Bord Gáis to refund bills

CONSUMERS overcharged on their Christmas gas bills will have their money refunded, Bord Gáis have confirmed.

Bord Gáis said any customer receiving bills for the November/December period will now be charged at the old VAT rate of 12.5%, and those who have already received bills for that period will be refunded the extra charges Consumers' Association of Ireland chief executive Dermott Jewell described this decision as a victory for people power, as it was the public backlash to the decision to apply the 1% hike in VAT to bills that prompted the State agency to act.

Since last week, when the issue first came to light, Bord Gáis has been in meeting with the Revenue Commissioners for permission to apply the old 12.5% rate of VAT rate to bills issued in January for gas used before the end of December.

Under the terms of the Budget decision to hike the lower rate of VAT to 13.5%, all invoices issued from January must apply the new higher rate. However, other companies, such as the ESB, reached an agreement with the Revenue Commissioners in December whereby they could apply the old rate of VAT to all bills spanning the December/January period to avoid confusion. When asked why Bord Gáis only sought the concession from the Revenue Commissioners last week, the company said it was partly due to public pressure.

"It is perfectly legal to apply the new VAT rate from January 1 onwards to all invoices. It is of no benefit to us or our customers. The issue was highlighted and we have applied for a concession," said Bord Gáis spokeswoman Angela Brown. She pointed out that the average amount to be refunded to customers will be 60 cent.

However, Mr Jewell said what the average amount of the refund will be did not matter, what mattered was that consumers had to fight not to be overcharged.