The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has today warned people that it has received reports of bogus phone calls being made to business customers as part of an ongoing scam.
It appears that only business customers have been contacted to date; however, the CER says it is possible that domestic customers have or will be contacted.
The bogus calls involve people claiming to represent either a supplier or ESB Networks.
In one case the caller claims to represent the supplier advising that payment is due on their account, in order to avoid disconnection.
In another case the caller claims to represent ESB Networks advising that a meter exchange program is being conducted, for which the customer must pay.
In both cases, the caller requests credit card details for payment. They also provide a phone number for the customer to call them back on. It appears that this number can only be reached by using a mobile phone and the CER believes it is possible that there is also some sort of scam involving premium rate calls.
The CER is advising people that as a governing authority it obliges energy suppliers to contact customers at risk of disconnection by mail a number of times, as well as through other forms of communication.
In addition, it notes, suppliers are also required to send a disconnection notice prior to lodging a request for disconnection. That must be in writing and must provide at least 10 working days’ notice of domestic customers and 5 days’ notice for business customers.
