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Shocking ESB Bills???

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  • 04-06-2008 12:13pm
    #1
    jo.king
    Closed Accounts Posts: 295 ✭✭


    I live in an apartment complex and was over with my neighbour last night (an elderly lady in her 60s) - she was very concerned with the last few ESB bills that she had received, a few months ago it was €500 for the last few months it was around €200 and this month it was €800!!! :eek:

    She thought it may have been a neighbour tapping into her power - but surely it would have to have been the whole complex for this amount!?

    Coincidently i was chatting to my girlfriend afterwards and she told me that a friend of hers got a bill this month for €500 (a one bed ex council house) - normally it would have been around €100.

    They both had one thing in common - they both had the 'E' beside their units - how can the ESB 'Estimate’ a bill so high - it is a bit coincidental that this happened to two people i know - has anyone else been effected or know someone who has been - was this an ESB clerical error??
    Tagged:


Comments

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    #2
    Sherifu
    Registered Users Posts: 17,727 ✭✭✭✭Sherifu


    Good job on the tabloid headline.

    *cringe*


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    #3
    Rob_l
    Registered Users Posts: 2,905 ✭✭✭Rob_l


    Op take a meter reading and then while online you can enter this to manually do a meter reading or it can be done over the phone by ringing the ESB, but from my own experience these estimates of theirs are usually close enough


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    #4
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    thats why are you are supposed to ring the ESB with your correct reading when you get the letter from the ESB saying they couldnt gain access to your meter.

    wouldnt it be worse if they had been unestimating for years and then you owed them thousands


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    #5
    jo.king
    Closed Accounts Posts: 295 ✭✭jo.king


    irishbird wrote: »
    thats why are you are supposed to ring the ESB with your correct reading when you get the letter from the ESB saying they couldnt gain access to your meter.

    wouldnt it be worse if they had been unestimating for years and then you owed them thousands

    She only gave a meter reading six months ago - i could understand if the figure had doubled or if she had received a request in the post for a reading but ... nothing...


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    #6
    hunnymonster
    Registered Users Posts: 5,365 ✭✭✭hunnymonster


    I've always found the estimated bills about 50% too high.

    The amounts you quote though are extremely high so I would do as the other poster said and get the meter values to submit to the ESB.


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    #7
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    jo.king wrote: »
    She only gave a meter reading six months ago - i could understand if the figure had doubled or if she had received a request in the post for a reading but ... nothing...

    you are supposed to ring up everytime and its not like she has to pay it.
    hopefully she will have learnt her leeson now and will phone up in future


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    #8
    Winters
    Registered Users Posts: 14,761 ✭✭✭✭Winters


    jo.king wrote: »
    She thought it may have been a neighbour tapping into her power

    People have no problem drilling a hole in the wall and ripping out some live 240v cables from next door to re-route them into their house I hear...

    Maybe she is just stupid and old and leaves all the lights/television/kettle/etc. on all the time?


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    #9
    pwd
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,284 ✭✭✭pwd


    We got esb bills that big before while living in a flat.
    We discovered that the only had planning permission for 4 flats in the building, but had five, and that the extra flat used electricity that was charged to our meter. (The person living in that flat was told that they had "free" electricity).

    You can investigate if this sort of thing is happening by turning off everything in the flat and observing if the meter is still moving.


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    #10
    bruce wayne
    Registered Users Posts: 530 ✭✭✭bruce wayne


    we recently got a bill for €999, which was way more than it should be. We phone them to query the bill and we spoke to an actual person and gave her a reading from our meter.....turns out they had been waaayy over esimating our bill and now they owe us €400 !!!

    And to make matters worse we noticed the E on our meter readings and often rang in the correct reading but always got through to the automated system and left the readings on there (as per the instructions)....they clearly were'nt picking up our readings.

    It pays to talk to a person.

    ring them with your actual meter reading and get them to reissue your bill. I wouldn't mind but there is a charge on your bill for meter maintenance (including reading, which they just never seem to do!!!):mad:


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    #11
    Winters
    Registered Users Posts: 14,761 ✭✭✭✭Winters


    pwd wrote: »
    You can investigate if this sort of thing is happening by turning off everything in the flat and observing if the meter is still moving.

    By "still moving" I hope you just mean slower turning. Even appliances turned "off" will still consume power through Standby mode until they are plugged out. You would need to unplug a lot of things and monitor it for a while, then do it a few more times over the next few days noting the speed of the meter to try and decipher a difference, preferably doing so at least once during the time the neighbours are in the house to try and spot a noticeable difference in speed.

    However, having an incorrect number of apartments in the block over what is on the planning permission would also possibly break several other regulations on fire safety etc.


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    #12
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    bruce wayne wrote: »
    . I wouldn't mind but there is a charge on your bill for meter maintenance (including reading, which they just never seem to do!!!):mad:

    in fairness the majority of places they cant get in to do the reading. My meter is inside my house and i am never at home during the day. so as soon as i get my notification and i ring up with the correct reading, i dont see what the big is tbh


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    #13
    siobhan.murphy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,340 ✭✭✭siobhan.murphy


    A couple of years back we got a huge bill,so we went out and checked the reading,it was correct but we did notice the wheel was flying around and a crazy speed(everyone should do this)I went in and most of the stuff was on standby,t.v dvd,video,shy box, micro radio on mobile phone chargers plugged in with no phones charging!,I plugged them all out barr the fridge,and u wouldnt believe how much it slowed down!
    as I typing this the radio is on downstairs and the light is on in the hall neither needee!and Im pretty sure the tv&co are on standby!
    "rushing off to correct that now"!!!!!!


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    #14
    worded
    Registered Users Posts: 4,534 ✭✭✭worded


    I know someone who got a 6K ESB bill after years of underestimated bills


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    #15
    Trampas
    Registered Users Posts: 7,394 ✭✭✭Trampas


    Got my ESB bill and only €60.

    Not an estimate bill either.

    I am work from home a couple of days a week and be on the net most evenings and weekends.

    I know electrical heaters eat electricity.

    I hate people who light up a house like a christmas tree when not needed.

    unplug things when not needed


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    #16
    ScumLord
    Registered Users Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    You'd want to watch them bastards in the ESB they'd rob the teeth outa a baby head so they would. My bill in my current apartment ranges from €20 to €250 to, sorry we owe you €80. All that gets used in my apartment is the TV, clock radio, fridge, computer and the odd light bulb (I only have 3 working lightbulbs) YET I get landed with bills of €250!!

    They'd rob the shoes of the homeless, steel a grannys wheelchair, their scum no two ways about it. I hate the ESB. :mad:


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    #17
    MissHoneyBun
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,131 ✭✭✭MissHoneyBun


    ScumLord wrote: »
    They'd rob the shoes of the homeless, steel a grannys wheelchair, their scum no two ways about it. I hate the ESB. :mad:

    Ah sure why not -ME TOO :mad:


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    #18
    zuutroy
    Registered Users Posts: 6,854 ✭✭✭zuutroy


    Energy is expensive now peoples...I just paid 1.58 a litre for petrol on my way to work :-O


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    #19
    Captain Darling
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,542 ✭✭✭Captain Darling


    I got atrocious bills before for way over the odds due to the bills being estimated. ring them up and give them a proper reading.

    The other side of it, is that electric storage heaters and such like, can hike bills up a fair bit too.


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    #20
    ScumLord
    Registered Users Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    MissHoneyBun wrote: »
    Ah sure why not -ME TOO :mad:
    That's the spirit!! *shakes fist at wall plug*


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    #21
    elmolesto
    Registered Users Posts: 5,721 ✭✭✭elmolesto


    I've always found my estimated bill too high.


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    #22
    funk-you
    Registered Users Posts: 2,743 ✭✭✭funk-you


    Got a bill for 700 the other day. Thank f/ck i didn't want to use a direct debit when i moved in. Checking the meter tonight if i can find it(Apartment).

    -Funk


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    #23
    ScumLord
    Registered Users Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    funk-you wrote: »
    Got a bill for 700 the other day. Thank f/ck i didn't want to use a direct debit when i moved in. Checking the meter tonight if i can find it(Apartment).

    -Funk
    With apartments all the meters are usually in the same place. Check the entrances.


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    #24
    funk-you
    Registered Users Posts: 2,743 ✭✭✭funk-you


    ScumLord wrote: »
    With apartments all the meters are usually in the same place. Check the entrances.

    F/cking no thanks button in AH.

    Cheers.

    -Funk


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    #25
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    My meter's outside and is read 4 times a year, the other two are estimates.
    The next reading cancells out any inaccuracies in the estimate, I switched off the immersion one month and the estimate was way high, next month was virtually zero also with an added bonus of having paid for next months electric at last month's price.


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