can negotiate a payment method but you said a payment witch you cant do

foggy_lad

sendit wrote: »

Yes if they messed up they can leave but you still have to pay the company you leave.

They can negotiate a payment method but you said a payment witch you cant do

If a company refuses or forgets to collect payment for services or products for 6months then they are left having to collect that debt. If they try to collect several hundred or thousand Euro after such a long time, especially when the whole mess is their own fault it would be wholly unreasonable to expect any individual to repay such an accumulated sum in one payment.

If the company has agreed/insisted beforehand to collect paymet by means such as direct debit rather than have the customer offer payment then it is up to the company to take funds at the agreed times by direct debit and if they fail to do this then it is up to them to negotiate a different method and schedule of payments with the customer bearing in mind that the breach of the first payment method most likely voided any contract the company had with the customer.

sendit

foggy_lad wrote: »

If a company refuses or forgets to collect payment for services or products for 6months then they are left having to collect that debt. If they try to collect several hundred or thousand Euro after such a long time, especially when the whole mess is their own fault it would be wholly unreasonable to expect any individual to repay such an accumulated sum in one payment.

If the company has agreed/insisted beforehand to collect paymet by means such as direct debit rather than have the customer offer payment then it is up to the company to take funds at the agreed times by direct debit and if they fail to do this then it is up to them to negotiate a different method and schedule of payments with the customer bearing in mind that the breach of the first payment method most likely voided any contract the company had with the customer.

As i said in another post you know your going to get a bill every 2 months and if you dont and wait 6 months before you do anything what do you think is going to happen? Airtricity should be sending there bills etc on time yes but its up to the person to highlight a mistake as soon as they think something is up

seabre

Max Power1 wrote: »

enough examples below?

Why do you assume you should not pay for all the service used?

Your general condescending tone is most unwelcome.

I suggest you look up the meaning of the words "suggest " and "discount".

Neither equates to refusal to pay - Its really not my job to explain the definitions. May I suggest the Oxford or Rogets editions as examples of reputable dictionary publishers - Failing that you could always Google a definition:rolleyes:

rameire

drBill wrote: »

Just recently I had a estimates-based gas bill for over e400 which was revised down to under e30 after I gave them a reading - something which I couldn't have done if a DD was in place.

Just to let you know, you can revise your bill when you are on dd.
I have been able to do it with the ESB, BG, and Flogas,
anytime I get an estimated bill I contact the firm and advise of the correct reading and they then amend my bill and the direct debit.