# Bord Gais Energy “loyalty team”



## _ripped_off (26 Jul 2019)

As the title suggests has anyone actually managed to speak with anyone on the BGE loyalty team to try and retain their existing discount?
The last customer service agent I was speaking with said I could just get someone else in the house hold to sign up and get new customer discount. Or that the loyalty team may have a better offer but doesn’t know when they will phone me.
Am I chasing unicorns here?


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## tallpaul (26 Jul 2019)

To be honest I wouldn't waste my time. Switching utility provider nearly always provides a saving and I ruthlessly pursue a switching strategy very year. 'Loyalty' is a complete crock these days. Companies don't believe in it so why should their customers?


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## mrblues (26 Jul 2019)

Switch to one of the other providers whoever has the best offer currently, as soon as BGE get the notification of it you'll get a retention call to stop you from switching -  then invoke your cooling off period on the switch and you're done.


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## Coldwarrior (26 Jul 2019)

They rang my father months ago when he was near the end of his electricity contract and offered him the option of keeping his existing 28% discount, which he did and has worked out well as even now its cheaper than anything else available in the market for people to sign up to. I was on the same  original discount offer and when mine was near up (a short time later) I got no call, and when I rang them myself to get the same deal it wasn't offered. Go figure. I switched.


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## _ripped_off (26 Jul 2019)

@Coldwarrior i rang them 3 months ago to check when my 28% discount was ending and they said July and someone would ring me same as you no phone call.
@mrblues I will try this strategy as the best I can get with my husband signing up as new customer is 21%

Thought it strange their customer service team even suggested I could get someone else in the house to sign up as a new customer.


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## llgon (26 Jul 2019)

Switched from Bord Gais last week when my year was up. Got a call from their loyalty team subsequently offering a 5% discount if I stick with them. Needless to say I didn't take them up on this.

Incidentally my discount was stopped two weeks early. When I queried this I was told it has happened to all customers whos discount ended this month and they were working on resolving it.


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## Coldwarrior (26 Jul 2019)

By the by, similarly to what many of us on this site do with switching mortgages to collect the cash back, you can do the same with energy providers. For example, switch to Electric Ireland to get their 150 credit offer, wait for first bill or roughly 100 euro worth of usage, then switch again to another provider with better rates or another cash back offer (Panda or SSE). EI have a 50 euro breakage fee but you're still 100 up, I've confirmed with them that they won't claw back the 150 credit. Could also use this to avail of their Nest/Google Home installation offer then switch again.


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## _ripped_off (26 Jul 2019)

llgon said:


> Switched from Bord Gais last week when my year was up. Got a call from their loyalty team subsequently offering a 5% discount if I stick with them. Needless to say I didn't take them up on this.
> 
> Incidentally my discount was stopped two weeks early. When I queried this I was told it has happened to all customers whos discount ended this month and they were working on resolving it.


I won’t wait around for a call from the “loyalty” team so 5% is what the regular customer service guy offered.


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## qwerty5 (26 Jul 2019)

I rang them and got offered the 5%.
So I switched also. 
Switching takes 5 minutes work. 
I didn't get any subsequent calls though. They just totted up the bills and took out the direct dibets.


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## SDMXTWO (30 Jul 2019)

My contract with BordGais is up next month and from a quick look on Bonkers it shows IBERDROLA a Spanish green energy company is the cheapest for me. Personally I cannot make out a power bill with all the different number sets and the initial 'level pay' which fluctuates up and down and is anything but level.

Has anyone here dealt with this Spanish company.


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## _ripped_off (30 Jul 2019)

I've heard of Iberdrola but didnt think they operated here.
I got my call yesterday (i completed the switch to electric ireland on friday) from the "loyalty" team but missed the call and when you call the number back you cant actually speak to anyone!


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## SDMXTWO (30 Jul 2019)

_ripped_off said:


> I've heard of Iberdrola but didnt think they operated here.
> I got my call yesterday (i completed the switch to electric ireland on friday) from the "loyalty" team but missed the call and when you call the number back you cant actually speak to anyone!



They seem to have started just last month (June). However I see I'm up against the same:
_"You’ll need your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) details to set up your direct debit. *Only a Republic of Ireland IBAN can be used* for switching online"._


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## gnf_ireland (3 Dec 2019)

SDMXTWO said:


> "You’ll need your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) details to set up your direct debit. *Only a Republic of Ireland IBAN can be used* for switching online".


They also don't seem to accept joint accounts either for direct debit purposes - at least online !

My Energia contact was up this week and I have switched to them. I used to own shares in them years ago, and they are a pretty decent company by all accounts (according to my Spanish friends). I am all for new players in the market, as it drives competition and hopefully some better behaviour from the utility companies.

Surprise surprise I got a call from Energia Loyalty team offering me 35% discounts. When I checked the numbers, their prices are (marginally) more expensive than Iberdrola as they have higher standard charges. What annoyed me about Energia is the discount offered was close to the new customer one - but not equal to it. If they are going to go that low, why not go the whole way and treat customers equally. 

Of course the 35% discount really means that they will price gouge me in a years time for the few days it takes to switch providers after the contact ends ! I switch on Black Friday, as its always a reminder to do this sort of thing !


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## michaelm (3 Dec 2019)

gnf_ireland said:


> Of course the 35% discount really means that they will price gouge me in a years time for the few days it takes to switch providers after the contact ends ! I switch on Black Friday, as its always a reminder to do this sort of thing !


You will provide a meter reading to the new provider on, in your case, next Black Friday, and you won't be paying Energia on units beyond that . . switching ungouged.

On a separate but related note, I switched from Electric Ireland recently when my year contract ended but they dipped into my bank account for a €50 early exit fee.  I had the bank refund this under SEPA rules and cancelled their DD.  Maybe it's just an isolated case but my suspicious mind wonders if it's a new policy just to hit everyone with this fee as not everyone will chase it up.


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## Coldwarrior (3 Dec 2019)

michaelm said:


> You will provide a meter reading to the new provider on, in your case, next Black Friday, and you won't be paying Energia on units beyond that . . switching ungouged.
> 
> On a separate but related note, I switched from Electric Ireland recently when my year contract ended but they dipped into my bank account for a €50 early exit fee.  I had the bank refund this under SEPA rules and cancelled their DD.  Maybe it's just an isolated case but my suspicious mind wonders if it's a new policy just to hit everyone with this fee as not everyone will chase it up.


I can't find the thread but this came up on the Talk to Electric Ireland forum on boards.ie a while back, seems to be very common so your suspicions may well be right. I've just switched away from EI myself after my contract ended so will double check my final bill for this.


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