Customer credit risk evaluation policy and associated deposits / payment options
There is a credit risk evaluation policy for Electricity ROI up to DG5, DG6, NI electricity up to NIT101 and Gas FVT, MBU & SBU.
It is necessary to carry out relevant credit checks via the method below for ALL business customer applications in advance of quoting any security requirements. This check should validate the following information:
- Valid company name
- Company registration number & record same on system
- Credit score to determine whether business is a low/medium or high risk company (see Table A below)
The deposit amount required is based on the approximate electricity/gas consumption and in all cases will be
requested at first point of contact and will generally equate to the value of two bills. Deposits need to be paid within 7 calendar days of registration to be valid.
Table A |
|
Risk Category |
Refer to table below |
Low risk Credit Score |
Direct Debit (DD) Mandatory – no deposit
|
Medium/High risk Credit Score |
Direct Debit (DD) and Deposit
|
Please note : Customers cannot use a residential account to waiver a Commercial deposit
|
In the event of a recently established Company where no accounts have been returned or no Credit Score is available, the Credit Control Team in Electric Ireland will make a decision on what terms to do business with this customer.
Where it is appropriate to accept direct debit only as security, we reserve the right to apply a deposit or issue the account for disconnection if the customer defaults on direct debit payments.
In the case of a company being in Liquidation or Receivership, the Liquidator or Receiver must send a letter confirming responsibility for the account and all charges associated with the account including Standing Charges and KVA. This letter must be sent to us within 48 hours of contact. On receipt of this confirmation letter no deposit is required however,
Direct Debit is mandatory. In the case of Liquidators, we require a guarantee that the Examiner will guarantee payment of all energy bills while the examinership is taking place.
The security deposit is automatically credited to the account following the 14-month anniversary of all payments being made in line with agreed credit terms.