Charged Twice

martina1989

[font=arial, sans-serif]Hi, I already rang about this issue but I feel the processing time is ridiculous given the situation. I rang to close my account a few weeks back and paid my final bill on the 12th of Feb 2016 by card. Looking at my bank account today I see that the direct debit for the same amount has been taken out so I've now by charged €91.82 twice. The advisor on the phone was pleasant and helpful and obviously her hands are tied on what she can and cannot do for me. She stated that it has not shown up on your system yet the second payment as the DD is today's date and that she needed to forward it onto another team who can process and approve the refund but this will take a few days. This is what I find unacceptable. I have to wait a number of days to even get the ball rolling on the refund which will take another 3-5 working days to be returned to my account. This is the week before I am paid and money is tight and is needed now. By the time I get it returned I'll have been paid already and it won't make a difference to me then. I've sent an email with two screenshots attached.One showing the payment received to the online account on the 12th of Feb. The second screenshot is of my online banking statement which clearly shows the both the card payment and the DD of the exact same amount. All I got was a vague email saying that it will be processed in "due course". Can this be processed as soon as possible? I should not have to wait around on a decision on a refund when I have evidence to prove it, it'll already take a number of days to even get the money back.[/font]


[font=arial, sans-serif]I am not so irritated that I was charged in error a second time but am irate over the fact that this would take so long to resolve. I have worked in customer services before and have been able to process a customer refund within minutes of confirming that a payment went through in error. As it has been 24 hours the second payment by Direct Debit it must be visible to you on your systems when looking up my account.[/font]

Irish Water: Niall

Hi martina1989,

Thank you for contacting us.

I understand your concern and please accept my apologies over the inconvenience caused. Once a refund is approved it may take up to 15 working days for the amount in question to be returned. This is part of our refund process which is outlined in our Domestic Billing Code of Practice. Please see here for more information.

However, if you would like us to check the status of your refund, please send the following details via PM and we will be happy to assist you:

- Name;
- Address;
- Contact Number; and
- Confirmation that you are the account holder.

Kind regards,
Niall

martina1989

Irish Water: Niall wrote: »

Hi martina1989,

Thank you for contacting us.

I understand your concern and please accept my apologies over the inconvenience caused. Once a refund is approved it may take up to 15 working days for the amount in question to be returned. This is part of our refund process which is outlined in our Domestic Billing Code of Practice. Please see for more information.

However, if you would like us to check the status of your refund, please send the following details via PM and we will be happy to assist you:

- Name;
- Address;
- Contact Number; and
- Confirmation that you are the account holder.

Kind regards,
Niall

Hi Niall, 

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have sent a PM with the details you asked for. I still cannot get over that I have to wait for this to be approved first though. 15 working days is a long waiting period for a refund from any company but I would accept that as it's is stated in your code of practice. But what I find unacceptable is that I have been told I will have to wait a number of days before this is even approved even though I clearly have money taken out of my account. 

I paid by card originally. I have processed many card refunds over the phone working for customer services and this only takes 3-5 working days. Even refunds in shops only take this long. How is this time frame trebled in this case?

Irish Water: Niall

Hi Martina1989

martina1989 wrote: »

Hi Niall,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have sent a PM with the details you asked for. I still cannot get over that I have to wait for this to be approved first though. 15 working days is a long waiting period for a refund from any company but I would accept that as it's is stated in your code of practice. But what I find unacceptable is that I have been told I will have to wait a number of days before this is even approved even though I clearly have money taken out of my account.

I paid by card originally. I have processed many card refunds over the phone working for customer services and this only takes 3-5 working days. Even refunds in shops only take this long. How is this time frame trebled in this case?

You're very welcome.

We appreciate your feedback regarding this matter. A member of our team has responded to your query via PM.

Thanks,
Niall

Caoimheblair

Hi Martina,

The exact same thing happened me today also. I called up Irish water as I can't afford €65.54 been taken out of my account. Pay day is next week. And that money is to feed the kids and put petrol in the car to get them to school. I was also told 15 days. I said you can't take money from my account without there been an outstanding bill which they agreeed there wasn't any. I was told they would contact me tomorrow. I'm so upset about this and how it is handled. I'm sure there is no law to allow a company take money that is not owed to them and refuse to pay it back for at least 2 weeks.

Irish Water: Niall

Hi Caoimheblair,

Thank you for getting in touch.

We can look into this matter for you. Could you send a private message with the following information:

- Name;
- Address;
- Contact Number; and
- Confirmation that you are the account holder.

Thanks in advance,
Niall

martina1989

Caoimheblair wrote: »

Hi Martina,

The exact same thing happened me today also. I called up Irish water as I can't afford €65.54 been taken out of my account. Pay day is next week. And that money is to feed the kids and put petrol in the car to get them to school. I was also told 15 days. I said you can't take money from my account without there been an outstanding bill which they agreeed there wasn't any. I was told they would contact me tomorrow. I'm so upset about this and how it is handled. I'm sure there is no law to allow a company take money that is not owed to them and refuse to pay it back for at least 2 weeks.

Hi Caoimhe, 

I rang them again yesterday evening as I'm getting no new information here, only what I've been told already - that it is being processed and my query number. When I rang the call centre agent could see my account was in credit of €91.82. I worked in two seperate call centres for phone/tv companies and have been able to process card refunds in minutes once it's clear that a mistake have been made and that was as a sales agent. I can't see how Irish Water don't allow agents in their BILLING department to refund this and I have to wait around. 

I have no problem that a mistake occurred, these things can happen and it's no one's fault when an automatic system messes up but the way they handle it and the delay in the resolution is really frustrating!

martina1989

Caoimheblair wrote: »

Hi Martina,

The exact same thing happened me today also. I called up Irish water as I can't afford €65.54 been taken out of my account. Pay day is next week. And that money is to feed the kids and put petrol in the car to get them to school. I was also told 15 days. I said you can't take money from my account without there been an outstanding bill which they agreeed there wasn't any. I was told they would contact me tomorrow. I'm so upset about this and how it is handled. I'm sure there is no law to allow a company take money that is not owed to them and refuse to pay it back for at least 2 weeks.

Hi Caoimhe, 

I rang them again yesterday evening as I'm getting no new information here, only what I've been told already - that it is being processed and my query number. When I rang the call centre agent could see my account was in credit of €91.82. I worked in two seperate call centres for phone/tv companies and have been able to process card refunds in minutes once it's clear that a mistake have been made and that was as a sales agent. I can't see how Irish Water don't allow agents in their BILLING department to refund this and I have to wait around. 

I have no problem that a mistake occurred, these things can happen and it's no one's fault when an automatic system messes up but the way they handle it and the delay in the resolution is really frustrating!