Airtricity

daisydood

Hi. Posting on behalf of a friend. I ran into difficulty with my Airtricity bill last year and although i was making an effort at paying i ended up being cut off and having to pay a e200 fee to get reconnected, while pregnant and with a 3 year old child.

This year i vowed it would not happen again and had been paying off in weekly installments. I kept recieving texts telling me i was at risk of being disconnected and every week i rang customer service to ensure there was no problem. Last week i was told by customer service that it was just a reminder and not to worry all that was overdue was e88 so i had nothing to worry about.

Friday evening i recieved a call stating that i owe e678 and my electricity will be cut off if this is not paid. They are claiming this is as a result of estimated meter reading. I am not disputing this, it is the case as i have read my meter and it matches there reading.

What i am wondering is if they can cut me off. I have been told today there is no way i can be cut off because i have a child under 4. I cannot afford to pay anymore than what i had been paying weekly. What are my options?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Contact them and ask for a payment arrangement where you pay off over a number of months equal to the period the estimated readings covered. They will not disconnect if you have a reasonable effort to pay via a formal payment arrangement.

slimjimmc

Airtricity's disconnection policy is online http://www.airtricity.com/ie/home/about-us/customer-charter-and-codes-of-practice/disconnections/
So long as you engage with them and agree a payment plan you should be ok.
I'm not sure if they have a no disconnect rule for young kids but you might fall under their vulnerable customers code of practice.

whiskeyman

Clare Microscopic Tenderfoot wrote: »

Contact them and ask for a payment arrangement where you pay off over a number of months equal to the period the estimated readings covered. They will not disconnect if you have a reasonable effort to pay via a formal payment arrangement.

Do this.

also, the last bill seems high? Do you use a lot of elec? Is it gas also?
Do you submit regular meter reads? this will ensure no 'shock' bills and that your in more control of how much you owe.

daisydood

whiskeyman wrote: »

Do this.

also, the last bill seems high? Do you use a lot of elec? Is it gas also?
Do you submit regular meter reads? this will ensure no 'shock' bills and that your in more control of how much you owe.

Thanks for your help everybody. I will pass on the information. That is what she is wondering. She is rarely home. From 6pm- 11pm and then gone at 9am with nobody home all day. She has very few appliances - TV, kettle, washing machine and storage heaters. We have put the blame on the heaters but would it be usual for them to cause a bill to be so high? Also is there anyway the reading maybe wrong?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm afraid virtually any amount is possblke once there are storage heaters involved. It depends of course on usage but also on timing and if dual metering four day and night usage, plus getting actual meter reading.

daisydood

Just a follow up guys. She got the meter tested for faults and there was none. Seems the storage heaters were not set up right and she was just using the fan rather than the actual storage heater if yes get me so that's why the bill was so high. Expensive lesson learned, thanks for all your help though guys.