Fuel Poverty

Very good point. Landlords should not be able to compel tenants to use those very expensive providers.
 
Very good point. Landlords should not be able to compel tenants to use those very expensive providers.
Landlords don't and can't compel tenants on which provider to use. Tenants choose the prepay model so they can monitor and manage their usage.
 
You are correct @dubdub123, we must look at things in the round and not just the cost of domestic fuel.
Yes, people can choose to reduce their domestic energy consumption much easier than they can reduce their cost of commuting to and from work. This is particularly the case in rural areas.
 
When my son was renting he was forced to use a pre-pay system.
Your son had the right to pay to remove the prepay meter with the landlords consent and get a credit account from the energy supplier.

Why would a landlord care how a tenant pays for energy. It has nothing to do with the landlord as the relationship is between the tenant and the energy supplier.
 
I know that the essential staff at Intel are not working from home, yes some of the staff can work from home but who fixes the faults at 3am in the morning not the guy WFH 9 to 5. There is a huge staff in that plant that need to drive there every day for work .

I mean there is a wilfull ignorane in government organisations like the esri who were lucky enough to all avail of WFH. They are wilfully ignorant of the reality of the Irish economy and their latest suggestions were based on utopian ideas not reality. Luckily enough the government seems to also have dismissed their latest report
 
Your son had the right to pay to remove the prepay meter with the landlords consent and get a credit account from the energy supplier.
Yes, that, in effect, is a compulsion. The Landlord has pre-installed the most expensive option and the tenant is forced to use it unless they incur significant a extra cost. That makes using luxury items (such as tumble dryers ) even more expensive.
 
who fixes the faults at 3am in the morning not the guy WFH 9 to 5
Someone on site.
Or else someone at home from their laptop.
Or else someone in Malaysia or in Arizona. And those folks from abroad don't commute to the site by car.

There is a huge staff in that plant that need to drive there every day for work .
I get that. Which is why I said alternatives should be considered first if possible.

And of course not all of them need to drive every day. A lot of them choose to when alternatives are available.
 
Yes, that, in effect, is a compulsion. The Landlord has pre-installed the most expensive option and the tenant is forced to use it unless they incur significant a extra cost. That makes using luxury items (such as tumble dryers ) even more expensive.
Indeed. There's a few landlords that insist on pre-pay meters so they don't get hit by unpaid electricity bills.
I would steer clear from those landlords or properties, but given the choice nowadays...
 
Joe, Intel is a 24hr/7/365 operation and nothing is "left to chance " the staff covering 3am breakdowns are already on site from whenever their shift starts.

I know this because I know dozens who work there.
 
Joe, Intel is a 24hr/7/365 operation and nothing is "left to chance " the staff covering 3am breakdowns are already on site from whenever their shift starts.

I know this because I know dozens who work there.
Not correct. There are many staff who work remotely who have the the ability to fix issues.
 
Yes, that, in effect, is a compulsion. The Landlord has pre-installed the most expensive option and the tenant is forced to use it unless they incur significant a extra cost. That makes using luxury items (such as tumble dryers ) even more expensive.
Depending on the property I suspect either (a) a previous tenant had the meter installed or (b) the landlord felt he was responsible for a previous tenants unpaid energy bill.

I have never heard of any property built were a prepay meter was installed rather than a normal meter.

If it was cost efficient your son could have paid for the prepaid meter removal and enjoyed lower cost energy.

It would appear he did not.
 
How can you pick up and use a tool remotely? Or open a door, mop a floor?
You said the staff covering break downs were already on site. That is incorrect. It's a massively automated operation and there are support staff on site but also at home and overseas reacting to issues at all hours. That is a fact. Not all fixes require a mop or an on site presence.
 
Depending on the property I suspect either (a) a previous tenant had the meter installed or (b) the landlord felt he was responsible for a previous tenants unpaid energy bill.
Probably, but the next tenant was still left with a more expensive option in situ.
I have never heard of any property built were a prepay meter was installed rather than a normal meter.
Either have I.
If it was cost efficient your son could have paid for the prepaid meter removal and enjoyed lower cost energy.

It would appear he did not.
Yes, because that required a larger up-front cost for the tenant. In effect the cost of the landlords relationship with the previous tenant falls on the next tenant. That shouldn't be the case.
 
Another side argument gets legs...
The employees who are required to be on site have no choice but to be on site and so have to commute. The CSO and other State employees who can work from home see things from their own perspective. That's the point that was being made.

With the right IT set-up many diagnostic decisions in healthcare can be made remotely. An MRI or a X-ray can be read from home but there still needs to be doctors on site to treat the patient.
 
Someone on site.
Or else someone at home from their laptop.
Or else someone in Malaysia or in Arizona. And those folks from abroad don't commute to the site by car.
I'm afraid you don't know, Intel and many pharma plants are big industrial complexes ,many things can go wrong , chemical leaks ,pumps stopping, the guy on his laptop from Malaysia can make mistakes that have to be rectified immediately by guys on site at 3am.
Yes you can switch on and off a pump at 3am but you can't fix downstream problems that result from this. Therefore these plants would always have critical processes controlled by guys on the ground never remotely. These people are not peripheral or inconsequential they are core workers.

Those guys don't get to their jobs on the 46a bus at 1am because no such service exists
 
Yeah but removing the prepaid meter could have saved your son in the long term. Your son rented the property as it was.

Why when the lease was been agreed did your Son not mention the issue and let the landlord decide if he wished to proceed with the lease.