Electric bill

IrishLad90

Bill has increased six fold this month due to an actual reading compared to my estimated from last few months.

I moved into my place under a year ago and this feckin" nightmare of a bill was waiting for me..

Can I contest this or will it just result in me paying the full outstanding..

osarusan

IrishLad90 wrote: »

Bill has increased six fold this month due to an actual reading compared to my estimated from last few months.

I moved into my place under a year ago and this feckin" nightmare of a bill was waiting for me..

Can I contest this or will it just result in me paying the full outstanding..

This has happened me in the past also.

An 'estimated reading' in the middle of winter was way too low, and then the next bill came with the actual reading that covered the new billing period as well as all of what the estimate missed.

I don't think you've any choice but to pay it though - they are only billing for what you used.

You could raise the issue of the woefully inaccurate estimate though, in the hope that they'll be more realistic in future. You can also provide them with actual readings of the meter if you have access to it.

IrishLad90

osarusan wrote: »

This has happened me in the past also.

An 'estimated reading' in the middle of winter was way too low, and then the next bill came with the actual reading that covered the new billing period as well as all of what the estimate missed.

I don't think you've any choice but to pay it though - they are only billing for what you used.

You could raise the issue of the woefully inaccurate estimate though, in the hope that they'll be more realistic in future. You can also provide them with actual readings of the meter if you have access to it.

Thanks for the reply, I was genuinely shocked in the difference of the bills :O

And I don't plan on spending the rest of my day on hold either when I replied to there email they said they will get back to me .... In 3 working days

andekwarhola

Send in your own reading for every billing cycle as well.

I do this for gas and electricity and our bills are always pretty predictable during the year.

Estrellita

If you send your own reading in a week or so before billing then they will take it into account and charge you accordingly. No nasty surprise bills that way. You are just going to have to pay the bill off.

whiskeyman

IrishLad90 wrote: »

Can I contest this or will it just result in me paying the full outstanding..

You can ask for a payment arrangement if the amount owed is too much to pay off this month.

If the actual seems correct, you will have to pay.

As others have said, be sure to take your own meter reads monthly to ensure accurate billing.

andekwarhola

We're with Airtricity and you can arrange to be reminded (by text and/or email) to submit a reading 3 days before billing is due and then enter the reading on their site. Presume others providers allow this.

Mr. Incognito

I've had a faulty meter for years.

They, after many attempts got someone out to check the calibration which was incorrect.

They only adjusted for 12 months.

I was in the middle of that row and accidently paid the lot by card online as their website defaults to the full amount and I stupidly put in the amount I wanted to pay and didnt hit submit

So I have no hope of getting that back.

They are a typical dsyfunctional semi state

XsApollo

Switch to a provider with level pay.
I pay around 55euro a month for electricity , every month regardless of usage.
I do the same with the Gas , it's around the same regardless of usage.
I haven't looked at a bill in over a year and half.
No surprise bills.

Winterlong

XsApollo wrote: »

Switch to a provider with level pay.
I pay around 55euro a month for electricity , every month regardless of usage.
I do the same with the Gas , it's around the same regardless of usage.
I haven't looked at a bill in over a year and half.
No surprise bills.

With Level pay you should get a balancing statement at the end of the year and you then either get a refund or have to pay to match your actual usage.

XsApollo

Winterlong wrote: »

With Level pay you should get a balancing statement at the end of the year and you then either get a refund or have to pay to match your actual usage.

Yea I know, they just adjust it accordingly.

BrokenArrows

IrishLad90 wrote: »

Bill has increased six fold this month due to an actual reading compared to my estimated from last few months.

I moved into my place under a year ago and this feckin" nightmare of a bill was waiting for me..

Can I contest this or will it just result in me paying the full outstanding..

You are fully liable for the amount they have charged you with because you used that amount of electricity. (Assuming the reading is correct. )

You were neglectful in not checking the readings on the estimated bills against your actual readings. They can only estimate based on the knowledge they have about you and the property. If this is wrong then it is your responsibility to correct it.

Most suppliers are fair with this stuff and will allow you to pay it off gradually, so just call them and arrange that.

And as other posters have said you should submit your actual readings every month or two so that the estimates dont become inaccurate in the future.

XsApollo

XsApollo wrote: »

Switch to a provider with level pay.
I pay around 55euro a month for electricity , every month regardless of usage.
I do the same with the Gas , it's around the same regardless of usage.
I haven't looked at a bill in over a year and half.
No surprise bills.

Not a fan of level pay myself, prefer to submit a reading and pay the actual amount. Especially with gas as you get tiny bills all summer when you have expenses like holidays, weddings etc.

Winterlong

XsApollo wrote: »

Yea I know, they just adjust it accordingly.

Not if the delta is too much. Then you have to pay it off and they adjust upwards the following year. So not really 'no surprises' as you said.
Better to take readings and pay IMO.

The Backwards Man

Kidnap some oulwan from the day centre, put the house in their name and claim the household benefits package on their behalf

RayM

andekwarhola wrote: »

I do this for gas and electricity and our bills are always pretty predictable during the year.

I run the gas off the electricity, and the electricity off the gas. Save €200 a year.

DrumSteve

BrokenArrows wrote: »

You are fully liable for the amount they have charged you with because you used that amount of electricity. (Assuming the reading is correct. )

You were neglectful in not checking the readings on the estimated bills against your actual readings. They can only estimate based on the knowledge they have about you and the property. If this is wrong then it is your responsibility to correct it.

Most suppliers are fair with this stuff and will allow you to pay it off gradually, so just call them and arrange that.

And as other posters have said you should submit your actual readings every month or two so that the estimates dont become inaccurate in the future.

TBH the main problem here isn't the suppliers; it's the ESB as they pass on the readings.

I would recommend that everyone contacts their companies every two months with readings; don't leave it to estimates (ESB themselves are only mandated to read your meter between 1 and 4 times a year so you could get stuck with an estimated invoice otherwise)

XsApollo

Winterlong wrote: »

Not if the delta is too much. Then you have to pay it off and they adjust upwards the following year. So not really 'no surprises' as you said.
Better to take readings and pay IMO.

I haven't had any surprises, unless you have changed something drastic in your usage from the year before then it would be pretty similar

XsApollo

Jason Happy Squad wrote: »

Not a fan of level pay myself, prefer to submit a reading and pay the actual amount. Especially with gas as you get tiny bills all summer when you have expenses like holidays, weddings etc.

Works both ways, No massive gas bills over the winter, Christmas , party season :-P

IrishLad90

Could this be backdated to a previous tenant? I am fairly sure the Meyer reader has only been out here once since I moved in !!

osarusan

IrishLad90 wrote: »

Could this be backdated to a previous tenant? I am fairly sure the Meyer reader has only been out here once since I moved in !!

I think that if you had a contract and it was all above board, your letting agent/landlord would have read the meter on the final day of the previous tenant's occupancy and passed that on to the utility company.

B.A._Baracus

Interesting you should say that, op.
In my parent's house you never hear the meter man even to this day. It started about 2009/2010 and since then the door has been opened to him about 5-8 times.

We all chalked it up to who ever in the house at the time was deaf or sleeping until on two separate occasions myself and then my dad heard him knock and we have never, ever heard a much softer knock using a brass door knocker in my life :pac:


It's all apart of the job tho when you think about it. You're hardly going to spend 1 minute on each house knocking and waiting for someone to open the door. Not when someone can call or go online to give their meter reading

So you knock with a 'sponge' and move on to the next lol.

readytosnap

You moved into a place and didn't check the meter reading?

Imallrightjack

After hours where are you?

DrumSteve

osarusan wrote: »

I think that if you had a contract and it was all above board, your letting agent/landlord would have read the meter on the final day of the previous tenant's occupancy and passed that on to the utility company.

You would be surprised.

ALWAYS take your meter reading on day you enter the property and the day you leave. Take a pic if you have to.

osarusan

DrumSteve wrote: »

You would be surprised.

ALWAYS take your meter reading on day you enter the property and the day you leave. Take a pic if you have to.

Oh I agree.

It should be done properly, but it's always best to do it yourself.

The picture itself might not mean a whole lot though.

I'd say it's best to get either the landlord/agent/whoever is there when you're signing a contract to get onto their phone and send you a quick email stating that the meter reading was XYZ on the date you moved into the place.

the.red.baron

IrishLad90 wrote: »

Bill has increased six fold this month due to an actual reading compared to my estimated from last few months.

I moved into my place under a year ago and this feckin" nightmare of a bill was waiting for me..

Can I contest this or will it just result in me paying the full outstanding..

did you not switch the bill into your name when you moved in? You'd have been asked for a reading then

XsApollo

XsApollo wrote: »

Works both ways, No massive gas bills over the winter, Christmas , party season :-P

We don't tend to get massive bills anyway as the heat is usually just on for a hour or two in the evening even in winter. Free timber in the fire keeps the living room nice a warm all evening.

gitane007

How did you know your meter was faulty?.

gitane007

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

I've had a faulty meter for years.

They, after many attempts got someone out to check the calibration which was incorrect.

They only adjusted for 12 months.

I was in the middle of that row and accidently paid the lot by card online as their website defaults to the full amount and I stupidly put in the amount I wanted to pay and didnt hit submit

So I have no hope of getting that back.

They are a typical dsyfunctional semi state

How did you know your meter was faulty?.