Bord Gais - Huge Gas Invoice Received, Am I Being Ripped Off?

ipad

Hi all,

I recently moved into a house in Dublin 9 area and I'm only renting it.

The landlord signed me up to Bord Gais for just my "Gas" without my approval. I got notice of this through the post and then shopped around to find more cost-effective suppliers.

I found Airtricity to be quite cheap looking so I chose them to be our Gas + Electricity supplier. I just had to wait for the swap over from Bord Gais and my other Electricity supplier.

Now, the problem I have is I received the Gas Bill from Bord Gais in the post which covered only 45 days and they're trying to charge me €275.36 just for 45 days usage.

When I got the bill, I rang up Bord Gais immediately and spoke to a girl who couldn't really tell me why I got billed so high. She suggested the heating but I have my heating on max 2 hours a day as we're never in the house during the day.

The meter readings from the bill showed:
Present: 21911
Previous: 21542 (the landloard says it was 21600 when I moved in but Bord Gais say my landlord gave them 21542??????)
Units: 369m3 x Conv Factor: 11.3911
Gas Used kWh: 4203

I can upload a copy of the bill in full detail if it helps.

Am I being ripped off?

Btw - I got my recent bill from Airtricity and for the month it was only €98 for BOTH GAS + ELECTRICITY. Big difference!!!

Appreciate any advise as I cannot justify paying Bord Gais €275.36 just for 45 days worth of Gas that I barely even use!!!

Thanks in advance.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

ipad

Thanks for the reply.

I just feel €275 for 45 days of just "Gas" is extraordinarily high and I don't know where I stand. I don't want to pay them that much, I just want advice before I ring them up again.

Does anyone feel that's a normal price I've been given for 45 days of Gas?

goldenhoarde

ipad wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

I just feel €275 for 45 days of just "Gas" is extraordinarily high and I don't know where I stand. I don't want to pay them that much, I just want advice before I ring them up again.

Does anyone feel that's a normal price I've been given for 45 days of Gas?

You may have broken out of the contract that the LL signed you to so there may be a cancellation charge

Have a further look at the bill and see if there are arrears that may not have been cleared.

It should detail on the bill a breakdown of the costs.

uck51js9zml2yt

was the last reading estimated or actual? It says it on the bill.

check your meter reading as well.

ipad

Hi all,

Here's a copy of my bill. When I moved in, I left it to the landlord to check the meter reading. They gave me 21600 but Bord Gais have 21542 and when I asked them where they got that from, they said my landlord gave it to them

Anyway, the copy bill attached shows a breakdown.

Hopefully someone with experience in paying Gas Bills and knows the rates etc. will be able to tell me what they think? Am I getting ripped off? Any suggestions?

CCI22052015_00000.jpg

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

wmpdd3

I'm with Bord gais for gas only, the gas is. on timer to come on for 2 hrs per day.

For the 2 months my usage is 162m2. Thermostat is at the highest and its a very old boiler!

My bill is €134.

Not sure if this helps but the issue seems to be the reading the landlord gave to bord gais when he opened the account.

At a pure guess I'd say you are using about 2.8 m2 per day, so you have been billed for 4.5 months. worth of units, but only 45 days standing charges etc.,

Take a reading at 8 am one day and at 8am the next day that should tell you how many m2 you are using.

Go back to the landlord and try tell him either the reading he gave is wrong of the boiler is broken, either way he will have to cough up. Though I wouldn't hold out much hope.

coffeepls

I had a look at your bill, compared it to my bill. My latest bill was for €115. Everything about your bill is the same except for the amount of gas you've used. It's more than twice what I've used. I had my gas heating on for roughly 4-6 hrs a day in the last 2 months - but I only have 4 rads in a 2 bed apt. I also have a gas hob. the boiler is 10 yrs old but it's a good one according to the gas service man.
If there isn't an issue with the actual readings, perhaps it's your boiler? When you say you only have it timed to go on for a couple of hours per day is this all at one time - ie is it heating from being stone cold? I'm guessing here.

dudara

Moved to A&P

dudara

The_Conductor

wmpdd3 wrote: »

I'm with Bord gais for gas only, the gas is. on timer to come on for 2 hrs per day.

For the 2 months my usage is 162m2. Thermostat is at the highest and its a very old boiler!

My bill is €134.

Not sure if this helps but the issue seems to be the reading the landlord gave to bord gais when he opened the account.

At a pure guess I'd say you are using about 2.8 m2 per day, so you have been billed for 4.5 months. worth of units, but only 45 days standing charges etc.,

Take a reading at 8 am one day and at 8am the next day that should tell you how many m2 you are using.

Go back to the landlord and try tell him either the reading he gave is wrong of the boiler is broken, either way he will have to cough up. Though I wouldn't hold out much hope.

My last gas bill from Bord Gais was for 237 Euro for 2 months. The thermostat is set to 18- and its on for an hour in the morning between 4.30AM and 5.30AM (which also heats water for the morning) and an hour in the evening (from 7 to 8PM). I know its on for these times- because its on a timer that no-one else knows how to use.

So- OP- yes, your bill is on the high side- but its not necessarily implausible or impossibly high. As the others have said- your start read was probably wrong...........

KCross

ipad wrote: »

Hi all,

Here's a copy of my bill. When I moved in, I left it to the landlord to check the meter reading. They gave me 21600 but Bord Gais have 21542 and when I asked them where they got that from, they said my landlord gave it to them

Anyway, the copy bill attached shows a breakdown.

Hopefully someone with experience in paying Gas Bills and knows the rates etc. will be able to tell me what they think? Am I getting ripped off? Any suggestions?

CCI22052015_00000.jpg

The €300 previous balance looks fishy to me. It's a bit too exact to be real. Looks like a decision was made to pay some and leave the rest for you maybe?

wench

KCross wrote: »

The €300 previous balance looks fishy to me. It's a bit too exact to be real. Looks like a decision was made to pay some and leave the rest for you maybe?

That is probably the deposit, its €300 for tenants not paying by DD.

wench

ipad wrote: »

Hi all,

Here's a copy of my bill. When I moved in, I left it to the landlord to check the meter reading. They gave me 21600 but Bord Gais have 21542 and when I asked them where they got that from, they said my landlord gave it to them

The 58 unit difference would only account for about €40 of the bill.

The bill, while high, isn't beyond the normal range for that time of year.
What is the BER rating for the property?

stronglikebull

The question is not whether you are being ripped off or not, The question should be, are the readings correct?

ipad wrote: »

Present: 21911
Previous: 21542 (the landloard says it was 21600 when I moved in but Bord Gais say my landlord gave them 21542??????)

If you didn't read the meter when you arrived, then you have no way of knowing whether 21542 is correct or not, but you have no choice but to accept it, as you never read it.

The present reading you can check yourself, and if you haven't already, then check it now. If it's lower than 21911, then give BG the correct reading and get them to re-issue the bill. If it is correct, then this is your bill.