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IRISH WATER HAS launched a refunds page on its website for those who paid the charges and are due money back.
Last month customers were told that Irish Water would refund the full amount of their water charges before the end of the year.
Refunds totalling €173 million will be paid to 990,000 customers.
The legislation to enable the refunding of water charges is progressing through the Oireachtas and is expected to be approved shortly.
Speaking in advance of the start of refunds, head of customer operations for Irish Water, Eamon Gallen said:
“The two big questions that customers have is how much they will receive and when they will receive it.
Household customers can be assured that they will receive the full amount they paid, and customers will shortly be able to check online exactly how much they are due and when there are likely to receive their refund.
“Irish Water have been working in the background for several months to ensure that refunds will be ready to go as soon as we are authorised to do so by government.”
Customers who have changed address or personal details are being urged to contact Irish Water to ensure they get their refund.
Gallen said, “I would urge any customers who have not informed us of a change of address to do so now so that their details are up to date and there is no delay in issuing their cheque.”
In a statement Irish Water said the refunds will be made via cheque to the account holder at the address they provided to Irish Water.
“Payments are being made by cheque because this is the quickest and most efficient means of payment, which also provides the highest level of security by ensuring that only the account holder can lodge the cheque and Irish Water can cancel any cheques sent to incorrect addresses or individuals.
“Cheques also ensure that Irish Water will not need to have account holders’ bank account details and customers can be very clear that at no time will anyone from Irish Water contact them looking for those details.”
An additional €5 million – on top of the refunds totalling €173 million – will spent on the cost of letters, cheques, a public information campaign and additional staffing to support the project.
Radio advertisements are also beginning this week across local and national stations advising customers to contact Irish Water on 1850 448 448 if their address has changed and they have yet to update their details.
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Spending more money to give us back our money. Only in Ireland.
Struggling to believe they had 990,000 people pay, the mind boggles, also cannot accept people called customers with IW, actually can’t accept IW in anyway, once IW is still there we are going to end up paying, this is how they do it, slowly creep in the cost of paying for water twice,
@Mick Hannigan: if they said we’ll refund the first 700,000 then I’m sure the other 290,000 would let us know. Would you believe it then?
@Anto Curran: what are you in about?
Love the picture at the top, it reminds me of when I received a IW bill and I would sit there laughing at it too
I’d rather they kept my money and put it towards the families in emergency accommodation and try give them a better Christmas
@Niall Roche: you can donate your refund to a homeless charity.
@Alan Wiley: n
@Alan Wiley: not much mine would do alone but if everyone had the option maybe it would make a big difference
Imagine all the pipes they could have fixed with billions spent to set up a billing company known as Irish water. Fleets of Audi’s, gyms, yoga classes oh and the millions on consultants. Just imagine the pipes that could have been fixed. Instead we have meter removals going on the length and breadth of the country, Irish water a calamitous failure of unmitigated proportions and the gleaming jewel in Fianna Gael portfolio of poor management.
Such a shame! This money is needed to fix all those old underground pipes. Look at all the leaks there have been the last year and all the people who were on boil water notices.! We are not a very far seeing people!
@Mary Lyons: hope you have a hard hat Mary,gonna be some heavy comments coming your way.That kind of rational thought is frowned upon around here.
@Mary Lyons: paid thru taxes mary so sorry that you grasp of the English language is so overwhelming keep studying it you’ll get there eventually.
@Mary Lyons: think of all those pipes that could of been fixed with all the money they poured into IW and the attempted privatisation of the water supply.
@Gerard Heery: we needed that money to bring our 80 year pipes up to date! You are probably one of those eegits who say “ why do we have pay so much for our water, sure it never stops raining in Ireland “ You might feel differently if you have few days here and there with NO water!
@Mary Lyons: The billions of euros it cost setting up the super quango would have been better spent on the water infrastructure. But you already know this, it’s just that your wilful fkin ignorance is astounding.
@Mary Lyons: mary they wasted the tax take in the celtic tiger on public pay rises ,e voting, 30 mil for land for a prison,milions on children’s hospital that hasn’t a sod turned,to name a few I’m sure we don’t get to hear about the pure and other waste of tax payers money
What about the interest that was made from the 999,000 who payed their water charges !!!
@hugh sure: at current interest rates? Probably 2 cent
@hugh sure: paid
Happy Christmas from Irish Water!
A clusterfu from start to finish. Just go away IW
‘Cheques also ensure that Irish Water will not need to have account holders’ bank account details ’ Nevertheless, it provides a trail to people’s bank account numbers. And that’s what FFG want. Also, some people paid by cash in post offices because they haven’t bank accounts. So can they cash the cheques – no?
@Father Hody Commody: I find it very hard to believe there are adults in this country with either no bank or credit union account.
@Ian Walsh: Not that hard to believe. Not-so-Well-off elderly for instance who do their business in post offices through cash. Husbands may have a bank account while wives might not. And vice versa.
But you only picked one point I was making. If people paid in cash, for the very reason of not having IW or FFG access to their bank details, then they should be refunded in cash at post offices.
IW ☺️
First it was we’ll be paid before xmas, now its not everybody will be paid before xmas due to delayed legislation. I don’t like this trend!
Had to laugh at the spokeswoman for I.W. she mentioned the word customers at least a hundred times, and so the brain washing continues to bill us for this scam, bondholder tax. Get the message I.W. not paying multiple times for our water.
FAt lot of use that is to me-I moved from the only place I paid water charges.
Can we also have a refund of our Motor Tax fraudulent charges since 2008 when pre-2008 car owners had to pay €580 annual Motor Tax for a humble 1.6 L car while those who could afford new cars (including dirty diesel Mercs and BMWs) paid just €280 …
.. so we are now due €300 excess tax charge x 10 yrs = €3000
.. taken off our trackers by Fianna Fail/ Fine Gael ..!!!
thanks.
pre-2008 car owners.
Sign up to be in for Motor Tax refund. https://www.change.org/p/unfair-car-tax-law
Poll uncontoversially agrees with previous, very long, detailed poll.
No one cares except the anti-choicers who haven’t copped they’ve lost.
Quiet news day.
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