Italy Magazine Forums

papastonch · #1 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 04:17 PM

My bank pays my ENEL bills by standing order, bimonthly. But I notice that my last two bills have been for TWO bimonthly payments each. i.e the bank is paying the bills every 4 months, two payments at a time.
What's going on? Has anyone else experienced this? Is the bank skipping a payment on their own authority, or have ENEL adopted this system universally?
You might say "Why not ask the bank"? I have tried that, but they are very evasive - I get a torrent of Italian and a lot of shoulder shrugs, but no straight answer.
Can anyone tell me how long ENEL permits non-payment before they cut you off? That's what really worries me.

NickZ · #2 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 05:00 PM

Mine is bi-monthly but if the bill is low enough Enel tells me to ignore it and pay next time. I've no idea what the cut off is. Between an intial over payment and Enel's policy of letting low payments slide I went six months between paying.

Don't you get bills? If not can't you check your account online?

Charles Phillips · #3 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 05:01 PM

If there is only a small amount of electricity being used at your house, ENEL sometimes 'roll up' two bills - the first one for €0.00 and saying delightfully "Attenzione! C'e niente da pagare". This could be happening in your case. If the bill is for zero, ENEL won't invoke the direct debit with the bank, so it is effectively true that the bank knows nothing about it all.

I'm quite certain that being two months late paying an ENEL bill won't get you cut off!

alan h · #4 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 05:08 PM

Enel sends me my monthly bill here to my UK homer address - and the bill is paid by Direct Debit from my Italian Bank account. When the bill is low, ENEL takes nothing from the account and just adds the money onto the next bill.

My Gas bill does go bi-monthly in the summer - [probably for the same reasons]

.

papastonch · #5 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 05:45 PM

Many thanks to all respondents. My bills are sent to my address in Italy, though the bank pays them. I didn't know that I could get my bills sent to my U.K address. Will look into that when I next go out there in August.
I use very little electricity, but because of the standing charge, my bills are in the region of 30 euros bimonthly.
Lately, however, they have been charging me 60 euros every four months, with the words "totale proventi e oneri gia assoggettati" for the previous bimonthly payment. I take this to mean that this is the amount I owe from the previous (skipped) bimonthly payment.
I'm anxious about this because I don't trust the bank, who have let me down more than once over standing orders in the past.

NickZ · #6 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 05:55 PM

Without checking the bills for wording that's virtually my exact situation.

One bill of around 30 Euros. They tell me to not bother. Next bill of around 60.

papastonch · #7 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickZ

Without checking the bills for wording that's virtually my exact situation.

One bill of around 30 Euros. They tell me to not bother. Next bill of around 60.

Thanks NickZ, I feel very re-assured to know that you have experienced the same treatment.
I wonder if it is possible to pay a good sum in advance and carry a credit forward as you can do in U.K.? As my visits to the house (especially in winter) are sometimes a long time apart, this would be very convenient.

Charles Phillips · #8 (**permalink**) 07-07-08, 08:19 PM

http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/cos...contracts.html

This thread (first post) has a link to an ENEL pdf which describes various tarriffs (available last year - I can't find them on the ENEL site at the moment). It might be worth your looking into the Una+ deal, which involved an annual upfront payment, if ENEL are still offering it.

papastonch · #9 (**permalink**) 08-07-08, 07:53 AM

Thanks, Charles, that's really useful. I'll look into that right away.

Geotherm · #10 (**permalink**) 08-07-08, 08:27 AM

These are the current rates from the Enel site, for resident up to 3Kw, resident over 3Kw and non-resident.
Enel SpA - Per contratti fino a 3 kW Residenti
Enel SpA - Per contratti oltre 3 kW e Non Residenti fino a 3 kW
These are supposed to be effective from 1st July. Always handy to work out what your bills will be especially if you use a lot of electricity, especially if on the standard 3kw tariff as that escalates quite rapidly the more you use.
Normal daily rates for non off peak supply.
Enel SpA - Tariffa D3
Enel SpA - Tariffa D2