Bord Gais Bill

sodric

Just ome form work and opened bill, €1000 !!! it was 83euro last time, its only been for about 5/6 weeks??? What the hell ? Share a house with 3 others but its only on about 4 hours a day or so.... crazy, anyone else come across this? Any ideas what to do (apart from giving them a call first thing in the morning)

Blue_Wolf

Could be an estimated bill

Max Power1

Could be an estimation. However Bord Gais Energy Supply (the supply arm of BGE) have recently introduced a new billing system, so any problematic/excessive bills are probably errors. I would contact them in the morning and make sure you speak to someone who knows what they are talking about!!

rameire

check the reading on the bill, then check the reading in the gas box,
if it matches, youve got a winner, and a lighter pocket.

tony1kenobi

It's a mistake.Decimal point went askew somewhere.Call them.

Cabaal

house with three people, lasst bill was 83e seems kinda low...what where your bills each time before the 83e one?

My guess is they've been undercharging you with estimated bills for awhile

jor el

Just got my bill too, 270 euro, which is the most it's ever been. There have been some price increases over the last year, this would be the bill for end Nov, all of Dec and early Jan, when it was very cold and would have had the gas on more. I checked my reading, as the bill was an estimate, but the actual reading on the meter was slightly more than the estimate. My previous bill could well have been under estimated, can't remember.

Could be that you've been getting estimates that were under the real value, and now the real reading is catching up, add the price rise into that, and you've got a big bill.

hill16dub

got my bill yesrterday, was 1/3 extra

oil and gas are still at their lowest prices for a long long time and these muppets have kept their prices sky high

ESB received their 3% wage increase

is it just me or should we go nuclear

h8red

hill16dub wrote: »

is it just me or should we go nuclear

Go nuclear and nuke the ****in government!

Our bill arrived yesterday. €353. The highest ever. Altho it was cold and the heating was on a lot. They introduced new tariffs recetly tho. Would it be anything to do with that?

Tariffs

If you go into tariffs calculator it also says that customer's bills will increase by an average of 20% from 1st Sept '08.

Jip

Ours was also the highest in 6 years, rang Bord Gais askig why the estimate was so big and the guy didn't know, he doesn't know how the estimates are calculated.

MysticalSoul

Due to the increases I have been watching how much I had the heating on, and it only came to €82 - down €10 for the same period last year . That is with a gas hob on too

dilallio

Is there any comeback if Bord Gais were underestimating bills prior to the price increase. In this case if the actual reading is much higher than the estimate, you will end up paying the new increased price for gas which may have been consumed before the increase.
Did they read all meters before the increase, to ensure customers wouldn't be ripped off.
I suppose the reverse is also true - if you rang them just before the increase, told them that your reading was much higher than on their estimate, they would have billed you at the lower price for gas which you had yet to consume.

jor el

dilallio wrote: »

Is there any comeback if Bord Gais were underestimating bills prior to the price increase.

No. By paying the last bill, you accepted the charges and the estimate (if it was an estimate).

If it was wrong, it was up to you to inform them of the correct reading, which they would then have rectified. At this point, there's no way to know what the actual reading was for the last bill.

MOH

Got an ESB bill last week for €55 - when I read it again it was actually €55 credit, due to being overestimated for a while.
Was delighted, until the next morning when our gas bill for €290 came in.

Easy come, easy go.

iMax

Our gas bill arrived also - €393, up about €120 on the last one. I did a meter reading & logged it (should have been lower). Also got the ESB - €227. Bill for same period last year was €135.

My income has gone down 25% in the year !!!

hill16dub

i got a bill for 600 for 2 months

devastated!

richieb

wife gas bill 4oo euro, mothers 4oo euro other people i no got 1 4 357 euro , we ll have to put on another jumper mes think, its a crazy world, o yea and bertie got away scottfree while we all in the poop for ever, cute boy al right

MysticalSoul

How on earth are people's gas bills so high. In the time I have lived in my own place, have only had a bill over €100 once :eek:, and I have the heating on for an hour or two a day, along with gas hob. Insulation definitely pays

311

its a mixture of both the weather and the price of gas.
the last two months have been the coldest in a long time ,I think the price wasn't noticable until now because of the change in the weather.

MysticalSoul

Mine was down on last year, but I know if I turn on the heating, only need it on for 20 mins max at a time, before it gets too hot, when I turn it off. Thermostat is set at 20 degrees too.

311

my sisters gas bill was €40 for the two months ,they have a gas hob and boiler

Alun

irishamethyst wrote: »

Mine was down on last year, but I know if I turn on the heating, only need it on for 20 mins max at a time, before it gets too hot, when I turn it off. Thermostat is set at 20 degrees too.

That's what thermostats are for. If it's too hot for you after 20 mins, then just turn the thermostat down to whatever the temperature is at that point. Why make life difficult for yourself?

MOH

Actually, I'm pretty sure everyone's been overcharged - though only by 3 or 4 cents.

From the Bord Gais website, the standing charge per year is 59.02 inc VAT, 52.00 excl VAT.

Which works out as .142466 euros per day.
But on the bill, they've (wrongly) rounded this to .143 euro, before multiplying it by the number of days, and then adding 13.5% VAT. Instead of rounding at the end of the calculation, which would be standard practice.

Which adds up to at least 3 cents difference over a 2 month period.
OK, it's not much, but if it's the same all the time on every bill, it adds up to ... not all that much every year.

Still, I mailed them to see what they say.

Flaccus

You don't have to pay the lot in 1 go thankfully, and if you tell them you have kids in the house they can't cut you off (or so I am told).

MysticalSoul

Alun wrote: »

That's what thermostats are for. If it's too hot for you after 20 mins, then just turn the thermostat down to whatever the temperature is at that point. Why make life difficult for yourself?

Actually, it does not make life difficult. I am stating that it is easier to have it on for 20 mins at the low setting I have it set at, rather than leaving it on for longer, hence why my bill seems substantially lower than the majority of people here - at only €82

311

Just to let people know about gas boilers ,if your boiler is a standard non-condensing wall hung boiler.
It more than likely has to be manually rated, this is to get the proper output for the house the boiler is in.

A lot of houses would have 50,000 btu boilers installed and the house might only need 40,000 or less.
If the boiler is rated at 50,000 ,you are always going to be burning an excess of gas. If your boiler is serviced properly this rating will be done ,if not you could save yourself some money.

Max Power1

just echoing similar posts previously.. my bord gais bill forf the last 9 weeks was €512!!!!!!!!!! Now its a 5 bed old house and all, but the boiler is only in 3 years, and serviced twice...

Farls

Having read this I'm dreading getting my bill!!

Max Power1

Flaccus wrote: »

and if you tell them you have kids in the house they can't cut you off (or so I am told).

Who told you that?? They will only not cut you off if you are on the special services register with them (ie if you are elderly or disabled etc). Take it from me, they cut off people for non payment, irrespective of family status etc (i am a former employee so i would know)

Cabaal

Flaccus wrote: »

You don't have to pay the lot in 1 go thankfully, and if you tell them you have kids in the house they can't cut you off (or so I am told).

You've been told very much incorrectly

hotredhead

Our bill was 450 but we were in credit so we have to pay 290.I actually rang them I was that shocked.New house,4 beds.Hopefully the weather is starting to get milder.I will certainly be keeping an eye on our usage.
I think the vat was 56 euro.:eek:

Flaccus

Cabaal wrote: »

You've been told very much incorrectly

I disagree. You can pay your bill off weekly before the next one comes for sure. And my colleague who works in social services has informed me there is a provision under family law whereby you will not have your heat cut off in the advent of not being able to afford to pay if you can prove you have young kids in the house. Obviously it's more complicated than that, but that's the jist of it, and this person has no reason to lie.

Flaccus

Max Power1 wrote: »

Who told you that?? They will only not cut you off if you are on the special services register with them (ie if you are elderly or disabled etc). Take it from me, they cut off people for non payment, irrespective of family status etc (i am a former employee so i would know)

That is not what a colleague who currently works in social services has told me. I have no reason to doubt them.

patrickc

I had to ring for my bill as it was 6 weeks overdue, something to do with them changing over the billing system.

wasn't too bad but the next one they said will be over the 300 euro.

foggy_lad

Flaccus wrote: »

That is not what a colleague who currently works in social services has told me. I have no reason to doubt them.

are you referring to the HSE or english social services? the HSE may in certain circumstances be able to help people in dire need but they would have absolutly no powers to stop Bord Gais or the ESB or any other company from cutting your supply for non payment and there is no law that stops them cutting you off either!

Max Power1

Flaccus wrote: »

That is not what a colleague who currently works in social services has told me. I have no reason to doubt them.

well i worked there until a few months ago in that department. We withdraw supply in the event of non payment, as a last resort option. You can make a payment agreement etc and if you keep to an agreed payment method then you wont be cut off. Bord Gais do liaise with MABS in the event that people are having payment difficulties. However the HSE has nothing to do with Bord Gais Energy Suppply (or any other energy service provider) decisions re disconnection.

To anyone reading this who has an account in arrears with BG I would recommend you contact the Credit Control dept on 01 602 1473 to make sure you are not cut off - do not believe anything you are told otherwise!!!

la la land

my bill was nearly 200 for a 2br apartment. thats about 3 times higher than normal... crazy... do i have any means of complaint...and why are we paying so much- gas is down in price

Mr Floyd

Just got a bill in for 550, what the hell is goin on.

Tobias Greeshman

Just got a bill for €350 for two months. It was estimated and when I looked at the gas meter it was twice as high as the meter reading on the bill. So really not looking forward to giving a reading.

We've just a gas cooker, I know it's being cold over the last number of two/three months. But this much is insane.

Shocking

Mr Floyd wrote: »

Just got a bill in for 550, what the hell is goin on.

Mine was 505. Got the shock of my life. I asked a few other people I know and theirs were similar 480, 515, 508.

My house is rather cold at the moment but cheap dunnes thermal hoodies are helping.

If I was being honest I think the shock of the bill has made me see the light with regards to wasted electricity and gas. No fuking way I am paying 500 notes every two months for gas. I used to leave my pc on 24/7 in standby and my TV in standby too. Now every thing is off. I know I was not being very wastefull but the new prices are brutal. Hopefully they will come down off the back of the now non existant oil price crisis.

dvpower

la la land wrote: »

my bill was nearly 200 for a 2br apartment. thats about 3 times higher than normal... crazy... do i have any means of complaint...and why are we paying so much- gas is down in price

Complain about what? The recent cold spell?

Old Gill

Got a bill for €800..its a 3 bed 1930's house so insulation wasnt the best but still...€800 for 2 people ina house over 2 months is excessive. We dont have it on excessively or anything.. gutted as had budgeted for a bill of around €300 MAX! Its not estimated as bill for previous 2 months was €700

philcsl

Mine was 68% up on 2 months ago, house was empty for 2 weeks over xmas with heating off... normally around €180 and skyrocketted this month, off to check the meter...

reg_anam

got a massive gas bill. number of kilowatt hours used roughly in line with same time last year but there are two lines (insted of one) at the top of the bill giving exactly the same number of units used.

In the calculation of the bill the number of kilowatt hours used is actually twice what it should be and the bill therefore almost twice what it should be. Note the meter readings are correct and its not estimated

- the mistake is that the correct number of units is doubled in the calculation of the money due. I suspect a programming error in their new billing system - they'll be getting a phone call when we get over the shock.

la la land

dvpower wrote: »

Complain about what? The recent cold spell?

jeesh, harsh ... the price has gone way up.. .don't think the price of gas should be as high as it is...they'll be the only company whose revenues will be skyrocketing this year.

tomsav

When will there be competition in the gas market now the electricity has been sorted out? Bord Gas prices are way too high - even when its not a mistake!!!! My current bill is €401.

tallus

I just got a bill for 410 My highest ever despite the fact that I have been using less gas than usual.
It's an estimated reading but works out at about 50euro per week
They can fcuk off if they think I"m paying that kind of money for gas. I think I'll go back to solid fuel. I still have my old fireplace.

faceman

Our bill was €620, meter read. There's no kids in the house and not all the rads are on. Its been on the same timer setting for years. Crazy crazy. We've requested copies of all bills for the past 12 months and cancelled the direct debit.

Not paying nought until its explained.

tomsav wrote: »

When will there be competition in the gas market now the electricity has been sorted out? Bord Gas prices are way too high - even when its not a mistake!!!! My current bill is €401.

There is, Flogas. Its not in all areas and it seems pretty much the same tarriff give or take 0.001 on the kW rate.

rameire

I hope they charge you for copies of bills.

i cannot understand why people are whinging about the bills after the price went up in september,
there is nothing wrong with the readings ( except if they are estimates)

but it has been confirmed "Coldest winter in 20 years for some"

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eyaukfauqley/

faceman

rameire wrote: »

I hope they charge you for copies of bills.

i cannot understand why people are whinging about the bills after the price went up in september,
there is nothing wrong with the readings ( except if they are estimates)

but it has been confirmed "Coldest winter in 20 years for some"

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eyaukfauqley/

Its quite simple. Our bills have gone up more than 20%. The heating usage hasnt.

Sleipnir

€732 here. It's the only bill that my girlfriend is responsible for paying but of course she didn't question the December estimated bill of €70!