Agressive Calling for Bill Payment

robd · 10-05-2012 3:07pm #1

What's the story with the seriously aggressive tactics with regard to phone calls to mobile numbers demanding bill payment.

In general I pay every second bill, particularly now that ESB are too lazy/tight to read meter bi-monthly and now only read meter every 4 months. I see ZERO problem with this as I've done it for the last 15 years no problem. Thus it's a precedent. Bills aren't particuarly high either, average 80-90 per month.

4 calls this morning and 1 yesterday (which was answered) demanding payment of 2 unpaid bills. Hadn't received 2nd bill yet. Was there when I got home. Bill dated 08/05/2012. Yesterday was 09/05/2012. Paid it last night though AIB's online banking. Yet 4 calls this morning.

Last I checked you have a minimum of 7 days to pay a bill. At the very least days need to be given between calls for arrival of bill and clearing of bank payment.

Electric Ireland - Your behavior is outrageous !!! If this continues I will be making complaints to the relevant authorities re harassment.

cookie1977 · 10-05-2012 3:13pm

Can I ask why dont you pay the bills when Electric Ireland bill you and why dont you submit your own meter readings?

robd · 10-05-2012 3:25pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

Can I ask why dont you pay the bills when Electric Ireland bill you and why dont you submit your own meter readings?

1. Free credit (on every 2nd bill)
2. Why would I bother to do that? I pay for the service.

EI: Una · 10-05-2012 3:33pm

Hi Robd,

The payment terms for each individual bill are to have the balance cleared in full, two weeks after the date of issue of the bill.
Our colleagues ESB Networks endeavour to read the meter (subject to accessibility) a maximum of four times per year; the remaining two bills are always based on estimates, which are made up for in subsequent bills. In order to eliminate estimates, a customer reading can be submitted - two ways of doing so are online or via our smartphone meter-reading app.

A payment made via online banking can take a number of days to come through, so it is advisable to make the payment in sufficient time in advance of the bill due date. The bill is for the previous two months' usage and another way of managing it (if not paying direct debit) would be to make one-off payments onto the account when possible throughout the two months, which will reduce, or even clear, the bill total by the time billing period arrives.

The calls/texts are reminders to customers whose bill has not been cleared by the due date, and as a way to help prevent arrears accruing.

Regards,
Una

robd · 10-05-2012 3:39pm

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi Robd,

The payment terms for each individual bill are to have the balance cleared in full, two weeks after the date of issue of the bill.
Our colleagues ESB Networks endeavour to read the meter (subject to accessibility) a maximum of four times per year; the remaining two bills are always based on estimates, which are made up for in subsequent bills. In order to eliminate estimates, a customer reading can be submitted - two ways of doing so are online or via our smartphone meter-reading app.

A payment made via online banking can take a number of days to come through, so it is advisable to make the payment in sufficient time in advance of the bill due date. The bill is for the previous two months' usage and another way of managing it (if not paying direct debit) would be to make one-off payments onto the account when possible throughout the two months, which will reduce, or even clear, the bill total by the time billing period arrives.

The calls/texts are reminders to customers whose bill has not been cleared by the due date, and as a way to help prevent arrears accruing.

Regards,
Una

You are ringing 1 day after bill was issued and then 2 days after bill was issued. This has nothing to do with the due date. Please re-read my original post.

It's not a reminder. It's aggressive harassment which I am demanding that you stop doing. I no longer wish to receive these texts and phone calls. How can I stop it?

And I will not be changing how I pay as this is what I have always done which was not a problem until you rebranded from ESB to Electric Ireland. If I wished to do this I would sign up to your new cheaper direct debit tariffs or switch to Airtricity or Bord Gais. I did not, specifically as I do not wish to pay promptly. Hence I pay the higher rate.

EI: Una · 10-05-2012 3:49pm

robd wrote: »

You are ringing 1 day after bill was issued and then 2 days after bill was issued. This has nothing to do with the due date. Please re-read my original post.

Hi again Robd

My understanding was that you were being called with regard to two bills?

It's not a reminder. It's aggressive harassment which I am demanding that you stop doing. I no longer wish to receive these texts and phone calls. How can I stop it?

There is no way to stop such reminders if there is a balance overdue, so we would advise customers to clear the balance or contact us to set up an instalment plan - these would be the only ways to discontinue the reminders.

And I will not be changing how I pay as this is what I have always done which was not a problem until you rebranded from ESB to Electric Ireland.

The terms of payment have always been to have each bill cleared two weeks after the date of issue - unless the customer overpays and puts themselves into credit resulting in a balance being cleared before a bill is issued.

If you like, I can have a look at your account. I would just need the Electric Ireland account number, the name on the account/confirmation that you are the named account-holder, and the address/telephone number/date of birth on the account.

Regards,
Una

cookie1977 · 10-05-2012 3:52pm

robd wrote: »

1. Free credit (on every 2nd bill)
2. Why would I bother to do that? I pay for the service.

But surely paying promptly would stop the calls and calling in your own reading would keep your bills accurate. No?

robd · 10-05-2012 4:42pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

But surely paying promptly would stop the calls and calling in your own reading would keep your bills accurate. No?

If I wanted to pay promptly I could choose another service provider, sign up to direct debit and get cheaper rates. Instead I choose to pay every 2nd bill (and hence higher rate) as I've done for 15 years.

robd · 10-05-2012 4:49pm

Electric Ireland: Una wrote: »

Hi again Robd

My understanding was that you were being called with regard to two bills?

I was called regarding 2 bills when I couldn't possible have received the 2nd bill. If you issue bill on 08/05 (I double checked date) how could I possible have received it on the morning of 09/05 when you called demanding payment of 2 unpaid bills? You then called 4 times on 10/05. How could the money (paid through online banking on evening of 09/05, the very same day I received bill) have reached your system by them. I can understand the calls from day 14 of bill 2 but not on day 2 and 3 of bill 2. It's ridiculous harassment. Again this is nothing to do with due date.

I was also called regard 1st bill some weeks ago.

Also, stop calling them gentle reminders. Gentle they are not.

This is a new bully boy tactic on the part of Electric Ireland.

EI: Una · 10-05-2012 4:53pm

Hi again Robd,

We are sorry to read you feel harassed.

Do you want me to look at your account via private message?

Regards,
Una

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 10-05-2012 8:43pm

If you admit to only paying every second bill, then after day 14 of Bill No 1 you are overdue. Payment terms are 14 days on an non-overdue bill. You already have used electricity up to 2 months prior to this bill.
They are dead right to follow up for overdue accounts. You are an habitual bad payer. Your credit rating will be very poor as a result. Any company would treat you as a potential bad debtor.

The rest of us eventually pay for your "free credit". :rolleyes:

As for paying for meter readings: you are not entitled to 6 meter reading per year.

token101 · 12-05-2012 12:44pm

robd wrote: »

In general I pay every second bill, particularly now that ESB are too lazy/tight to read meter bi-monthly and now only read meter every 4 months. I see ZERO problem with this as I've done it for the last 15 years no problem. Thus it's a precedent. Bills aren't particuarly high either, average 80-90 per month..

You see zero problem with being overdue for 6 weeks on a bill and a company chasing you for money you owe? So because you're a habitually bad payer, and ESB hasn't pressed this until now, you're entitled to feel aggrieved because you've decided that your bad payment history is now a 'precedent'; set only for yourself of course :pac: And ESB are lazy because you can't be bothered to read the meter in your house? :pac: Unbelievable!

Yesterday I walked into the supermarket, took some shopping and strolled out the door. Security guard stopped me and asked where I was off to without paying. Told him I'd pay next time. He said no. Some cheek eh :pac:

Coolchic · 05-06-2012 7:58pm

I too have been on the receiving end of these what I would call 'nasty' phonecalls 2 or 3 times now. 70% of the time,my electricity bills are paid in full by their due date,however,there are months when I just don't have the funds to pay the full amount on time. I've then paid the arrears with the next bill,and there's never been a problem with this in the past. Until about 2 months ago,that is,when some aggressive guy from Electric Ireland demanded to know if I was the main account holder and if this was the best number to reach me. Then this guy proceeded to put pressure on me to pay the €70 balance immediately. Luckily this wasn't a problem at the time,as I'd intended to pay the balance over the internet anyway later on that day. When I told this guy that I was planning to pay later on,he urged me strongly to pay there and then,over the phone,whilst talking to him. The implication was that I was probably lying,which I thought was seriously unprofessional

.
The next phonecall I got was tonight,when an extremely aggressive lady again demanded I pay the €80 balance on my account.I told her I didn't have the funds right now,but I would definitely pay €50 within 2 days,and the balance next week-which is all true. But this lady just pretended she didn't hear me and repeated the request that I pay the arrears immediately,and would I be paying by laser,visa,and so on. I was flabbergasted! I thought it so,so rude,unbelievably so,and,as I said before,seriously unprofessional. As steam was about to float out of my ears,I hung up. I just didn't want to talk to someone who 1.Is extremely ignorant 2. Doesn't listen (a major requirement of customer relations,I would have thought!) 3. Doesn't understand when a customer simply doesn't have the money to pay at that time,but is trying their best nevertheless. 4. Has an empathy bypass.
My question is,who are these people that Electric Ireland employ to harrass their customers? Have they been trained sufficiently to talk to people in the correct way,by which I mean,professional...that is,empathetic,sympathetic and customer friendly? The answer is,of course they haven't!
Electric Ireland increased their profits by 38% in 2011,which in real terms means they made €469 million profit last year. You would think they could afford better quality harrassment techniques,wouldn't you?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 05-06-2012 9:27pm

A. I would refer you to all the valid reasons for pursuing bad payers, like yourself, that have been put already on this thread.

B. ESB group made those profits, not Electric Ireland; they are really struggling to keep afloat. (You might want to actually read the 2011 Annual Report!)

dev100 · 05-06-2012 9:40pm

Raelynn Helpful Radium wrote: »

A. I would refer you to all the valid reasons for pursuing bad payers, like yourself, that have been put already on this thread.

B. ESB group made those profits, not Electric Ireland; they are really struggling to keep afloat. (You might want to actually read the 2011 Annual Report!)

Ever asked an esb employee how much he or she gets paid??? I don't condone Op s behaviour of being slow to pay . It's not right but electricity is a human basic necessity like water. If people can't pay in full what do you want them to do. People should be treated with sympathy!!!

bassey · 06-06-2012 12:39am

So when you can't afford all your groceries for the week you just saunter out with the lot and tell the shop you need sympathy? If you can't afford your bill cut down on your electricity usage, it's fairly simple.

EI: Una · 06-06-2012 8:32am

Coolchic wrote: »

I too have been on the receiving end of these what I would call 'nasty' phonecalls 2 or 3 times now. 70% of the time,my electricity bills are paid in full by their due date,however,there are months when I just don't have the funds to pay the full amount on time. I've then paid the arrears with the next bill,and there's never been a problem with this in the past. Until about 2 months ago,that is,when some aggressive guy from Electric Ireland demanded to know if I was the main account holder and if this was the best number to reach me. Then this guy proceeded to put pressure on me to pay the €70 balance immediately. Luckily this wasn't a problem at the time,as I'd intended to pay the balance over the internet anyway later on that day. When I told this guy that I was planning to pay later on,he urged me strongly to pay there and then,over the phone,whilst talking to him. The implication was that I was probably lying,which I thought was seriously unprofessional .
The next phonecall I got was tonight,when an extremely aggressive lady again demanded I pay the €80 balance on my account.I told her I didn't have the funds right now,but I would definitely pay €50 within 2 days,and the balance next week-which is all true. But this lady just pretended she didn't hear me and repeated the request that I pay the arrears immediately,and would I be paying by laser,visa,and so on. I was flabbergasted! I thought it so,so rude,unbelievably so,and,as I said before,seriously unprofessional. As steam was about to float out of my ears,I hung up. I just didn't want to talk to someone who 1.Is extremely ignorant 2. Doesn't listen (a major requirement of customer relations,I would have thought!) 3. Doesn't understand when a customer simply doesn't have the money to pay at that time,but is trying their best nevertheless. 4. Has an empathy bypass.

Hi Coolchic,

The terms of payment are to have the bill cleared by its due date (two weeks from the date of issue) - if this is not done, the system alerts that there are arrears, and the relevant customers are reminded.
When it is not always possible for a customer to pay the bill in full during the two-week period following its issuing, we would recommend contacting us, and we can see how we could accommodate this.

Also, if a customer does not pay by direct debit, an option would be to put small payments whenever possible on the account at any time during the two-month period between bills, ensuring it is mostly, or even fully, cleared by the time the bill arrives.

We are sorry to read you are unhappy with your experience on the telephone. If you like, send me on your account details by private message and I will investigate further for you. The Electric Ireland account number, your full name and the address/telephone number/date of birth on the account are what I would require. We can only discuss account particulars with the named account-holder.

All the best,
Una

drunkmonkey · 06-06-2012 8:52am

@Una, at what point do you cut off the Electricity? Does it cost to get re-connected?

EI: Una · 06-06-2012 9:01am

Hi Drunkmonkey

There is no set answer to this - it varies from case to case. There are four reminder letters in addition to calls. There is a cost to reconnect - maximum of €79.45. If the property is disconnected longer than six months, a wiring cert following an assessment by a RECI electrician is required in addition to the reconnection fee. If the property is disconnected for over two years, a new connection would need to be set up with our colleagues ESB Networks.

Regards,
Una

Heroditas · 06-06-2012 12:03pm

bassey wrote: »

So when you can't afford all your groceries for the week you just saunter out with the lot and tell the shop you need sympathy? If you can't afford your bill cut down on your electricity usage, it's fairly simple.

Careful, you'll have the hand-wringers and do-gooders after you for talking sense.

IrritatedNow · 10-06-2012 3:16pm

Before ElectricIreland introduced the Low Usage charge, I would have agreed with Heroditas - if you can't afford to pay for running an appliance cut down on the usage of it, but unfortunately it's not that simple any more. I use very little electricity partly because I'm a fan of energy efficient appliances (A-rated, low energy light bulbs, low energy TV etc) and partly because I'm watching my costs because my income is low. However, ElectricIreland by introducing a cut-off point of 2 units or less usage per day on average over the billing period are now charging me EUR25 +VAT per bill. Effectively I'm being penalised for using too little - and yes, before you ask, I do live all the time in my low usage home.

Tails142 · 10-06-2012 3:25pm

The op has to be a windup, paying every second bill and then whining when electric ireland ring to see why he hasn't paid for a bill issued two months ago for energy usage starting four months ago, ridiculous complaint if it isn't a windup

They should charge interest on late payments!

cookie1977 · 10-06-2012 3:34pm

IrritatedNow wrote: »

Before ElectricIreland introduced the Low Usage charge, I would have agreed with Heroditas - if you can't afford to pay for running an appliance cut down on the usage of it, but unfortunately it's not that simple any more. I use very little electricity partly because I'm a fan of energy efficient appliances (A-rated, low energy light bulbs, low energy TV etc) and partly because I'm watching my costs because my income is low. However, ElectricIreland by introducing a cut-off point of 2 units or less usage per day on average over the billing period are now charging me EUR25 +VAT per bill. Effectively I'm being penalised for using too little - and yes, before you ask, I do live all the time in my low usage home.

But it's my understanding that not all providers are charging this. Would it not be worth switching?

Madam_X · 11-06-2012 12:19am

Tails142 wrote: »

The op has to be a windup, paying every second bill and then whining when electric ireland ring to see why he hasn't paid for a bill issued two months ago for energy usage starting four months ago, ridiculous complaint if it isn't a windup

They should charge interest on late payments!

And there is absolutely nothing to stop people (who aren't paying direct debit) pre-paying bits and pieces. You don't need a pre-pay meter, you can just make payments in the post office. They have an entire two months and two weeks. Why wait until the bill?

Bruthal · 11-06-2012 12:28am

bassey wrote: »

So when you can't afford all your groceries for the week you just saunter out with the lot and tell the shop you need sympathy? If you can't afford your bill cut down on your electricity usage, it's fairly simple.

Yes, its always simple when coming from people who don`t have the problem, particularly when its from vested interest ones.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-06-2012 7:34pm

robbie7730 wrote: »

...particularly when its from vested interest ones.

Explain please!

Bruthal · 11-06-2012 8:17pm

Raelynn Helpful Radium wrote: »

Explain please!

The poster is advising a person to cut down on electricity usage, no doubt a helpful piece of advice for all people in difficulty. And he is linked to the company in question most likely.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-06-2012 8:48pm

robbie7730 wrote: »

The poster is advising a person to cut down on electricity usage, no doubt a helpful piece of advice for all people in difficulty. And he is linked to the company in question most likely.

What possible basis do you have for that assertion? I fully agree with his statement - do I too have a link to Electric Ireland? (I will admit to be a customer who pays his bills to them on the due date every time)

Bruthal · 11-06-2012 9:31pm

Raelynn Helpful Radium wrote: »

What possible basis do you have for that assertion? I fully agree with his statement -

Of course you do.

do I too have a link to Electric Ireland?

I dont know, do you? Here is one if you don`t.

(I will admit to be a customer who pays his bills to them on the due date every time)

Do you do that because you can, or out of loyality but cut back on feeding the kids? The type of choice many have to make now, but of course, you also will say its fairly simple for them, wont you...

Madam_X · 11-06-2012 11:30pm

But if someone is having difficulty paying, they need to contact the company to come to an arrangement - leaving the bill go overdue will just cause the reminder calls to materialise.

deisemum · 12-06-2012 12:34am

Raelynn Helpful Radium wrote: »

A. I would refer you to all the valid reasons for pursuing bad payers, like yourself, that have been put already on this thread.

B. ESB group made those profits, not Electric Ireland; they are really struggling to keep afloat. (You might want to actually read the 2011 Annual Report!)

Your point B is probably what's behind the sharp practice that Electric Ireland are now using to get extra money out of people who pay their bills on time. I'm absolutely disgusted at how I was treated by 2 members of their staff today.

My last electricity bill was issued on May 22nd and I got it a few days later and paid it on May 30th at 9.45am at my local post office. My bill clearly states about paying within 14 days and that the direct debit was due for collection on June 5th 6 days after I paid it.

Electric Ireland received my payment on May 31st yet today I got a letter dated 7th June saying I had an unpaid direct debit due to insufficient funds and that they'll re-present it later this month and that an administration fee will be applied to my next bill.

After explaining that the bill had been paid prompty to the member of staff that I got through to she said she could not take the administration fee off the bill and that I'll have to pay it on my next bill. I was then put through to a supervisor and she said the same thing that I've to pay the fee. As far as she was concerned Electric Ireland tried to take the direct debit payment from my account on May 31st so I'm liable even though the bill says June 5th.

One things for sure I doubt very much that I'm the only customer that this has happened to and I'm not letting it drop. I've already made initial contact with a journalist and will go ahead to make sure awareness of this sort of sharp practice is highlighted. I'm also going to contact the Commission for Energy Regulation in the morning.

Agressive Calling for Bill Payment

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