Am I entitled to a refund?

E

evc

Guest
I have recently discovered that there has been a meter mix-up between mine and my neighbours gas meter. Essentially this means I have been paying their bills and they have been paying my bills for the past 10 months. I realised that there was something wrong when I received a bill of €500, despite the fact that I work full-time and have the heating on for max 1hour a day!! Anyway, Bord Gais are kindly "looking into the matter" - in the meantime I would like to know if I am entitled to a refund as it would seem from speaking to Bord Gais and my neighbours that there is a huge monetary difference in bills, i.e. their bills have averaged at €70 every two months and mine have averaged at between €170 - €300!! Bord Gais will not confirm any credits or refunds until they have confirmed the mix-up but before they try to give me credit, I would like to know where I stand with potentially getting a cash refund?? Any ideas?
 
If it can be shown that your boxes were mixed up, then you should certainly be entitled to a refund.....i wonder if Bord gais will try to collect from you neighbour as they probably increased their gas usage 'cos it was so cheap (their bills were going down as you tried to econimise & they probably had the heat on 24/7 wondering why everyone was complaining about the price of heating....you gotta see the funny side (once you get your refund of course!)
 
I do see the funny side. My husband and I were on a real economy drive because our bills had been consistently high no matter what we did to reduce them!! However, it does not do much for your neighbour relations, believe me! I assume that Bord Gais will try to collect the money I overpaid from the neighbours...I can't see why they wouldn't, I mean they did use the gas after all...Bord Gais estimate that the difference between our bills (excluding the bill for €500) would be in the region of €700! They must be living in sub-tropical conditions in there...it's only a two bedroom apartment!
 
I bet your neighbours will have something to say about having to pay €700. IN a nice way thats not your problem. I'm sure this is not the first house they have had gas and probably knew before you something wasn't quite right when there bills were only €70 every 2 months. Who's going to complain about getting low bills??

They might not give you a cash refund and just credit it to your account. I'd prefer the cash as i'm sure you would but i'm not sure if you can insist on getting the cash.
 
I would imagine you could insist on getting a cash refuind (once it can be proven it was their error). I can't see how they could only offer credit (though they will probably try). For all they know, you may have had to take out a loan to pay off these ever growing bills. Insist on cash.....it could take you years to use up the extra credit now you've gotten used to putting on a jumper & a pair of socks when you get cold!!

While your neighbours will have to deal with Bord Gais themselves, they could have a good case not to have to pay. If they paid in good faith, based on metre readings (rather than estimates) they would have no reason to know their bills should have been higher. There is another thread where people have posted up what their bills are & there are huge differences on similar size properties....they probably just congratuated themselves on buying such an energy efficent home. At a minimum, they shouldn;t have to pay it in one go.
 
From a similar case I know of about 5 years ago, where they were over charged 4K. Bord Gais would not give a refund (only credit) untill they were pushed hard. ie. They had their solicitor treaten to take them to court.
 
Don't know about Bord Gáis, but a few years ago there was a big mix-up (boring and complex) re our ESB bill - they refunded us after a few letters and a visit to local retail outlet. Didn't have to threaten solicitors or anything but did have to be persistent.

In all, took about 6 weeks, 3 letters and a visit IIRC.
 
Thank you all for your advice, I will of course be pushing for a cash refund as essentially I paid for a product/service which I did not receive! I am prepared for the fact that they will most probably offer me credit...but the credit I would be in in would cover my bills for nearly two years and I really don't think its reasonable to do that, seeing as I might want to move (now that I have all this extra money which I was originally paying to Bord Gais!) or change supplier...

Anyway I suppose I will just have to wait and see what the outcome is, I can't imagine it will all go smoothly, especially for my neighbours, who in all honesty I feel so sorry for! I reckon that their apartment will be alot colder from now on...but hey, at least its nearly Summer...
 
Just to update and let you all know that Bord Gais have confirmed that there was indeed a meter mix-up and I am entitled to a full cash refund or credit, whichever I prefer (cash, obviously!). Haven't heard from the neighbours if Bord Gais have been in touch but from speaking to Bord Gais, it seems they will be liable for any shortfall. Thank you all again for your advice...
 
Delighted to hear of such a good outcome for you. Hope the neighbours are still ok with you??
 
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