ESB overcharge well kinda

gerrycollins

Having paid all my ESB bills even before they came in by monthly payments of what i estimated my bill would be it was only the other day that a friend told me that their bill was massive. I put it down to winter bills and expected price increase etc but then when mine came in I looked at it and as expected half was for Dec at old price and half for Jan at new price but it was all estimated and half of what my mates was so in reaility how do i know if i was overcharged or not(im quiet energy efficent with light bulbs etc). so i decided to read my meter my self and call it in,to my horror the meter read a lot less than what the bill said and I know it was estimated but the result is that my last bill should never have existed and im over €130 in credit with ESB not bad i suppose but if i had no money to pay it i risk getting cut off even though the bill should have never existed??.
I suppose the moral of the story is check ur meter if its estimated you might not owe any money at all.

aphex™

gerrycollins wrote:

but if i had no money to pay it i risk getting cut off even though the bill should have never existed??.

I suppose the moral of the story is check ur meter if its estimated you might not owe any money at all.

They always enclose a leaflet that lets you phone in the meter reading to them yourself.

Sounds like you should have done that a long, long time ago!

gerrycollins wrote:

I suppose the moral of the story is check ur meter if its estimated you might not owe any money at all.

..Or a lot more if you're unlucky!

leeroybrown

Most ESB customers will pay based on estimated readings some of the time but the vast majority will have regular manual readings and they correct the over/under payments. If meter is somewhere inaccessible during work hours then it might not get read. Just phone in your reading or you can get them to call out to read it.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

I'd say the ESB might be chancing their arm with all those customers who just couldn't be arsed to go and check their meter

gerrycollins

aphex&#8482 wrote:

Sounds like you should have done that a long, long time ago!

i know that its just that the amounts i owed were reasonable thats why i never checked it b4 this

gerrycollins

leeroybrown wrote:

Most ESB customers will pay based on estimated readings some of the time but the vast majority will have regular manual readings and they correct the over/under payments. If meter is somewhere inaccessible during work hours then it might not get read. Just phone in your reading or you can get them to call out to read it.

the meter is right outside the front door no obstructions its just cost cutting on staff from ESB as its also a new estate. I have no problem with what happened its just with so many of my mates getting large bills with the winter and price increase i just thought to hell with it check it out and this was the result thought it might make for intresting reading

Snake Plisken

I had a nasty surprise last summer where they had about a year of estimates (no excuses as the meter is accessable at the side of the house) and ended up with a massive bill, I rang up and complained and they agreed that it should have been read more often, they also sent me out a key to open the panel to read it myself. Also one thing with the increase in Gas prices back in October I actually took a reading on the day it increased, rang Bord Gas and gave it to them, they then issued me a bill up until the previous day at the old price. Worth doing before the next increase

Snake

gerrycollins

well im here over a year and a bit now and never has the meter been read its cost cutting and with the increase in house quantities they aint hiring more good idea about reading the meter at price rise time never thought of that

Slice

Well the meter is read every three months or something so any miscalculations in their estimated bills are then adjusted on your first bill after the reading. The fact that you can choose to read it yourself hardly leaves ESB open to accusations of overcharging