Estimated Bill over 20 times higher than actual usage

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tinymouse

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My latest Bord Gais bill came in, and the estimated usage is enormous. Over 20x what it actually was. They've already taken the money by direct debit.
I've contacted Bord Gais by email. Given them the correct meter reading. That was over a month ago. They're not responding to emails. When I phone them, they just say "this will be reflected on my next bill". I don't know if this means my next bill will be for €0, or will they actually refund me the money? Because I really don't want to wait 20 months for the overpayment to be cancelled out.

Is there anything I can do to get this money? Should I arrange a chargeback from the bank.

And secondly, is there a way of setting a maximum cap on direct debits so that this doesn't happen again.

I know I should have manually submitted meter readings, and I had tried that multiple times on the Bord Gais website, but for whatever reason it always gave me an error message. I've since learned that I can do it on the Gas Networks Ireland page, so I'll do that in future.
 
You would have got a bill 14 days before the direct debit was taken - did you not notice the amount then?
 
No idea how they deal with such a large overpayment.

When did you switch provider last? It is rarely economical to stay with the same provider year after year. If you're out of contract you should looking into the benefits of switching. It would also mean they'd have to give you your overpayments back sooner rather then later.
 
If you cannot get this resolved in a timely manner and to your satisfaction then check their customer charter/codes of practice for details of how to make a formal complaint and what you can do in that context.

Bord Gáis Energy | Our Codes & Customer Charter

Bord Gáis Energy has six Codes of Practice covering all areas of our service to our customers.
www.bordgaisenergy.ie
 
tinymouse said:
I know I should have manually submitted meter readings, and I had tried that multiple times on the Bord Gais website, but for whatever reason it always gave me an error message. I've since learned that I can do it on the Gas Networks Ireland page, so I'll do that in future.
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I believe, although I'm not a customer, you can also do it over the phone via their customer services number.
 
You'll get an error message if you haven't submitted one for ages and it is way off with what they think it is.
Even if submitted by other channels, it won't automatically be accepted by your provider for billing purposes.

I had same issue. You'll have to get meter read, or else even if you phone to speak to someone you may need to send in a photo of meter with you holding today's paper *

* Yes I have had to do this.
 
Spoke to them again. They've asked me to take photo with the newspaper. :rolleyes:

Also, they said I could switch to a fixed monthly payment instead of a direct debit. Only problem is it's based on the average of my last year of usage, so it'd be 5 times my usual bill.

Anyway, I'll wait and see when my account becomes credited. Then might look at switching providers, so at least they'll be forced to issue a refund of the credit in my account.
 
tinymouse said:
Also, they said I could switch to a fixed monthly payment instead of a direct debit.
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Don't do that. They tend to slightly overcharge you along the way to ensure they're not left short or have to ask you to supplement, and there have been stories on here and elsewhere of people struggling to recover over-payments when switching to another supplier.
 
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tinymouse said:
Spoke to them again. They've asked me to take photo with the newspaper. :rolleyes:
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If they have any doubt, ask them to come out and read it again. If the reading is abnormal (i.e. much higher than your normal usage) then they should give you the benefit of the doubt.

You should be thankful that the mistake was with your gas meter and not your electricity meter or you could be getting a visit from the Gardaí for growing special plants.
 
You can recall the DD, no questions asked, via your bank if you so wish and I think you have up to 8 weeks from when the DD was taken to do so. Having said that, there is then always the risk Bord Gais will try and cut you off.
 
Páid said:
If they have any doubt, ask them to come out and read it again.
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The suppliers don't read meters, they get them from Gas Networks Ireland or ESB Networks who don't generally do it on demand.
 
Leo said:
The suppliers don't read meters, they get them from Gas Networks Ireland or ESB Networks who don't generally do it on demand.
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And it's probably contracted out to a private company.

There must be a process where an incorrect meter reading can be verified by whoever is supposed to read the meter.
 
A lot of discounts these days with these suppliers are also based on D.D. payment and on-line billing so worth checking if you have signed up to same.
 
I had the opposite issue with Bord Gais for my gas bill, i joined them last April, submitted a number of readings myself, and by the November bill, i noticed they were all estimated, i contacted them, and they told me that Gas Networks Ireland do all the gas meter reading, and if i recall correctly, are only legally obliged to read a gas meter once or twice a year, they told me to submit a meter reading just before my bill was to issue, which i did, and i got an actual bill 2 weeks ago.

I would contact them to arrange a refund or partial refund, and/or get them to confirm all future direct debits will be ceased, until such time as the balance reduces to zero. I agree cancelling direct debits with your bank can be problematic, bot to mind excessive fees.

However, find out the correct date to submit your own reading, as the few i submitted were ignored as they were not done just before the bill was issued, thats what they told me anyway.
 
Páid said:
And it's probably contracted out to a private company.

There must be a process where an incorrect meter reading can be verified by whoever is supposed to read the meter.
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Looks like the photo with the newspaper is the approach the suppliers use where there is doubt. They in turn can contact the network operator to investigate.
 
tinymouse said:
My latest Bord Gais bill came in, and the estimated usage is enormous. Over 20x what it actually was
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tinymouse said:
Because I really don't want to wait 20 months for the overpayment to be cancelled out
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Are you actually saying that they have charged you for over a year and a half's worth of gas/electricity?

Or are you trying to say that they estimated your usage at 400 units (for example) and when you submitted your real actual reading, you only used 20 based on your previous bill also being a high estimate.

There is a massive difference between the two 20x scenarios. If it is the second, then it work itself out in the next bill. If it is the first, then you can bring your complaint further to the CRU if you are getting nowhere with bord gais

Complain to your energy provider | CRU.ie

If you are not satisfied with the service provided by your energy supplier or network operator you can complain to them. Find out how.
www.cru.ie www.cru.ie
 
Leo said:
Looks like the photo with the newspaper is the approach the suppliers use where there is doubt. They in turn can contact the network operator to investigate.
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Seems like a slightly dated approach. I can't remember the last time we had a hard copy newspaper in the house!
 
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