# Switching from ESB to Bord Gais



## NavanMan1 (8 May 2009)

Hi,
   Just wondering if anyone here has completed the switchover from ESB to Bord Gais for electricity supply ?

The reason I ask is that I got my final Closing Account bill from the ESB this morning and I noticed that the few cent extra that they took from my bill in the last period to round it up, has not been refunded in this final one.

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else ?


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## Madra (8 May 2009)

> I noticed that the few cent extra that they took from my bill in the last period to round it up, has not been refunded in this final one


Was the name CavanMan1 already taken or is this a windup ?


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## Smashbox (8 May 2009)

Call them and they will issue you with a cheque for the amount owed


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## JoeB (8 May 2009)

I don't see this as a windup.. I see it potentially as a deliberate ploy by ESB to squeeze a few cents out of customers... 

I mean, what is the alternative?, that ESB aren't aware of this?.. that's hard to believe so I reckon that it is a considered policy by ESB to take the money.. the only way to prevent it is to complain to a regulator and force them to change.. otherwise most customers won't complain over 35 cents.. and ESB will benefit from a windfall which they don't deserve... 

Say 30 cents from 10,000 customers.. equals 3,000 Euro. Significant or not? What if 100,000 customers change over to get 10% off.. then it may add up to 30,000 Euro.. as I say, a considered policy by ESB which they'd probably describe as a 'clerical error' or some such.. but it may benefit them to the tune of 30,000 Euros.. hardly a minor error.


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## Fnergg (10 May 2009)

There is no rip-off. If you go back on your bills you will find that the rounding works by means of credits on some bills, debits on others. At the end of the day - or in your case, the end of your account - you will have been charged exactly for what you used, not a cent more or less.

There is no rounding on a Closing Account and so it will show the cents as well as the Euro amount. That is because there is obviously no compensatory mechanism in a final bill as there is in a regular two-monthly bill where the credit or debit rounding in one is compensated in the next.

Regards,

Fnergg


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## Speedwell (10 May 2009)

I much prefer the rounding that ESB do instead of piddly cents with Bord Gais. Makes things much easier to deal with IMO.


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## Frank (11 May 2009)

if you are on DD what difference does it make?

Even not on DD I would be paying by Laser so again no hassle. 

Make sure you check your meter against your final bill Sis got stung with extra units to ESB, until she rang them, seem to be a lot of Estimates even though you would think a read would be needed to close out the accounts.


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## Fnergg (12 May 2009)

Frank said:


> if you are on DD what difference does it make?
> 
> Even not on DD I would be paying by Laser so again no hassle.
> 
> Make sure you check your meter against your final bill Sis got stung with extra units to ESB, until she rang them, seem to be a lot of Estimates even though you would think a read would be needed to close out the accounts.




You can request to have the rounding switched off if you wish. It doesn't make a difference one way or another though if you pay by direct debit or laser - nobody is being overcharged by a single cent by getting rounded bills.   

As regards the estimated final readings, it was Bord Gais' decision to go with these. I agree that an actual read should be used to close an account but Bord Gais - for reasons best known to themselves -  opted out of accepting customer reads for switching. Meter readers call only 4 times a year so the next scheduled read in many cases will be an estimate. 

Had Bord Gais accepted customer reads instead of waiting for the next scheduled read customers would (a) have been switched much earlier - assuming BG could get their act together and clear the backlog and (b) have received final bills from the ESB based on actual reads. 

Blame Bord Gais, not ESB.   

Regards,

Fnergg


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## Frank (12 May 2009)

Fnergg how is the job with the Esb going for you  

If someone was clsoing an account with me I would send a meter reader.

regardless of what info BG or anyone else gave me.


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## Fnergg (12 May 2009)

Frank said:


> Fnergg how is the job with the Esb going for you
> 
> If someone was clsoing an account with me I would send a meter reader.
> 
> regardless of what info BG or anyone else gave me.




Hi Frank,

The job with ESB? I wish. Isn't everyone in the ESB from the cleaners up on a minimum wage of €250,000 or something? I'd be so lucky.

The most pragmatic and practical approach when opening or closing a domestic/business account is to get the applicant/customer to provide his/her own meter reading. 

Meter readers are contracted to read on a two- monthly cycle , not to take special reads in between times. If a reading had to be taken outside of the scheduled dates an ESB Networks Technician would have to do it at a cost to the supplier - ESB Customer Supply, Bord Gais, Airtricity - of about €100.

Given the very low profit margins in the domestic sector in particular that cost would be unsustainable. Hence the obvious solution of getting the customer to do it. ESB Customer Supply has adopted that approach for years, likewise Airtricity, and doubtless Bord Gais will as well especially when their domestic customers open and close accounts when moving house.  

The vast majority of people are honest and give the reading as it is on the meter. There may be a tiny minority who will change it in their favour if switching supplier but the overall cost to Bord Gais, had they adopted that approach, would have been minimal. Instead, they have gone for the next scheduled read approach which has caused long delays for customers switching to them (60+ days appears to be the norm). The customers also of course have to pay the higher ESB cost for the units consumed in the meantime. 

Maybe they should shoot a coda to their Big Switch ad ...I would suggest Lucy Kennedy speaks to the camera as follows:  "By the way, we think that most of you are lying farkers and so we will not trust you to give us an honest meter reading. We still want you as a customer though". (I can see a career in advertising beckoning. It's time to grow that ponytail). 
          .
Airtricity accept customer reads and the switching process with them is efficient and quick. 

Regards,

Fnergg


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## bond-007 (12 May 2009)

Can I opt out of BG as they are taking so long to switch me or am I tied in even thou I have not been switched yet?


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## Fnergg (13 May 2009)

bond-007 said:


> Can I opt out of BG as they are taking so long to switch me or am I tied in even thou I have not been switched yet?


 
You should contact BG by phone and tell them you wish to cancel your switch application. Follow that up with an email confirming the request and quote the name of the call centre agent you were speaking to.

There should be no reason why BG would not cancel your request.

Make sure you have your MPRN number when you contact them - that is found on the top right hand side of your ESB bill.


Regards,

Fnergg


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## Neilc78 (21 Jul 2009)

I got my most recent esb bill today. I am on a rural nightsaver tarif. My bill says I am paying 15.54c for day units and 7.69 for night units. When I go to Bord Gais website it says my rate is 17.64c/8.73c which is clearly not true. The rates Bord Gais are offering to a new customer is 15.52c/7.68c which is effectively no saving on what I am paying. So where is the 10% discount or am i missing something?


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## wishbone (22 Jul 2009)

One advice, if you are a pensioner, you will need to claim back on a regular basis from Social Welfare the cost of your 'free connection' or at least that's what by Dad was told.


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## Leo (22 Jul 2009)

Neilc78 said:


> I got my most recent esb bill today. I am on a rural nightsaver tarif. My bill says I am paying 15.54c for day units and 7.69 for night units. When I go to Bord Gais website it says my rate is 17.64c/8.73c which is clearly not true. The rates Bord Gais are offering to a new customer is 15.52c/7.68c which is effectively no saving on what I am paying. So where is the 10% discount or am i missing something?


 
Have a read of the small print, clearly states BG prices include VAT (at 13.5%), ESB's don't???


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## bond-007 (30 Aug 2009)

2 points.

1. You can simply bypass the 1850 moneymaker by calling 01 8529534. Handy if you want to use your mobile minutes or you have unlimited landline calls.
http://www.saynoto1890.com/ is one of my favourite recession beating websites.  I never call those 1850/1890/0818 numbers unless there is no other option available.

2. When I switched I did supply a meter reading but the final account was still based on an estimate, so I fail to see the significance of supplying a reading if neither side can be bothered to use it.


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