laws around direct debit

metrovelvet

Every other day either Bord gas or Airtricity are ringing my doorbell to get me to switch. I have recently moved and both the phone company and ebs now require huge deposits if you dont use direct debit.

The airtricity sales man claimed there is a law in place which makes the companies demand deposits in the case of customers not wanting to pay by direct debit but the bord gas salesman salesman says there is no such law that requires deposits and bord gas does not require one.

Does anyone know what the status is?

Elessar

I'm not aware of any such law. How much are they asking? Is it a monthly thing?

I pay my UPC bill by credit card each month, and besides cheekily adding on an extra €3 to the bill, there are no deposits. I believe the excuse is the extra paperwork. With most service companies you'll find they add extra fees for non-direct debit payments to pressure customers into using DD.

GerardKeating

metrovelvet wrote: »

Every other day either Bord gas or Airtricity are ringing my doorbell to get me to switch. I have recently moved and both the phone company and ebs now require huge deposits if you dont use direct debit.

The airtricity sales man claimed there is a law in place which makes the companies demand deposits in the case of customers not wanting to pay by direct debit but the bord gas salesman salesman says there is no such law that requires deposits and bord gas does not require one.

Does anyone know what the status is?

The only relevant law is the legal restrictions in place with respect to disconnecting customers in arrears, so some have a company policy to require a security deposit.

Ian Beale

Elessar wrote: »

I'm not aware of any such law. How much are they asking? Is it a monthly thing?

Its a few hundred billed once, although I could have sworn you still have to pay half of the deposit even if you do go with the DD.

metrovelvet

The ESB want 300.
Eircom wants 150.
Airtricity- I forgot.
Bord gas dont want anything.

eightyfish

metrovelvet wrote: »

The ESB want 300.
Eircom wants 150.
Airtricity- I forgot.
Bord gas dont want anything.

The choice is obvious then.

metrovelvet

Oh yeah it is. But I was just confounded by the "it's a law." I dont mind standing orders where the amount is fixed but I dont like that companies can just dip into an account when they feel like it and take what they like out it it.

eightyfish

Ah. There's no such law, and the salesman was lying to you.

We're with Board Gas for both electricity and gas, and we pay DD because overall that's the cheapst way to get electricity in the country at the moment.

Fnergg

This is what Bord Gais requires if you are a first time customer of theirs and you are not a homeowner:

As you are not a BGES customer and a tenant, you are required to pay a security deposit of €200 OR sign up for the Direct Debit payment option AND pay a security deposit of €100.

Clearly therefore the sensible thing to do if you are a tenant and do not wish to pay by direct debit is to simply state you are a homeowner and you will not have to pay any deposit.

Regards,

Fnergg

Sponge Bob

It is an ABSOLUTE LIE to state that there is any law whatsover of that nature .

A DD is only a device of convenience for the salesmans own company and in fact certain of the operations of the DD and DD+ system are tantamount to fraud agaisnt the consumer by the banks themselves ...in particular the way companies like BT re apply cancelled Direct Debits and the way in which the consumer is not facilitated in permanently cancelling direct debits .

metrovelvet

Fnergg wrote: »

This is what Bord Gais requires if you are a first time customer of theirs and you are not a homeowner:

As you are not a BGES customer and a tenant, you are required to pay a security deposit of €200 OR sign up for the Direct Debit payment option AND pay a security deposit of €100.

Clearly therefore the sensible thing to do if you are a tenant and do not wish to pay by direct debit is to simply state you are a homeowner and you will not have to pay any deposit.

Regards,

Fnergg

I signed up and im not a home owner. Salesman didnt take a deposit or bank details.

Fnergg

metrovelvet wrote: »

I signed up and im not a home owner. Salesman didnt take a deposit or bank details.

I suspect that the salesman simply put you down as a homeowner in the interests of clinching the contract.

If you try to sign up online you will be asked for a deposit as indicated above if you state you are a tenant.

Regards,

Fnergg