Electric Ireland letter - register account or be de-energised

Bandon

We received a letter today, it's not addressed to us personally, only to the occupant, it was addressed to:

The Occupant
xxxxx (<< our area name removed)
Bandon
County Cork

The letter says:

(Small square bar code here with this number next to it 001/0195)

MRPN Number: <snip>

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please Register Your Account

Our records show that no customer has been registered at the above address in the last 6 weeks.

To ensure that an electricity supply remains connected at this address, it is important that you register as a customer immediately.

To register please phone us at our Customer Care Centre, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm. The lo-call number is: 1850 372 372

If there is no registered customer recorded at this address within the next 7 days, it will be automatically assumed than an electricity supply is no longer required. The supply will then be de-energised without further notice.

Please note:
The current charges associated with a visit by a Networks Technician will incur a minimum charge of €70.00 + VAT

Yours Sincerely,

Valerie Molyneux
Database Team Leader

We've never heard of Electric Ireland, our electric is supplied by Bord Gais and has been since we started renting this property in January 2012.

I find it strange that just 3 or 4 days ago a woman was going door to door around here, she knocked our house and said something about changing electricity suppliers, I told her we would be moving in a couple of months so there's no point changing, she said ok and left, then this letter turns up a few days later.

Also, the MPRN Number given in the letter is not the same as the MPRN on our Bord Gais bill, the last 3 digits of ours are completely different.

It all seems very random, as this house is in the countryside, there is no road name and no house number, so have you just randomly sent this letter out to all the other 20 or so properties in this immediate area?

EI: Una

Hi Bandon,

The issuing of a letter advising of impending disconnection if there is no name registered to the premises is standard procedure.

In my opinion, this looks like a postal error - I say this because of the MPRN not being the same as the one at your address, and the fact that there is no name. I would speculate that the MPRN is that of a different address in the area that does not have a name associated with it, so ESB Networks are unsure whether it is vacant or occupied.

This would not have anything to do with our sales reps being in the area, although I can appreciate how you would be struck by the coincidence.

If you like, private message me your name and MPRN and I will check our system, but I very much doubt anything will come up in relation to your address.

All the best,
Una

Bandon

Hi Una,

Thanks for the reply:

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

If you like, private message me your name and MPRN and I will check our system, but I very much doubt anything will come up in relation to your address.

It's ok, no point really because I hadn't heard of Electric Ireland before, so our information wont be on your system, thanks for the offer anyway.

EI: Una

No problem Bandon.

I agree there is probably no point when the letter is likely to be for someone else and you received it in error. I have taken note of the MPRN you provided and will leave a note under it detailing this exchange.

Thanks for flagging it to us.

Regards,
Una