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Bord Gais demanding €400

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  • 16-08-2007 10:55am
    #1
    latenia
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,997 ✭✭✭


    I've been sharing a house with 2 others for 14 months now. When we moved in Bord Gais wanted either a direct debit, a €200 deposit or a guarantor to open the account. We went with direct debit from one of our accounts but this didn't work out for various reaons so we just paid our share individually at the post office as each bill arrived and cancelled the DD.
    We have been up to date since then, with the only amount owed yesterday's bill for €80. However, this bill also asked for a deposit of €400. When I rang and queried it they said it was their new policy for rented accommodation as they had been getting ripped-off a lot in this sector.
    My question is this: is it fair that someone who has been paying their bill on time for over a year is being asked for this? If I just ignore it and continue to pay the gas portion as before can they cut me off?


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    #2
    Sponge Bob
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 25,234 ✭✭✭✭Sponge Bob


    complain to the energy regulator, you are a customer in good stead with no arrears which means they should not do this. Had you any arrears in the past year then maybe they can.

    http://www.cer.ie/


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    #3
    MOH
    Registered Users Posts: 6,464 ✭✭✭MOH


    All the blurb on their website refers to "becoming" a customer.
    There's no information on a timetable or conditions for returning this deposit.

    I don't see how they can reasonably expect you to pay a deposit if you've been paying regularly for over a year.


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    #4
    311
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,332 ✭✭✭311


    How could they differ from one customer to another on their system ??
    Surely if the bill payer/s are not home owners ,then their system demands a deposit ?


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    #5
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    They could easily differentiate one customer from another by looking at the bill history. If there is no history then it's a new customer, if there is then they can see if that customer pays the bill in full and on time.

    I've never heard of a company looking for a deposit from an existing customer. That's just bizarre.


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    #6
    UrbanFox
    Registered Users Posts: 472 ✭✭UrbanFox


    Is this the unilateral importation of a new term in to an existing contract ?

    If so, what legal authority do they have for doing this ?

    Ask Bord Gais to answer that one first.......


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    #7
    eoinhealy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 131 ✭✭eoinhealy


    My self and my gf rented an apartment this time last year and we have gas heating. The Gas is in the landlords name, but they still asked for a deposit. The landlord payed the deposit, which was fine, no problem.

    Somebody in our block was supposed to be cut off (they obously did not pay their bill) but they turned ours off instead by accident. I phone them to ask why our gas was cut off and they explained that it was not. They looked into it and found that the contractor they sent out had disconnected the gas from the wrong gas bos outside the apartment block.

    Our meter was read again, and a bill was sent showing the gas that was used up to when we got cut off and showing when it was turned back on.

    The silly thing about it was they were looking for another deposit for a new connection. I phoned them and explained what had happened and all they could tell me was that their system shows a new connection so a new deposit would need to be paid. 200E if using dd or 400E if paying by cash. I let my landlord know what was happening, so when he got on to them they told him that there was no new connection and they never asked for a second deposit.

    Not sure what is happening in Bord Gas but to me it seems like there systems need a good bit of updating.


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