Getting ESB deposit back

annon123

I'm after posting a thread in legal discussions and only after seeing this forum. I was wondering if anyone else has had problems getting their ESB deposits back?
I have just moved home from renting accomodation with friends. We split up the responsibility of the bills and one of my friends was in charge of the ESB so i dont think i can ring up demanding my deposit even though i lived in the house?
She rang them the other day asking for our deposit back. We had paid out bills in full and they told her that we would not be geting it back as a couple of out bills were not paid in time.
We were never aware of this nor were we told about it when setting up the ESB account. We have no arrears.
Can they do this even though we never sighed anything. We moved in over two years ago. I wouldnt mind but it's about 300e. Its just annoys me because i feel like they are robbing us. We don't owe them any money so should they not give us back what is owed to us?

any help would be hugely appreciated.

dotsman

What does it say on the original T&C's?

I do know the purpose of the deposit is for new customers to ensure that they operate their account responsibly (pay in full and on time). You would have received the deposit back after 14 months (credit to the account) if you had been paying in full and on time.

Not sure what the process is for late payments (if they take a percentage of the deposit or can they confiscate the entire lump sum).

delllat

i doubt they can confiscate 300euro for a late payment,how late ??

are u sure the account holder didnt get the deposit back after 12-14 months ?

thats how it usually works i think

annon123

yeah im pretty sure she didnt. Though i must ask her to make sure. I know a couple have been a week or so late. From what she told me there was no mention of them giving it back previously. I didnt realise they may have given it back 14 months into the contract. I must make sure on that.
Thanks

Fnergg

delllat wrote: »

i doubt they can confiscate 300euro for a late payment,how late ??

are u sure the account holder didnt get the deposit back after 12-14 months ?

thats how it usually works i think

Electricity bills from all suppliers - Bord Gais, Airtricity and ESB - are payable within 14 days of issue. (You have already used two months of electricity by the time you get the bill so the payment terms are reasonable).

ESB security deposits are automatically refunded after 14 months provided that these payment terms are abided by. If you have run up arrears at some stage during the time you were there then it is not unreasonable of the ESB to hold on to your deposit for another year or so in order to encourage prompt payment in future.

The deposit is never confiscated. The sooner you pay the bill to terms the sooner you will get it back. Otherwise it will be kept in the background in case you scarper leaveing an unpaid bill in which case the deposit would be offset against the final balance.

Regards,

Fnergg

Slippin Jimmy

I got on of those deposit yokes off the esb there about a month ago. I didn't bother payin it cause im not going to be here for a year. Can they do anything if I don't pay it, but pay the bills as they send them out?

annon123

Fnergg wrote: »

ESB security deposits are automatically refunded after 14 months provided that these payment terms are abided by. If you have run up arrears at some stage during the time you were there then it is not unreasonable of the ESB to hold on to your deposit for another year or so in order to encourage prompt payment in future.

The deposit is never confiscated. The sooner you pay the bill to terms the sooner you will get it back. Otherwise it will be kept in the background in case you scarper leaveing an unpaid bill in which case the deposit would be offset against the final balance.

Yeah but we have closed the account and paid the bill in full as it has always been. We rang them giving them the final reading etc etc, i just don't understand how they are allowed to keep the deposit if they are not owed any money?

Fnergg

annon123 wrote: »

Yeah but we have closed the account and paid the bill in full as it has always been. We rang them giving them the final reading etc etc, i just don't understand how they are allowed to keep the deposit if they are not owed any money?

If you have closed the account and paid the final balance you are certainly entitled to your money back. I would phone them again at 1850372372 and sort the matter out - with a supervisor if necessary. There must be something amiss here somewhere as the ESB are normally very quick at refunding any monies due to customers.

Regards,

Fnergg

foggy_lad

they like most others including eircom bord gais etc are very slow about sending out cheques or rebates of any kind and they will probably tell you that it will be held on account for you untill you sign up at your new address where it will probably be kept as a deposit.

dotsman

annon123 wrote: »

Yeah but we have closed the account and paid the bill in full as it has always been. We rang them giving them the final reading etc etc, i just don't understand how they are allowed to keep the deposit if they are not owed any money?

You may be paid in full now, but some of the payments were late. Thus, there could possibly be late charges/interest etc. However, I'm not sure if they just deduct that from the deposit or do they charge the full deposit (which would be a bit steep!).

Ultimately, you will need to fall back on the original T&C's, because without knowing what they say, it's difficult to know where you stand.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

foggy_lad wrote: »

they like most others including eircom bord gais etc are very slow about sending out cheques or rebates of any kind and they will probably tell you that it will be held on account for you untill you sign up at your new address where it will probably be kept as a deposit.

Bull!! ESB Customer Supply actually have a Customer Charter item regarding the time it takes to get a cheque issued and pay you €35 if they go over it. The clock starts from when the refund is agreed. I think it's 10 days for ESB Customer Supply and 5 days for ESB Networks (You should read Customer Charters some time - really interesting). The holding of the deposit in case you sign up elsewhere is nonsense and does not happen with ESB Customer Supply. This particular case is confusing as th OP doesn't seem to know if they got the refund back already or not. He should check with the housemates first about a credit to their account after 14 months. Otherwise phone the ESB again. It's standard bread & butter stuff for them and the deposit will not be forfeited because some bills were paid late, if there were no arrears.