Storage Heaters have been charging at Day Rates

kellyldoolin

I moved into an apartment with storage heaters back in October and all of the bills of that apartment were signed over to my name, including the electricity which is billed by Bord Gais. Immediately the bills were so high, much higher than my friends' who live in huge multi-bedroom houses versus my 1 bedroom apartment. I knew that something was wrong with the amounts being charged to me, but having absolutely no knowledge of how these systems worked, I made many phone calls to Bord Gais, ESB, and my rental company to find out what the issue might be. The rental company told me that €140 per MONTH (on level pay) was "not that high", the electrician insisted over the phone that I was not being charged for multiple apartments or anything like that, and the energy companies claimed that all their calculations were correct and that there was nothing that they could do. Finally, today, an electrician came to the house and realized that there was no Dual Tarrif Meter installed, which would charge the storage heaters at a lower night time rate as they are designed to do. That means that I've been paying day time rates for the last 6 months for my heat...that's nearly 17cents/kWhversus 7cents/kWh.

Do I have any entitlement to being refunded for the fact that I've been paying daytime rates all along? Bord Gais and ESB say that since there was never a dual meter, there's no way of knowing what was used at night verse day, and therefore I cannot be refunded for anything. I had emailed the rental company about 4 times in the last few months, asking them to send an electrician or someone to look at the situation, and today was the first time that anyone actually stepped foot into my building to look at my wiring/heaters/meter etc. Do you think that I should ask them for some sort of compensation, or not rock the boat with my landlord? I do hope to stay living in this apartment for at least 2 more years because everything else with it has been great so far.

Thanks for any advice!

bee06

Did the rental company or landlord tell you there was a dual rate meter or did you just assume there was?

Cabaal

Bottom line is you used the electric so Bord Gais are entitled to be paid and as such looking for a refund from them is silly, nothing was defective its just that nobody every requested for a night meter to be installed.

Bord Gais are right, there is no way of knowing what power was used at night versus the day time,

L1011

You haven't a hope with the power companies so don't even bother wasting your time down that line.

You might have some slim hope with the landlord but expect any cent you get back to go on next years rent increase.

At best I'd hope for the landlord to cover the cost of a dual meter.

kellyldoolin

bee06 wrote: »

Did the rental company or landlord tell you there was a dual rate meter or did you just assume there was?

When I moved into the apartment, I asked about the storage heaters, their function, and the fact that I'd been told they were pricey. The woman from the rental company explained to me that they were in place to save money by running at lower, night time costs. I assumed that she was right in this information.

I understand where the electric company is coming from that they don't owe me anything, but I did have several phone calls with them in which I inquired as to why there was no differentiation between day and night rates on my online bill (with no real answer or solution given)

Tails142

You should have known from your bill that you only had a single meter and weren't getting a night rate.

Varik

You don't automatically get a cheaper rate at night, it's a choice you have to make between different tariffs. You can either get a lower night rate and a higher day rare or get a flat rate that is in between.

Not sure about the rates but using your numbers as an example, it would be 17/7 compared to a flat rate of 16.