Pricewatch

‘It took me two months, multiple emails and a phone call to get my refund from Bord Gáis Energy’

Pricewatch: Company says it is working with affected customers to resolve issues ‘as quickly as possible’

Irish Times readers report long delays for a refund from Bord Gáis Energy. Photograph: iStock/Getty
Irish Times readers report long delays for a refund from Bord Gáis Energy. Photograph: iStock/Getty
Conor Pope's picture
Conor Pope
Mon May 29 2023 - 12:00

Last week we featured a story from a reader who was left waiting a long time for a refund she was due from Bord Gáis Energy. It seems like she was not alone.

“It took me two months, multiple emails and a phone call to get my refund from Bord Gáis Energy,” said a reader called Eoghan, who sent us a long email thread which outlined his frustrating experience trying to get the company to give him his money back.

A reader called Pat told us that when he received his first household benefit payment last month he got a back payment so paid his gas bill that had just been issued. “The payment was clear on the BG app but they still took the full amount of the bill on a DD two weeks later. When I contacted them to refund, they said I had to wait 10 days for the DD to clear and recontact them for a refund.”

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Another reader called Vincent had a credit balance of more than €12,000 in March. “I requested a refund on April 3rd and gave all details as requested, including my bank details. I was told a transfer would be made within six to 10 days. No repayment was received, so I phoned again on April 21st. The lady I spoke to had the details of my previous call and could not understand why a transfer had not been made to my bank account. I gave the same details again and, in addition, my current gas meter reading. I was absolutely assured that the payment would be made.”

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It wasn’t, so in early May he made another call and said the person he spoke to “said that their processes were broken down but he would put my request through a different channel and this would work. No payment. On May 16th, I made a further call. The person I spoke to had the record of my previous calls and informed me that he would raise a complaint on my behalf. I pointed out that the recipients of my previous three calls could have been in no doubt but that I was making a complaint.”

A day later, Vincent got an email from Bord Gáis “acknowledging my complaint and saying that a complaints handler would contact me but it could take up to 10 working days. Today is May 22nd and I am waiting more in hope than expectation.”

We got in touch with Bord Gáis Energy again and received the following statement.

“At Bord Gáis Energy we hold ourselves to very high standards of customer service and our customers remain our top priority. Over the past year we’ve invested in new people and training all our team to help our customers navigate the complexity of the Irish energy market. While our customer service scores show strong and continuous improvement, it is clear that in some cases we have not lived up to our own high standards.

“We’re sorry for that and we apologise. We’re working with the impacted customers to resolve these matters as quickly as possible. While these cases are complex, we are working as fast as we can and will keep in regular contact with these customers.”