Recieved a bill of 4500 Euros

johnyqueen

Hi,
I had been ESB customer for about 4 years in a rented apartment. During thistime I paid my bills through direct debit and missed only on of them. The bills were usually around 100 to 200 Euros and the records are available through my bank account.
Last month I received a bill of 4500 Euros from ESB and I cannot pay that. Icalled ESB, thinking that there had been a mistake, but got the reply that my bills were estimated during the past 50 months!!! and it is the first real! bill that I get after more than 4 years.
First, it is fishy to receive such a bill after 4 years, why I got estimatedbills for 4 years and now a real bill? What had been the reason for estimated bill and what had changed that ESB could give me a real bill?! Beside I do not believe that I have really used much of that electricity.  My first question is that can I go to thecourt or any where else and make a complaint and probably investigation for the cause of such dispute?
Anyway, after getting such bill, ESB started to send me threatening mailssaying that I will be in trouble etc etc … I called them and I talked to the staff and explained my situation saying that I cannot pay any thing above what I pay now and how we can find a compromise ( for the unlikely situation that this is the money I should pay). The lady told me that they will give me a call back. I got the call back and after about of half an hour talk they agreed to charge me 30 Euro per *MONTH* to clear the bill and I would pay that through my old direct debit.
Alas, the payment is weekly and in a month it will be 120 Euro and I cannotafford it. I called them back and told them my situation (like being student on a low income for at least the next 6 months etc etc ). The only reply was that I should pay 120 euro i.e. 30 euro per WEEK otherwise they will send my bill to a debt collection agency, and respectively to the court and I will be in a lot of trouble etc etc ( really scary stuff that I cannot sleep)
I am not Irish and I am not familiar with the rules and regulations. Can youplease advice me where to go to seek help? Obviously I want to solve the problem and pay my bills (as I did  inthe past 4 years) but I am also looking for a bit of justice … How can I make sure that I really owe this money + a payment plan that I can afford for the moment
Looking forward to your help

Colash

If I was u I'd be sitting in the reception of a citizens information centre right now or discussing the matter with my solicitor . And I wouldn't post too much info up here on boards . This seems like a serious matter that needs sorting

goldenhoarde

do you have a meter reading from when you moved in 4 years ago or does the landlord? BTW be careful what you disclose to the LL as he could be liable if it was in his name last.

Also get down to the meter box and get a reading yourself as mistakes have been know to happen.

Ask the ESB why no reading was taken in 4 years?

Also total up what you paid over the past 4 years and get out some of the bills and check the usgae on those

Looks like whoever was there last submitted an incorrect reading when they switched it to your name?

BTW is the bill in your name?

EI: Una

johnyqueen wrote: »

Hi,
I had been ESB customer for about 4 years in a rented apartment. During thistime I paid my bills through direct debit and missed only on of them. The bills were usually around 100 to 200 Euros and the records are available through my bank account.
Last month I received a bill of 4500 Euros from ESB and I cannot pay that. Icalled ESB, thinking that there had been a mistake, but got the reply that my bills were estimated during the past 50 months!!! and it is the first real! bill that I get after more than 4 years.
First, it is fishy to receive such a bill after 4 years, why I got estimatedbills for 4 years and now a real bill? What had been the reason for estimated bill and what had changed that ESB could give me a real bill?! Beside I do not believe that I have really used much of that electricity. My first question is that can I go to thecourt or any where else and make a complaint and probably investigation for the cause of such dispute?
Anyway, after getting such bill, ESB started to send me threatening mailssaying that I will be in trouble etc etc … I called them and I talked to the staff and explained my situation saying that I cannot pay any thing above what I pay now and how we can find a compromise ( for the unlikely situation that this is the money I should pay). The lady told me that they will give me a call back. I got the call back and after about of half an hour talk they agreed to charge me 30 Euro per *MONTH* to clear the bill and I would pay that through my old direct debit.
Alas, the payment is weekly and in a month it will be 120 Euro and I cannotafford it. I called them back and told them my situation (like being student on a low income for at least the next 6 months etc etc ). The only reply was that I should pay 120 euro i.e. 30 euro per WEEK otherwise they will send my bill to a debt collection agency, and respectively to the court and I will be in a lot of trouble etc etc ( really scary stuff that I cannot sleep)
I am not Irish and I am not familiar with the rules and regulations. Can youplease advice me where to go to seek help? Obviously I want to solve the problem and pay my bills (as I did inthe past 4 years) but I am also looking for a bit of justice … How can I make sure that I really owe this money + a payment plan that I can afford for the moment
Looking forward to your help

Hi Johnyqueen,

I can empathise with you regarding the size of the bill and the stress it is causing - can you private message me your Electric Ireland account number and your name/address in full as they appear on your account, as well as either the contact telephone number on your account or your date of birth? Once I have those details and confirmation from you that you are the named account-holder, I will escalate your query to my senior colleagues.

With regards to why this happened: generally ESB Networks has a plan to read each customer's meter(s) four times per year. The remaining two bills are generated via estimate. The customer can submit a reading to their supplier to adjust an estimated bill.
In your case, I cannot say why there was no meter reading by ESB Networks for so long until I see the details of your account. Generally, non reading of a meter over a prolonged period of time is because of difficulty accessing the meter.
The reading that was taken which resulted in this bill would have been taken from the meter (consumption only) and no further charges would have been added (other than the recurring ones like standing charge, PSO levy and VAT, which are detailed on each bill). In this case, such a high number of bills being under-estimated resulted in this cumulative bill. The estimates were likely based on the usage of a previous occupier.

Regards,
Una

johnyqueen

Hi Thanks for replies, the account was on my name. After that incident my girlfriend took over the electricity and we are checking the meter every week and submit the reading almost weekly (you can imagine the shock that the bill gave us).

So far our bill is 120 Euros without any major change in our consumption pattern.

Unfortunately we never checked the initial reading and it was done through the agency we rented the apartment from. I talk to ESB and they said that this is my problem and I should have done at the time of moving to the apartment ...

goldenhoarde, can I really ask ESB why they have not checked my meter for 4 years? The answer I got was that: it had been my duty to check the meter not theirs...

Colash, yes as you said it is a serious matter but can Citizen Information help?

Cheers

goldenhoarde

johnyqueen wrote: »

Hi Thanks for replies, the account was on my name. After that incident my girlfriend took over the electricity and we are checking the meter every week and submit the reading almost weekly (you can imagine the shock that the bill gave us).

So far our bill is 120 Euros without any major change in our consumption pattern.

Unfortunately we never checked the initial reading and it was done through the agency we rented the apartment from. I talk to ESB and they said that this is my problem and I should have done at the time of moving to the apartment ...

goldenhoarde, can I really ask ESB why they have not checked my meter for 4 years? The answer I got was that: it had been my duty to check the meter not theirs...

Colash, yes as you said it is a serious matter but can Citizen Information help?

Cheers

 yes as the meter is supposed to be read 3 times a year and estimated once. so ask why this did not happen? You should ahve been informed that they had access issues IMO

get on to the agency as they should have a reading

bumper234

Similar thing happened to me with Bord Gais. I presumed the electricity bill was being paid by herself and she thought i was paying it. After 2 years it turned out that we hadn't actually received a bill at all EVER! Called them and they told me i had to pay the arrears (over €900) within 30 days or my supply would be cut off/taken to court/debt collection agencies, I told them sure and on day 31 they will be all over the front pages of the news papers and every radio station in Ireland. Not surprisingly i was put through to a lovely lady who agreed that i could pay €20 a week off the arrears as long as my normal bills were paid on time. Still paying that €20 a week lol

Electric Ireland: David

Hi guys,

Information on our meter reading policy can be found here for electricity and here for gas. We receive electricity meter readings from ESB Networks and gas meter readings from Bord Gáis Networks.

In the (regrettable) case of significant underestimations, we do our best to accommodate customers with payment plans, normally in line with the period of time during which the meter was not read. As Una said above, meter readings are scheduled four times per year, so customers can expect two estimations. This number may increase however if there are problems gaining access to the meter.

If a customer has received one or more consecutive estimates, we make sure there is a notification of this visible on his/her bill, and we would always recommend that customers submit meter readings if this is the case. This can be done online, by email, phone, social media or via our Meter Reading App.


(Link)

Hope this helps!

Thanks,
David