ESB to Bord Gáis

andreac

Just wondering if anyone has done it and is it worth the switch? Also if you dont do direct debit do you have to pay the deposit that you had to pay with ESB? I paid the deposit with ESB but got it back but i just dont have it now if they need it.

Thanks

sebman

andreac wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has done it and is it worth the switch?

I did a few days ago. 14% reduction in charges was too tempting not to. The page told me it would take up to 2 months to complete the transfer though. I'm paying with direct debit anyway, so no prob for me. Delayed payments are charged an extra penalty - BG are not so easy going as ESB . But again, IMHO, 14% is worth it.

Dandelion6

I switched, got my first bill from Bord Gáis this week, definitely cheaper than ESB!!!

bungaro

i'm considering switching but just want to make sure that i won't be caught down the line with any hidden extras! can anyone who's decided not to switch give me a good reason not to do the same. on paper it looks like a no-brainer (i know that the rate does decrease after year 1) but as long as i've direct debit set up then this should eliminate the late payment charge so is there anything else i'm missing????

foxy06

I switched too and there was a big difference in the bill this time. If you don't have any history with BG then they will probably ask for a deposit though. If not sure why not just pay dd and keep the money in the bank for it on a weekly basis say, so it's not such a big payment when the bill comes in.

On another note got a letter of apology from ESB for sending out a solicitors letter without any warning. Owed them 160 when I finished up with them. Paid 100 straight away and then paid the 60 about a week after it was due. I got the letter the day after it was paid!! Obviously they hadn't gotten the payment yet but never had a solicitors letter before in my life:mad: Anyway they are soooo sorry!

The_Conductor

I switched. It took nearly 3 months to switch me over (they were snowed under in requests when they first announced it). I subsequently got an apology letter as I was one of the lucky customers whose personal details were stolen on an unencrypted laptop.

The 14% discount is if you're a pre-existing Bord Gais customer, and agree to pay by direct debit. It is a year 1 offer. In year 2 and subsequent years- they guarantee to be 3% cheaper than the ESB.

I'm going to switch to Airtricity as soon as my Year 1 offer runs out.

I can't get over how they managed to loose all the financial and personal info on 20,000 customers. In this day and age- its unforgivable.

D3PO

does anybody know the current wait time to switch. I had heard it was about 6 months which is why i havent bother to yet. but if its much quicker i will be making the switch.

and on the subject of energy costs what kind of tool are the greens. Lets have a carbon tax to make fossil fuels more expensive and thus making electricity more expensive thus furter weaking our ability to compete on a global scale.

Green party what a pack of muppets

tHE vAGGABOND

I too switched when it was first announced, and got my first bill this week. its much much less than ESB.

No problems at all, indeed you dont notice a single thing tbh - anyone still with ESB is mental

Smartiesxxx

I decided to switch cuz like 14% is huge and I'm unfortunate enough to already be a Bord Gais customer with gas. I made the call and the switch team were really pleaseant and helpful. I tried to give them my meter reading because I didn't want to be estimated but they refused to take it!!! They said it would take about one month for the transfer to go through. Two months later it still wasn't sorted! I rang again and got through to a really nice girl who did NOT have a clue what was going on. She said there was no record of my application and that she would put it through again. A week later I got a final bill from ESB for practically nothing and I rang BG who said it was based on the readings I provided (which they wouldn't take from me)!!! I was really annoyed by now but thought the savings might compensate for the awful serrvice. Then I got my first bill and it was 400euro (I live by myself)!!! I rang them, they said it was estimated so I checked the reading and i was over stimated by miles!!! I rang them AGAIN to get an adjusted bill and they said they don't issue adjusted bills because of the cost that I had to pay the bill and it would correct itself the next time when they got a reading!!! I couldn't believe it! I'm went back to the ESB with my tail between m legs - no savings are worth that. At least ESB know what they are doing!!!!:o

irlrobins

It's actaully ESB Networks who do the readings not Bord Gais. SO the fact that no reading was done was ESB's fault not BG's.

toadfly

i have changed to Airtricity, it cheaper than bord gais and better for the environment...no brainer!

Carawaystick

I changed the day it started, we got switched over pretty quickly, in a week or two. they lost my details too- keeping customers data on a laptop ffs - eejits there.

it's only cheaper for the units used, the standing charge is still whatever the esb charge - which is much more than the natural gas standing charge.

They also will not change the timing of their electric bills to be a month later than the gas bill - which I thought was poor - I mean they could delay the gas bill to be a month after the electric bill if they have to pay esb networks on time. Ours arrive 10 days apart.


If they're not the cheapest, I'll switch to whoever is, assuming there's no lock-in period. It's madness not to change. Ten to fourteen percent is not wrth wasting.

Incidentally, like the health insurance market, there is a real market failure here- almost all people I know in my parents age bracket have not changed - they think there must be a catch or that there is something wrong.

J-blk

Carawaystick wrote: »

almost all people I know in my parents age bracket have not changed - they think there must be a catch or that there is something wrong.

Um, there is something wrong:

Carawaystick wrote: »

they lost my details too- keeping customers data on a laptop ffs - eejits there.

I'd be pretty wary of dealing with any company that is so irresponsible with customer details to begin with...

Had a salesman for them call to the door yesterday trying to get me to switch - I'm not impressed by how pushy they are and that you should go for the switch there and then with him...

coup1917

J-blk wrote: »

Um, there is something wrong:



I'd be pretty wary of dealing with any company that is so irresponsible with customer details to begin with...

Had a salesman for them call to the door yesterday trying to get me to switch - I'm not impressed by how pushy they are and that you should go for the switch there and then with him...

Ya had the salesman for Airtricity at the door last week as well,
Said it would take 5 mins and wanted me to switch over on the spot..

I might change at some stage but not at the drop of a hat for a f**kin door 2 door salesman.........ffs

Carawaystick

J-blk wrote: »

Um, there is something wrong:

I'd be pretty wary of dealing with any company that is so irresponsible with customer details to begin with...

Had a salesman for them call to the door yesterday trying to get me to switch - I'm not impressed by how pushy they are and that you should go for the switch there and then with him...

The laptop losing episode happened long after the launch of customer supply.
Also Airtricity havn't lost any customer data and the same people won't switch. The same people will pay VHI more than quinn or aviva for same or worse cover.

J-blk

Carawaystick wrote: »

The laptop losing episode happened long after the launch of customer supply.

Does it matter when they lost it though? Obviously, for the people who had already signed up there is nothing you can do about it, but since I'm not with them, that would be a pretty big reason to avoid them, given the incompetence they displayed by losing the data...

Carawaystick wrote: »

Also Airtricity havn't lost any customer data and the same people won't switch. The same people will pay VHI more than quinn or aviva for same or worse cover.

I get your point - though for some people, less hassle with a company they have an established relationship with can be worth it. On the other hand, you're probably right that some people don't switch "just because" without any real reason...

Fnergg

Carawaystick wrote: »

.... Also Airtricity havn't lost any customer data....

Oh yes, they have. In January 2009, Airtricity confirmed that they inadvertently made available on their website the personal and financial details of 1200 of their customers who’d signed up online for their electricty service.The incident actually happened in November, but wasn’t noticed until January.

Regards,

Fnergg

Abelloid

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

I too switched when it was first announced, and got my first bill this week. its much much less than ESB.

Winter/Summer?

Fnergg

Smartiesxxx wrote: »

.....Then I got my first bill and it was 400euro (I live by myself)!!! I rang them, they said it was estimated so I checked the reading and i was over stimated by miles!!! I rang them AGAIN to get an adjusted bill and they said they don't issue adjusted bills because of the cost that I had to pay the bill and it would correct itself the next time when they got a reading!!! ...

That is incredible. How can BGE hope to get away with that approach? A customer has a right to have an over (or under) estimated bill adjusted to his/her own reading. Given that large numbers of customers will have switched on a direct debit basis, BGE will now be taking their overestimated charges out of their bank accounts even though the charge may be many multiples of the true amount. Absolutely appalling service.

Regards,

Fnergg

Carawaystick

Fnergg wrote: »

Oh yes, they have. In January 2009, Airtricity confirmed that they inadvertently made available on their website the personal and financial details of 1200 of their customers who’d signed up online for their electricty service.The incident actually happened in November, but wasn’t noticed until January.

Regards,

Fnergg

I sit corrected.

CS Hasuki

I paid a deposit with ESB in 2007 and spoke to them in 2008 as moved house. They transferred over the deposit they said when this happened.

Now I am moving to Air Tricity I requested my deposit back. They said I did not pay one as I set up a direct debit in 2007.

Is this right? I am SURE I paid. I have to order bank statements now from the bank for 2007 to prove it.