Prepay meter extortionate last few weeks

Chattymummy

Firstly I have spent the morning on the phone to 4 different staff,one contradicting the other with my issue.. To finally run out of credit before a solution was achieved I believe.. Bascially , last 4 weeks or so I have noticed I'm topping up my meter much more regularly than before.. I mean 90 in 20 days, 30 in the last 7 days. Had to top up again today by 20... Each person I was talking to had different solution. 2nd last person agreed there was am issue and was going issuing refund until he realised I was prepay.. Last person was ignorant to say least..iam actually using less electricity since the nice weather and brighter evenings. No heating on, lights not being used till after 9 or 10 at night.... Can someone with sense please try help.. Can a diagnostic test be done on my meter or something as someone suggested on a tread on another platform.. I will definitely be switching in 4 weeks when my time is up... Please reply with help..

Electric Ireland: Una

Hi Chattymummy,

We are very sorry to read of your unhappiness with your customer experience over the phone.

What type of Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter do you have? Is it the Household Budget (this is the oldest type), Lifestyle Choice or Smarter PAYG?

Thanks,
Una

Chattymummy

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi Chattymummy,

We are very sorry to read of your unhappiness with your customer experience over the phone.

What type of Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter do you have? Is it the Household Budget (this is the oldest type), Lifestyle Choice or Smarter PAYG?

Thanks,
Una

Hey,smarter payg meter.. And it's only in last 4 weeks I've noticed the huge amounts I'm topping up by...

Outkast_IRE

Do you have access to the meter box to take readings yourself ? If yes then do a reading now and then 24hrs later. Its important to know how many units you are using.

Chattymummy

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Do you have access to the meter box to take readings yourself ? If yes then do a reading now and then 24hrs later. Its important to know how many units you are using.

Yes I have done that. I want to know also, do electric Ireland offer level pay as an option.. And could you tell me when my contract is up because I'm looking for cheaper options as I actually think now that looking at me bill I have been charge 75 euro in charges before my bill Was even added..

Chattymummy

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Do you have access to the meter box to take readings yourself ? If yes then do a reading now and then 24hrs later. Its important to know how many units you are using.

Sorry I actually thought your reply was from electric Ireland, tks for suggestion.. Just outrageous the cost of prepay.. It was great up to recently, going changing providers as soon as conyract is up..

Electric Ireland: Una

Chattymummy wrote: »

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi Chattymummy,

We are very sorry to read of your unhappiness with your customer experience over the phone.

What type of Pay As You Go (PAYG) meter do you have? Is it the Household Budget (this is the oldest type), Lifestyle Choice or Smarter PAYG?

Thanks,
Una

Hey,smarter payg meter.. And it's only in last 4 weeks I've noticed the huge amounts I'm topping up by...

Hi Chattymummy,

Thank you for confirming.

The Smarter PAYG meter is a reflection of the units being consumed on the main ESB Networks meter. Usually the increased requirement for top-ups means there are more energy units being consumed. As your usage has decreased yet the units being consumed have suddenly increased, the first thing to check is the internal appliances/wiring for a fault. If there is a fault, this causes the appliance(s) to work harder, resulting in more electricity units being consumed than usual.

To carry out an appliance test, power off everything, including unplugging. Then power each item back on one by one, checking the ESB Networks meter for each. Unusually increased meter activity will occur for wherever there is a fault, if this is the case. An internal fault is a query for an electrician.

Another test is to power everything off, including unplugging (as above) and then simply to check the ESB Networks meter to see whether it has also stopped moving. If it continues to move, this could also be indicative of a fault.

We wish to reassure that the Electric Ireland electricity unit rate, standing charge and PAYG service charge have not increased. The PAYG service charge (29 cent per day) is currently the lowest-cost such charge on the market.

The system of the same amount being billed every month (called Equaliser from Electric Ireland) is just available to billing customers.

If you wish to have the PAYG meter itself checked, we do not have access to the PAYG system here in the Social Media department, however the Live Chat team can assist with this query - their chat button is on this page of the Electric Ireland website. It is recommended that you check the internal appliances/wiring first though, in case there is a call-out charge to have the PAYG meter checked if the reason for the spike in consumption is internal.

Should you have any other queries, please let us know.

Best regards,
Una

Chattymummy

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi Chattymummy,

Thank you for confirming.

The Smarter PAYG meter is a reflection of the units being consumed on the main ESB Networks meter. Usually the increased requirement for top-ups means there are more energy units being consumed. As your usage has decreased yet the units being consumed have suddenly increased, the first thing to check is the internal appliances/wiring for a fault. If there is a fault, this causes the appliance(s) to work harder, resulting in more electricity units being consumed than usual.

To carry out an appliance test, power off everything, including unplugging. Then power each item back on one by one, checking the ESB Networks meter for each. Unusually increased meter activity will occur for wherever there is a fault, if this is the case. An internal fault is a query for an electrician.

Another test is to power everything off, including unplugging (as above) and then simply to check the ESB Networks meter to see whether it has also stopped moving. If it continues to move, this could also be indicative of a fault.

We wish to reassure that the Electric Ireland electricity unit rate, standing charge and PAYG service charge have not increased. The PAYG service charge (29 cent per day) is currently the lowest-cost such charge on the market.

The system of the same amount being billed every month (called Equaliser from Electric Ireland) is just available to billing customers.

If you wish to have the PAYG meter itself checked, we do not have access to the PAYG system here in the Social Media department, however the Live Chat team can assist with this query - their chat button is on this page of the Electric Ireland website. It is recommended that you check the internal appliances/wiring first though, in case there is a call-out charge to have the PAYG meter checked if the reason for the spike in consumption is internal.

Should you have any other queries, please let us know.

Best regards,
Una

No option to chat only email thought that link. Can I message you my account number so you can check the exact date my contract is up with you please. I have found a cheaper option for electricity and want to switch.. I used up ally credit phoning your customer service this morning.

Electric Ireland: Una

Hi Chattymummy,

Yes, if you private message us the relevant Electric Ireland account number, state that you are the account-holder and confirm your address and your telephone number for security/verification, we can review the contract as soon as possible then.

If you would like to speak with an advisor who has access to the PAYG system, the Chat agents are online until 5pm. If there is a message that there is no agent available, it just means that they are all on chats, but one will become available shortly.

Thanks,
Una

Chattymummy

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi Chattymummy,

Yes, if you private message us the relevant Electric Ireland account number, state that you are the account-holder and confirm your address and your telephone for security/verification, we can review the contract as soon as possible then.

If you would like to speak with an advisor who has access to the PAYG system, the Chat agents are online until 5pm. If there is a message that there is no agent available, it just means that they are all on chats, but one will become available shortly.

Thanks,
Una

Message sent.......

Chattymummy

Just want to update in case others are experiencing same.. I have done everything suggested, one by one plugged everything out and going to meter checking and still not change in meter.. My final thought on this before I leave for bord gais, which through one big switch is offering 30% discount of current unit rate, is that electric Ireland is just not economical compared to others especially pay as you go... Did my research and glad to be leaving pay as you go.. Thought it was a good option for a low usage energy customer but have found it extremely expensive lately, think its a combination of the charges compared to other suppliers.

Anyway going to be saving 300+ a year with bord gais and will be paying 60 per months as opposed to 90-120 per month at the moment