Bord Gais enters the domestic electricity market

to reply to tyrekicker, they do use the ESB grid and you ring the ESB service for any problems. Bord gais just seem to be involved in the bill part!

The savings are:
10% for everyone
2% more for paying DD
2% more for Gas customers

They say that the 10% is guatanteed for 1 year, so if ESB falls so will BG electricity.

I switched yesterday.

Set up a joint account if there are two of you, our gas is in my partners name and I can't get any servicce for that.
 
maura said:
Has anyone received anything in the post since they signed up for Bord Gais electricity online, on 1st day? I haven't heard anything. I wonder if I am connected to Bord Gais yet as I unclicked the waiver? Does anyone know?
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I got this just now . .

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thank you for choosing Bord Gáis Energy to supply your electricity. We aim to provide you with excellent customer service and value for money for all your energy needs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We are currently processing your application to switch from your existing electricity supplier to Bord Gáis Energy. The switching process is easy and there is no change to the meter or wires. The meter will continue to be read in the same way as before and you will receive your electricity bill every two months from Bord Gáis Energy once your account has been fully switched over. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We would ask you to note that due to the very high volumes of customers wishing to switch their supplier to us, processing your application may take a little longer than usual. However, we aim to have you registered as our customer as soon as possible. This process can take 18 to 60 working days depending on the ESB meter read cycle, which we do not have control over. At this stage you do not need to take any action. Once you are registered with us your supply is switched over to Bord Gáis Energy and you will receive a final bill from the ESB up to your final meter read. You will also receive a letter of notification from us and a welcome pack. We will be in contact with you should there be any problems in the switching process.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Once again we thank you for choosing Bord Gáis Energy as your electricity supplier and remember we guarantee to be 10% to 14% cheaper than ESB rates for your first year and a minimum of 5% cheaper in the second and third year, even when the ESB reduce their rates! [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Please note this email is for information purposes and there is no reply facility.[/FONT]
 
Signed up yesterday. Let the savings roll (considering ESB are dropping next month too!!!)
 
Hi , I got the same notification today by email, but thanks for posting your response first. Much appreciated.
 
AFAIK, the savings are just off the units, used not the standing charge or public levy.

Still switched though!
 
Can any of the existing Airtricity/BGE subscribers comment on the level of service you might expect from their a/cs dept. I'm looking at switching, but I'm a bit dubious about giving either Airtricity or BGE my bank details while they're unproven wrt customer service.

I note that Airtricity require a €300 deposit if you don't sign up for DD; no credit card facilities are available, so it's DD or cheque. Good luck with that folks.

I wouldn't want a CGO (Consumer Gouging Organization) such as eircom or Chorus to have the facility to dip into my bank account. I'd like some reassurance that Airtricity/BGE havn't been CGOs in the past ...
 
lufc-Tom said:
no credit card facilities are available, so it's DD or cheque. Good luck with that folks.
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Why on earth would you use a credit card to pay for energy bills?

Direct debits come with a guarantee, which means that the bank refunds your money in the case of error. So you are in charge, not the organisation. It may be worth checking up on this with the bank to put your mind at rest.

In an ideal world, how would you propose paying?
 
How are you in charge? They debit the charge that appears on your bill correct or not? If they get it wrong you have to chase after them. I would prefer bill in post then you pay by credit card,cheque,in post office -you are then in charge.
 
theresa1 said:
How are you in charge? They debit the charge that appears on your bill correct or not? If they get it wrong you have to chase after them. I would prefer bill in post then you pay by credit card,cheque,in post office -you are then in charge.
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Because you get the bill before the direct debit goes through. Bord Gais/Airtricity/ESB give you 14 days to pay the bill. You therefore have plenty of time to contact them and ask them to stop the debit if the bill is over-estimated or if you a query on it. You also have a guarantee with the bank whereby if a debit does go through without your consent the bank will refund you the money immediately. So, in the unlikely event of you getting grief from the utility if a debit went through without your consent your bank will have to cough up. Seems like sufficient customer control to me.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Also got mail from BG about 18 to 60 working day to switch. When I was registering with BG I filled in a reading from ESB meter. Do saving start from the reading I gave or do ESB have to physical read my meter?

regards
 
esbnoway said:
Also got mail from BG about 18 to 60 working day to switch. When I was registering with BG I filled in a reading from ESB meter. Do saving start from the reading I gave or do ESB have to physical read my meter?

regards
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From the reading you provided.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Towger said:
I got my 'Final Bill' from the ESB yesterday, still no word fromBord Gais yet.
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The fact that you have received your final bill from the ESB means that you have been switched. Your next bill for electricity will be from Bord Gais. That could take up to 2 months or a bit more depending on ESB Networks' meter reading cycle. (ESB Networks will continue to read your meter in the normal way).

Regards,

Fnergg
 
Fnergg said:
Because you get the bill before the direct debit goes through. Bord Gais/Airtricity/ESB give you 14 days to pay the bill. You therefore have plenty of time to contact them and ask them to stop the debit if the bill is over-estimated or if you a query on it. You also have a guarantee with the bank whereby if a debit does go through without your consent the bank will refund you the money immediately. So, in the unlikely event of you getting grief from the utility if a debit went through without your consent your bank will have to cough up. Seems like sufficient customer control to me.

Regards,

Fnergg
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- Whatever about convenience you have more control by not having a direct debit set up and that's a simple fact!
 
Fnergg said:
The fact that you have received your final bill from the ESB means that you have been switched. Your next bill for electricity will be from Bord Gais. That could take up to 2 months or a bit more depending on ESB Networks' meter reading cycle. (ESB Networks will continue to read your meter in the normal way).

Regards,

Fnergg
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i must say that i enjoyed reading your informative posts on this matter, many have tried to bait you but you have not risen to it, it's always nice to get two sides of a debate
 
Diziet said:
Why on earth would you use a credit card to pay for energy bills?

Direct debits come with a guarantee, which means that the bank refunds your money in the case of error. So you are in charge, not the organisation. It may be worth checking up on this with the bank to put your mind at rest.

In an ideal world, how would you propose paying?
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Pretty much as Theresa1 said ... they send/email me a bill. If the bill is accurate, I pay online with credit card; if not, I try to contact their a/cs dept.

Fnergg said:
Because you get the bill before the direct debit goes through. Bord Gais/Airtricity/ESB give you 14 days to pay the bill. You therefore have plenty of time to contact them and ask them to stop the debit if the bill is over-estimated or if you a query on it. You also have a guarantee with the bank whereby if a debit does go through without your consent the bank will refund you the money immediately. So, in the unlikely event of you getting grief from the utility if a debit went through without your consent your bank will have to cough up. Seems like sufficient customer control to me.

Regards,

Fnergg
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That is the theory. My experience with attempting to contact Chorus/Eircom a/cs depts in the past wasn't too successful. My initial post was an attempt to discover whether existing subscribers to Airtricity/BGE services have had difficulties with them in the past.

Media reports suggest there has been a large number of transfers to BGE. How confident are you that:
a) the new billing process will work flawlessly
b) BGE have put the resources in place to deal with an increase in customer service calls

Obviously the same questions apply to Airtricity too ...

Cheers,
Tom
 
lufc-Tom said:
...............................

Media reports suggest there has been a large number of transfers to BGE. How confident are you that:
a) the new billing process will work flawlessly
b) BGE have put the resources in place to deal with an increase in customer service calls

Obviously the same questions apply to Airtricity too ...

Cheers,
Tom
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Very good points,Tom.

Electricity is not, after all, Bord Gais' core business and their customer service team may find it difficult to cope not merely with the large volumes of new business but with the very nature of electricity billing enquiries.

The whole IT aspect of the matter must also be a concern. Thousands of extra customers are bound to out a strain on their billing systems and it will be very interesting to see how BGE's and Airtricity's will cope.Both companies of course have experience of commercial electricity customers but very large volumes of domestic customers are bound to present problems in the shorter term.

Regards,

Fnergg
 
So any idea which of the 2 new players would be better for me?

BG or Airtricity?

Currently with ESB. I'm not using gas as I am on oil. SO no saving for the existing customer with BG.

From what I've been reading BG guarantee min. 10% saving on year 1 and 5% year 2 & 3. An extra 2% for going DD. Am I right so far?

Airtricty seem to offer 12% discount with DD or 13% with the eBill? Can someone explain the eBill and for how long Airtricity are offering these savings?

One last thing. Are these discounts based on being % lower than the current ESB rates over the next few years?
 
Fnergg said:
From the reading you provided.

Regards,

Fnergg
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Fnergg

I got my bill from esb yesterday and the meter reading is not what I gave when I signed up for BG. it looks like the same as any two monthly bill.

It does not look like I am getting BG rate from reading I supplied when I signed up.

Does anybody know when exactly I move to BG rate
 
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