Serious issue with Bord Gais

Hi Guys

Can I get some advice off of you.

Back in January I moved into an apartment. Our first gas bill in april (3 monthly bill) was for 680. Which is completely incorrect. Every other bill since for 2 months has been for no more than 85 euro. I rang in april to bord gais who promised they would check it out and get back to me. I waited a week and called back. They said that they were still looking into it but our boiler might need a servicing. They said they would arrange a service and call me back. Another week goes by and nothing. I call them again and promised a call back.

Long story short. Almost 6 months later and 68 phone calls on my behalf and still its not sorted. I spoke to a “ Manager in the customer services department” 3 weeks ago and promised me she would get the overcharge wiped. She never did it and actually left the company 2 days after our phone call. I got another manager who was extremely unhelpful who promised me a call back from their complaints department. This never happened. I got annoyed and told them if they didn’t call me by 12 the next day I was seeking legal advice. No phone call. I rang back about 4 pm and was put through to the guy in the complaints department who was soo rude and defensive. He told me that he seen the message about calling me at 12 but knew he wouldn’t get to it and seen I was threatening legal action and because he couldn’t get to me before 12 he seen no point in calling me. His exact words. He got very defensive when I called him up on it.

Anyway he went and checked it out, called me the next day and told me the systems had been down all day and couldn’t get to see the notes on my account left by managers about the issue and went on to say what he thought was wrong. I tried to stop him because what he was saying was the complete opposite to what I had been told. He told me to stop being rude and cutting him off, which I wasn’t, I was trying to say that maybe he should wait till the systems come back to see the notes before going through incorrect info with me as I was already annoyed enough. He told me that his info was correct and perhaps I just didn’t like what I was hearing. Now after waiting 6 months and spending about 40 hours on the phone to them, this was not a good thing to say. I asked him to get his manager to call me.

I left ten messages, I emailed ( which I got a read receipt from his manager) and he hasn’t called back once. Totally ignored me. I refuse point blank to pay them a penny till this is sorted but they don’t seem to care. This is a very short version of what has happened. One girl actually said that maybe I did use that amount of gas because January was a cold month. Every poxy month in Ireland is a cold month. What type of customer service is this. Ive had to go through my story about 40 times to 40 different people adding on more each time because im constantly lied to by them. Now most times im ringing from work so I have the majority of these calls are on record. Is there anything I can do. I want compensation for this at this point. Ive never come across anything like it.

Are you in Dublin, call into their HQ on Foley street I think it is

Gas is billed based on usage and a standing charge.

What was your meter reading when you moved in, what is it now ? The difference between the two is how many units have been used. Multiply that by the per unit charge (with whatever weighting they currently apply) andyou have the cost of the gas used. Add in the standing charge and you have the total charge to you.

How does that compare to the amount they have billed you ?

z

edit - just checked your post - the first bill was the huge one, so what probably happened was you ended up paying for the previous tenants usage. If it's a new build, maybe you paid for the builders tea making facility while the premises were being built. Your starting point should be what was the meter reading the day you took possession (if buying) or moved in (if renting).

yeah the first manager who has since left the company agreed to wipe 397 off it, said that the meter reading they got from my estate agents was the same as the one they got from the estate agents when the tennants moved out 3 months prior to this. the gas was on a timer when we moved in so thats where this came from. but i wasnt aware of any figure that was given, they never ran it by me to check. Bord gais originally stated i have to pay it and get it back from my landlord. but its not her fault either, she didnt give the figure, she is in australia and the estate agents are no longer in business that were dealing with it.

Technically it is the estate agent or landlords fault. It would be normal when renting to agree the meter readings on the day you move in and it sounds like this didn't happen. In these situations the new tenant ends up with exactly the sort of problem you have now.

They (or the old tenant) clearly did the equivalent when the last tenancy finished up. This is how Bord Gais know about the reading when the last person left. What *should* have happened is that the gas bill comes out of the old tenants name and is assigned to the landlord with a zero balance. Bord Gais have to have someone on the account to charge for gas used. They don't care that it's unoccupied - someone is using their gas. When the new tenant moves in the bill is moved to their name again with a zero balance and the landlord settles up for any gas used.

If you have no way to determine what the reading was when you moved in then all you can hope for is that you get someone nice on the phone some day and they go ahead and wipe that amount for you. If not, then Bord Gais are within their rights to charge you for the gas used in your name whether you were there or not.

z

well i never signed any document to even sign up to bord gais, nothing at all.

I mean i know i would have had to do it, thats not my dispute, but i never signed a thing so to say that i have to pay is mad, i never had any issue with paying what i owe but i dont owe that, and the fact they messed me about for 6 months and lied to me etc has to also count in my favour. I have all the calls recorded on our work system, so i have proof of everything that was said. they are aware i was recording the calls in case someone mentions that

Ah.

Well if you didn't sign up yourself, then *clearly* the landlord or estate agent is in the wrong as they supplied an incorrect meter reading when signing you up.

Presumably they did this when they realised they would be stuck with a €680 gas bill for heating an empty apartment for a few months.

My approach in this case would be to tell Bord Gais that you didn't sign up, you didn't provide a meter reading and you are disputing the reading. Similar to your previous approach but here the emphasis is on the fact that you never called them or signed anything and someone else put the account in your name with incorrect details.

This should work with them, but don't try to avoid the entire bill or claim the entire account is invalid because you didn't sign anything. The alternative will be a disconneciton (loss of service) and a reconnection (after a few weeks or whenver they feel like it) and a bill for reconnection. Make an offer for the first month and you should be OK, but don't start off by giving out about the 100 phone calls you've made, the poor service, etc . . . just focus on the bit about the incorrect reading being sent in and trying to adjust this reading.

z

I have also hda issues with incorrect billing and its a nightmare to sort out. I again was refusing to pay until the matter was sorted do they sent a credit control rep calling to my house looking for payment!!!

When we moved into our house - the meter reading provided to Bord Gais by estate agents/seller - was given 3 weeks before we moved in. So we duly asked our solicitor to write to estate agent and advise that our agreed date was X and the metre reading was 3 weeks before this - while house was still occupied. The additional cost was only 90.00 on our bill - but 90.00 I did not wish to pay.

Perhaps you could get your solicitor to write to landlords and advise that X amount is owed on Gas Bill and it is up to them to pay it?