Airtricity notice of legal proceedings.

Phenoxan

Hi all.

A few month back airtricity sent me a letter saying the rate i was paying wasnt high enough so they charged me an extra 260 for months that I had used more than the budget plan allotted. ( I live in a small 2 bed house and don't use any hungry appliances or equipment but I paid anyway)

anyway I decided to leave them and went back to ESB I got a final bill of 200 and paid that and washed my hands of them.

Now yesterday i got a letter off them demanding €570 within 7 days or they will start legal proceedings. I rang em up and was told 300 of it was a security deposit as I am no longer on direct debit. and "other?" charges...

Do i have a leg to stand on here or will i just have to pay up. I dont see why i need to pay a security deposit as I am not with them any more.

dudara

It sounds like that they think you are still a customer. Did you provide notice of cancellation in writing?

Phenoxan

I never. I thought the new provider informs the old company? Its been a few months and I have not had any elec bills. Just this demand for money.

gbee

Go to court. This company is gaining a poor reputation and is featured adversely on 96FM's morning show regularly.

Mostly about people being billed who had NOT switched and people who had left still being billed.

I personally don't believe in any company that don't build the power stations, lay the lines and cables and actually provides electricity.

The ESB Networks [now a division off the ESB] still provide all the electricity and all the hardware and infrastructure.

This firm is merely a billing firm

Phenoxan

I have heard bad things about them. I don't even know why i switched int hefirst place. And I did it at my front door!

Wouldn't court end up costing me a fortune though. I cant even afford the €500

jpb1974

I'd be ringing them back and getting some clarification (preferably written) on the matter.

I rang em up and was told 300 of it was a security deposit as I am no longer on direct debit

That defo sounds like they think you're an existing customer.

jor el

Phenoxan wrote: »

I rang em up and was told 300 of it was a security deposit as I am no longer on direct debit. and "other?" charges...

Ignore the 300 anyway, but you need to find out what "other" charges are.

You say you paid the final bill, was this using an actual reading from the meter, or an estimated one? Are you sure you paid Airtricity for all electricity you used when with them. If you did, then you owe them nothing.

They won't bring you to court either, more than likely they'll pass it off to a debt collector. You can completely ignore debt collectors too, as they have no power or right to that debt. Only deal with Airtricity on this.

Writing is the best way to proceed, so gather all your bills and payment records and make sure you don't owe them anything. Then put all that in a registered letter and tell them to stop bothering you or you will be the one taking them to court.

antoinolachtnai

gbee wrote: »

I personally don't believe in any company that don't build the power stations, lay the lines and cables and actually provides electricity.

The ESB Networks [now a division off the ESB] still provide all the electricity and all the hardware and infrastructure.

This firm is merely a billing firm

ESB Networks does not have any power stations and does not provide electricity. It only distributes electricity.

Head The Wall

gbee wrote: »

Go to court. This company is gaining a poor reputation and is featured adversely on 96FM's morning show regularly.

Mostly about people being billed who had NOT switched and people who had left still being billed.

I personally don't believe in any company that don't build the power stations, lay the lines and cables and actually provides electricity.

The ESB Networks [now a division off the ESB] still provide all the electricity and all the hardware and infrastructure.

This firm is merely a billing firm

Airtricity do build their own wind farms and it's Eirgrid that runs the National Grid.

ESB are a producer and reseller exactly the same as Airtricity. You seem to have your wires crossed somewhere.

There's no excuse for poor customer service either way

Cabaal

gbee wrote: »

I personally don't believe in any company that don't build the power stations, lay the lines and cables and actually provides electricity.

The ESB Networks [now a division off the ESB] still provide all the electricity and all the hardware and infrastructure.

This firm is merely a billing firm

But if you have eelectric with the ESB you don't have it with ESB Networks, you have it with ESB Customer Supply. ESB Customer Supply is no different to Airtricity or Bord Gais, they just bill you for what you use.

ESB Customer Supply operates seperately from ESB Networks and cannot give special treatment to ESB Customer Supply over any other company, so you argument for not using other companys is completely wrong
:rolleyes:

Atleast if your going to make such a statement atleast know about what your talking about,

gbee

Seems the 'OLD' ESB has been broken up into 4 slices: Essentially; Generation: Distribution: Line Maintenance, connection meter reading: International ESB

So, I'd only divided it into two companies, but that was based on the letter I got from the ESB, now that letter is back a few years by now.

Quote from Wiki

ESB Networks: The largest part of the ESB is fleet and equipment as it owns and maintains the National Electricity distribution and takes meter readings for all operators. The transmission system is operated by independent state company Eirgrid.


ESB Power Generation: operates a portfolio of power stations across the country, along with holdings in wind and other renewables. Wholesale market share is currently below fifty percent.


ESB Customer Supply: a regulated supply company functionally separate from ESB Group , is one of three companies (as of February 18, 2009) operating in the domestic market. Prices and margins are regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation with ESB Customer Supply restricted at the moment from discounting from the prices set by the Commission for Energy Regulation unlike competitors due to its significant market operator status.


ESB International: responsible for the company's unregulated activities. ESBI principally provides electrical engineering consultancy services around the world. ESBI is a dynamic company with holdings in many areas, such as power-generation joint ventures, renewables development, and computing consultancy.

91011

Phenoxan wrote: »

Hi all.

A few month back airtricity sent me a letter saying the rate i was paying wasnt high enough so they charged me an extra 260 for months that I had used more than the budget plan allotted. ( I live in a small 2 bed house and don't use any hungry appliances or equipment but I paid anyway)

anyway I decided to leave them and went back to ESB I got a final bill of 200 and paid that and washed my hands of them.

Now yesterday i got a letter off them demanding €570 within 7 days or they will start legal proceedings. I rang em up and was told 300 of it was a security deposit as I am no longer on direct debit. and "other?" charges...

Do i have a leg to stand on here or will i just have to pay up. I dont see why i need to pay a security deposit as I am not with them any more.

Firstly this is a notice of legal proceedings - a fairly standard computer generated letter to get people to speed up on their payment/

Secondly, you seem to think everything si apid including final bill.

Thirdly - correct, when you switch, the compnay you switch to is meant to do all the closing of previous account.

Best way and only way to proceed is to write to them outlining the payment you have made and the fact that the security deposit should have been used against the final bill.

Ask them for a complete breakdown of usage & payment and then compare this with your records.

Once there is communication, no legal action will be taken.

markiemark2005

Airtricity disconnected me this morning, this is despite the fact that I owe them just over 100 quid. They are a thundering disgrace. I spoke to them on the phone and the guy was downright rude and said I have to the 100 before they reconnect. I'd rather not give them the satisfaction.

Does anybody know if I can go to another supplier and get reconnected?

Cabaal

markiemark2005 wrote: »

Airtricity disconnected me this morning, this is despite the fact that I owe them just over 100 quid. T

You owe them money so they are entitled to follow their procedures, did you make reasonable attempts to contact them and explain that you were unable to pay or did you just ignore them?

I notice your not disputing the fact you owe them you just don't want to pay them as you feel like you've given in to them, you may want to change this view tbh

Max Power1

markiemark2005 wrote: »

Airtricity disconnected me this morning, this is despite the fact that I owe them just over 100 quid. They are a thundering disgrace. I spoke to them on the phone and the guy was downright rude and said I have to the 100 before they reconnect. I'd rather not give them the satisfaction.

Does anybody know if I can go to another supplier and get reconnected?

Independant suppliers will be VERY reluctant to take on a customer who was de energised for NPA.

You will find yourself left with going to ESB CS as they are the designated SOLR (Supplier of last resort) who must take you on as a customer.

testicle

And you'll need to pay ESB Networks another €100 odd to reconnect you!

markiemark2005

Cabaal wrote: »

You owe them money so they are entitled to follow their procedures, did you make reasonable attempts to contact them and explain that you were unable to pay or did you just ignore them?

I notice your not disputing the fact you owe them you just don't want to pay them as you feel like you've given in to them, you may want to change this view tbh

I did not ignore them, yes, I owe them 100. Being dissconnected over 100 is a joke.

Max Power1

markiemark2005 wrote: »

I did not ignore them, yes, I owe them 100. Being dissconnected over 100 is a joke.

Its a private company. You used their service and didnt pay for it.

What did you want, free electricity?

markiemark2005

Max Power1 wrote: »

Its a private company. You used their service and didnt pay for it.

What did you want, free electricity?

No,I would like a warning about disconnection, be it a phone call, an email or a letter. This happened with no warning. If I had known about this I would have paid them their 100 Euro.

I am thinking this is a scam to charge more to disconnect and reconnect.

Fnergg

Max Power1 wrote: »

...You will find yourself left with going to ESB CS as they are the designated SOLR (Supplier of last resort) who must take you on as a customer.

Being the Supplier of Last Resort does not mean that ESB Customer Supply must waive a security deposit and/or a direct debit arrangement. If you fail to satisfy them in that regard they can refuse to supply you.

Regards,

Fnergg

chris85

markiemark2005 wrote: »

No,I would like a warning about disconnection, be it a phone call, an email or a letter. This happened with no warning. If I had known about this I would have paid them their 100 Euro.

I am thinking this is a scam to charge more to disconnect and reconnect.

Airtricity dont get the disconnection or reconnection fee. Thats charged by ESB networks. I very much doubt they disconnected you without warning. They are not in the business of losing customers.

markiemark2005

chris85 wrote: »

Airtricity dont get the disconnection or reconnection fee. Thats charged by ESB networks. I very much doubt they disconnected you without warning. They are not in the business of losing customers.

As I said above, no warnings, not one. I work from home,so having my electricity cut off is something I would never let happen.

I am now hearing some other very interesting stories from friends about the broken promises from this company.

Max Power1

Fnergg wrote: »

Being the Supplier of Last Resort does not mean that ESB Customer Supply must waive a security deposit and/or a direct debit arrangement. If you fail to satisfy them in that regard they can refuse to supply you.

Regards,

Fnergg

Thanks Fnergg, I suppose that should have been clarified.

What I was saying was that other independant suppliers will not take on a new customer that was de energised for prior non payment.

Obviously ESB CS usual customer take on procedures will still apply for security, and I would guess that the deposit would be higher than normal in such cases