Bord Gais Energy not really interested in holding on to customer of 40 years.

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Grizzly

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I am a customer of Bord Gais and have been for over 40 years. I use about 13000 kWh a year.

I recently logged on to Bonkers and found that there were a number of customers willing to offer me lower costs for my Gas only business. My savings would be about €175 per year by switching.

I rang Bord Gais out of my loyalty to them to see if they could match their competitors prices. The initial response from the customer service team, after they spoke with their loyalty team was that they weren't interested in making me any offer.

I was a bit gobsmacked. I asked could I speak with their loyalty department and I was told that they don't speak to the public. I put some pressure on and eventually I got to speak to someone from their loyalty department.

I was told that the only discounts being offered were if I moved to Level pay, Paperless Billing.
I said that I didn't want Level Pay. They said that Level Pay was the only option available.

In the end an offer of €30 credit was made to be. I declined.

Has anyone else had the same experience with Bord Gais and what would you have done in my case?

Thanks
 
I see that most companies or looking for Level Pay payments or Fixed amount direct debits rather than variable amount direct debits. Why is this?
 
I hope you're not similarly loyal to your electricity,phone,broadband and insurance providers.
 
michaelm said:
You should change every year online, no need to ring anyone.
Click to expand...

I am in receipt of a benefits household package. A payment toward my Gas Bill.

I also rang Bord Gais and they couldn't have cared if I stayed with them or went to another provider. So, because of their attitude to me I am also going to move, even though the saving is less than €100.

Anyhow, how do I transfer the payment I am receiving from the Department of Social Welfare to my current Bord Gais bill to the new provider. Is it complicated. Has anyone done this before?

Thanks
 
None of the utilities/banks/insurance companies etc have any interest in loyalty anymore, that day is gone.

Re the Dept payment I know for some of the companies they don't actually switch the payment to them and it is paid directly to yourself with whatever payment you are on. I know for electricity that when I switched from Electric Ireland for my father they couldn't do the benefits package to the new provider so it was just added to his pension. Trouble was then it never got put towards the bill but spent!
 
If you want to see Loyalty in action go North.

The overriding law of expenditure hit me between the eyes the day I retired. If you want to save money (or be loyal to yourself) change providers of utilities every time your contract expires. I've changed so many suppliers in the past year that I don't even know who I am with for anything. But, we're saving a few bob every month. Laya - Gone; Airtricity - Gone; Vodafone - Gone; Whoever we were with for refuse collection - Gone; Bord Gais Energy - Gone. We'll probably sign up with these again, but only if they provide a cheaper service. Thank God for Call Centres. Insert winking smilie here.

Loyalty is in your pocket not your head.
 
I'm surprised people had loyalty towards a utilities company? What have then done to deserve loyalty? They provide you with a utility and you pay them every month. If you have an issue, it is increasingly difficult to even talk to someone never mind get it resolved.

Loyalty should be to people, not to companies.
 
I am very disappointed in the response that I got from Bord Gais. I have been with them for well over 30 years. When I phoned them their attitude to me, and the customer service rep said it. "sure you will probably move again next year".

My track record with them for over 30 years showed that I was not one to constantly "switch". This comment really annoyed me. As far as he was concerned I was a switcher and as a result he didn't even bother to make the effort to keep me.

Well, I will be switching as a result.
 
You do realise that the Bord Gais company present now is not the one that was there 40, or even 5 years ago?
Bord Gais sold their commercial energy business, along with the Bord Gais name to Centrica in 2014 (as demanded by the Troika).
https://www.independent.ie/business...s-off-for-parent-group-centrica-35477372.html

The "old" Bord Gais, which is a semi-state is now Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) and still runs the Gas Network (pipes) in Ireland.
 
Anyone with the same utility company for 30yrs is wasting a huge amount of money every year. They penalise loyalty, rather than reward it. The only answer is to move every year.
In my area, this doesn't apply to bins.
I don't think it applies to health insurance either.
For broadband, UPC offer the best speeds in my area. I generally call them up every year and they offer me a reasonable discount over the phone. Often tempted to switch to Eir but have heard bad reports from neighbours regarding poor speeds.
 
Why would Bord Gais or any utility be loyal to a customer of 40 years? Chances are, if they do nothing, that customer will stay loyal.
In such examples loyalty isn’t s two way street, it’s a game of tennis.
The utility company is loyal to potential new customers not to existing customers.

To the OP, silly you. You were being loyal. That’s it.

Anyway, as for asking them for something in return, “computer says no”.
It’s not in the hands of person you were talking to.

I dunno the BG customer service setup, is it in-house or is it contracted out? If the latter, as soon as you got off the phone that person could have been selling bedsheets with a free set of steak knives.
 
SlurrySlump said:
how do I transfer the payment I am receiving from the Department of Social Welfare to my current Bord Gais bill to the new provider.
Click to expand...
Contact Welfare and have the benefit changed to go directly into your bank account. Then change provider online. Write it on your calendar and change every year.
 
We need to change the mindset in Ireland regarding utilities. Replace the word 'loyalty' with 'laziness' in this debate, and people might start thinking about it in a way that will help prevent them getting ripped off.

There are thousands of elderly people paying extortionate Electric Ireland electricity bills and Bord Gais gas bill because they think those companies have somehow treated them well for decades. They seem afraid that changing companies might somehow risk the electricity and gas not working how they are used to. In my view, the pricing structure is allowing these people to be preyed upon by these.companies.
 
The word "loyalty" keeps coming up here. Like LLedLLedLLed (did he/she intend calling himself/herself "Idleydiddley"?)said in the previous post replace "loyalty" with "laziness" and you have a starting point. Introduce another few words "call centre" and "account number" - All you are is an account number, nothing more, a source of their earning; they are not going to run at a loss, you know!

Oh! and "Call Centre." Often these sales areas are shared by several utility companies i.e. one call centre could be representing two or more of the utility companies from the same building but separated by a partition. It is not inconceivable that Jack the Call Centre sales person could be vouching for one utility at any given time and vouching for a competing utility later the same day.

Incidentally, I know a few call centre jockeys (not an offensive term; they refer to themselves similarly) and believe me they themselves change providers like we change our socks.

If you're still stuck on subscribing to the same company for years and are paying dearer for the privilege just think that you pay a Financial Advisor to invest a few bob to bring in a low interest rate profit. By changing providers you earn more and have no commissions etc to pay. And you are using the same electricity, gas, telephone, mobile phone, hospitals etc. Get Movin' or Pay the Cost.
 
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