ESB alleged unpaid bill (1 year later)

Fishyfreak

I got a call from ESB today. They said that my final bill from June 2009 is unpaid ( I swapped over the Bord Gais).

I'm convinced that I paid it, but haven't kept any receipts from then.

I asked why they are only calling me now (over a yr later) and they said that their system is only flagging it now, something to do with the first batch of people changing over. Bull***t!!

What can I do??

dudara

Moved to Talk to ESB Customer Supply

dudara

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Fishyfreak,

If you would PM me your account details I can investigate the matter for you. We may be able to trace the payment if you can give me an approximate idea of when/how/where it was made.

If you made the payment from your laser card, for instance, your bank should have a record of it on a statement issued for that period. We could use that information to locate your payment on system.

Any pertinent details at all that you could provide would be appreciated,

Thanks,

David.

Fishyfreak

Thanks David,

I'm not home but i'll PM you the details later.

Have you any idea why I was never contacted in over a year, never sent a bill in over a year, never heard anything from ESB in over a year?

Would I have been allowed to swap over to Bord Gais if my bill was unpaid? At the time I was told I wasn't , which convinces me more so that I paid it.

Thanks

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Fishyfreak,

If a customer has an outstanding amount on their account, reminder letters would be issued periodically to the billing address, and/or contact would be made by telephone/mobile/sms.

It would certainly be very unusual (something I have not encountered myself) for there to have been no attempts made to contact the customer over such an extended period. I would need further details before I could explain to you why this happened.

Customers don't need permission to switch suppliers; they can do so without notifying their existing supplier directly. I am sorry if you were informed otherwise. If a returning customer still has an amount outstanding, however, they would either need to clear it, or make an arrangement to clear it, before we could re-register them.

I hope this information helps,

Thanks,

David.

mayflyatr

I also received a similar call this morning to advise me there was an outstanding unpaid ESB bill to the amount of €120.

On further investigation it appears the direct debit for the above amount was not withdrawn. Great, I have an additional bill to pay!

I intend to pay this bill but it will not be a once off payment of €120, I intend to pay it back over a period of time.

It is quite strange how such a large company can let something like this happen but very unfair to spring it on customers over 1 year later.....good morning, you have an unpaid bill of 120 euro!!! The direct debit was setup to pay the ESB ontime, why didn't you take it at the time of the final billing!!!

Electric Ireland: David

Hi mayflyatr,

I'm sorry that this has also been your experience. I can understand if you feel frustrated by this.

If you would PM me your account details I will have the matter investigated for you. It may also help us to discover if this has been the case for other customers; we could then take appropriate action before we spring anything on them, as you put it.

Again, my apologies, but I look forward to hearing from you,

All the best,

David.