Meter overcharging.

Ronin247

My parents meter was faulty,reading almost double the actual usage(overcharging) and Networks came out and replaced it.They were very pleasant and said there would be a refund. The refund offered was only for a year even though it is obvious it has been wrong for 10 or more years.

How long would they be entitled to expect back payment for?? As long as they have had the meter(50+ years). As long as the bills have been high(10+ years) or is there a statutory time limit on claiming refunds.

EI: Una

Hi Ronin,

Just advising: we are looking into your query at the moment.

Regards,
Una

trad

Good luck with this.

I had a faulty meter, had a second test meter installed, showed a significant discrepancy and it took a full year to talk to a human being in the ESB. It was only by going through their customer charter, which they did not comply with, that I informed them that I was going to the Regulator that contact was made.

In the end I was wrong and they were right (according to the ESB) but they offer compensation because of the way they treated a customer (me) to the value of the over charge.

Anyone out there with an old style spinning top meter. there's a good chance it's faulty. What 40 or 50 year old mechanical device still operates 100%? The ESB never callibrate them, they install them and leave it for eternity.

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trad wrote: »

Anyone out there with an old style spinning top meter. there's a good chance it's faulty. What 40 or 50 year old mechanical device still operates 100%? The ESB never callibrate them, they install them and leave it for eternity.

Just for info: a mechanical meter is prone to slowing down with age rather than speed up. Most people who have old meters replaced (while not faulty and less than 1.25% go faulty) find their bills increase. Unless the meter is recording when NIL consumption should be the situation, I'd suggest leaving well enough alone as the slowdown on old meters can be considerable.

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Ronin247,

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

Ronin247 wrote:

How long would they be entitled to expect back payment for?? As long as they have had the meter(50+ years). As long as the bills have been high(10+ years) or is there a statutory time limit on claiming refunds.

They should be refunded for as long as the meter was confirmed as being faulty; this would have been investigated and established by ESB Networks in accordance with their own procedures. We would then offer a refund in line with their findings.

If I can be of any help do let me know - if your parents are unhappy with the resolution of this case I can look into it further, if they can contact us via social media. Otherwise it would be best for them to contact us by phone on 1850 372 372.

trad wrote:

Anyone out there with an old style spinning top meter. there's a good chance it's faulty. What 40 or 50 year old mechanical device still operates 100%? The ESB never callibrate them, they install them and leave it for eternity.

Just for general info, electricity meters installed by ESB Networks are extremely reliable instruments that conform to the highest international standards. In the overwhelming majority of cases where faults are reported, the problem lies with the customer's own internal wiring. ESB Networks do also replace old meters, but you would need to contact them directly for further information about their planned meter replacement program.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,

David.

Ronin247

Can the electric be shut off while the bill is in dispute??

Told my parents to stop paying as nobody was looking into the issue......lots of attention to the issue now, but also constant threats to cut off power even though they only owe a couple of hundred and the disputed amount would be multiples of that.

Straight yes or know on this issue would be appreciated as my parents are worrying and I feel it is just scare tactics.

Madam_X

They still have to pay for what they use.

Non payment? Not good advice. So then they'll be left with a huge backlog of arrears for their actual usage once the issue is resolved?

If I were them, I'd ask Electric Ireland for the amounts they were charged this time last year and pay in or around that, to prevent significant arrears/disconnection.

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Ronin247,

Unless a payment arrangement has been agreed with the customer, then they would be obliged to pay in accordance with our credit terms. We can't guarantee continuity of supply in the case of complete non-payment; electricity is still being used which needs to be paid for.

If an investigation does confirm that the customer has been overcharged, the customer would of course be refunded without hesitation. This is as specific as I can be without having the relevant account details to hand. In this case, I would urge your parents to contact our customer service team directly, either by phone (1850 372 372) or by email, for clarification on the current state of affairs.

Thanks,

David.

E.Del

Ronin247 wrote: »

My parents meter was faulty,reading almost double the actual usage(overcharging) and Networks came out and replaced it.They were very pleasant and said there would be a refund. The refund offered was only for a year even though it is obvious it has been wrong for 10 or more years.

How long would they be entitled to expect back payment for?? As long as they have had the meter(50+ years). As long as the bills have been high(10+ years) or is there a statutory time limit on claiming refunds.

Hi, Ronin247

Apologies for a bit of an out of the blue message relating to your post from over 8 years ago -but I had a quick query regarding the ESB meter overcharging of your parents house over many many years.

I have found myself in the same position with my own parents having an old disc meter that's about 40 years old which has been charging them over twice the national average for at least 10 years, with it increasing each year for no discernable reason. I recently had an electrician inspect the fuse-board to make sure there was no cause on their end, which ended in the meter being deemed faulty.

Anyway - Just wanted to try and see if you got any refund that went back more than one year? Sorry to pry and there's no need for figures, I just wanted to get see if any refund/compensation went back further than one year.

- Thanks, Eoin D.

rossj

Please... my electricity is due to be cut off tomorrow 10th December,,

Thing is, Im a new tenant in this house, a house that had electric ireland beforehand, I switched to Energia & they must not have informed Electric Ireland yet as They dont seem to have registered me as  an Energia customer yet...

I dont understand as I gave my DD card details and the latest reading & the MPRN number and still have not received the postage they said they would send out some 9 or 10 days ago 

Im in Limbo & NEED to sort this now TONIGHT (Wed 9th Dec) before they turn it off tomorrow

PLEASE HELP or ADVISE