10678 Paying ENEL bills

Hi,
Can't help with the other things however, the postal address at the bottom of my ENEL bill is as follows:

Enel Servizio Elettrico SpA
Societa con unico socio
Sede Legale 00198 Roma
Viale Regina Margherita 125

website:[url]www.prontoenel.it[/url]

Thanks a lot, Jinty, il mio amico. For some reason, despite intense scrutiny, I cannot find any address on any of my past bills.

[quote=papastonch;99440]Thanks a lot, Jinty, il mio amico. For some reason, despite intense scrutiny, I cannot find any address on any of my past bills.[/quote]

Here's some info for you. Right at the bottom is an address for customers to write to. There is also an International number so (presumably) they would speaak English. Though don't expect them all to be polite, even though many are (now they have competition!!!)

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
[I]Il nostro Servizio Clienti - 800 900 800

Sul nostro sito WEB puoi trovare molte delle informazioni che ti interessano, ti invitiamo a navigare!

Comunicare comodamente con Enel Servizio Elettrico è possibile. E’ sufficiente chiamare dal lunedì al venerdì dalle 8 alle 22 e il sabato dalle 8 alle 14:

*[B]800 900 800 [/B]da qualsiasi numero di rete fissa. La chiamata è gratuita.
*[B]199 50 50 55 [/B]se chiami da un cellulare. Il costo della chiamata è a tuo carico e dipende dal tuo operatore telefonico.
* [B]+390230172011[/B] se chiami dall'estero. Il costo della chiamata è a tuo carico e dipende dal tuo operatore telefonico.

Per Campione d'Italia puoi contattare i seguenti numeri:
*Servizio Clienti 0 800 557 734
*Segnalazione guasti 0 800 836 741

I nostri operatori sono a tua disposizione per tutte le operazioni commerciali:
*stipulare o disdire il tuo contratto,
*modificare la potenza impegnata,
*comunicare la lettura del contatore,
*ricevere informazioni su consumi, bollette e pagamenti,
*richiedere la domiciliazione della bolletta su conto corrente e su carta di credito,
* richiedere il riallaccio della fornitura dopo un distacco,

Anche per i tuoi reclami i nostri operatori sapranno darti risposte e informazioni tempestive.

Informativa privacy ai sensi dell' art. 13 del D.lgs. N. 196/03

Se preferisci scriverci o hai bisogno di inviarci la tua documentazione l' indirizzo è:
[B]Enel Servizio Elettrico
Casella postale 1100
85100 Potenza

[/B][/I]

Thanks, Carole B, I may eventually have to resort to the phone line, though I find it very difficult if I have to speak Italian on the phone - my mind works too slowly!
You are right about Italian officials, though very charming people in private life, I have noticed that many Italians become unbearably rude and arrogant when they are given a little power. My bank manager in U.K would not DARE to speak to his customers in the manner frequently used by the bank manager of my (former) bank in Italy. And the woman in the Post Office is more interested in doing her nails than serving anyone at the counter.

I agree with Carole that if you do have to resort to the postal service, then the Potenza office is the one to write to.

However, through the website, I believe that an e-mail in English often gets a quick response (in English).

Re the Codice Fiscale - have you checked whether the CF on your ENEL bill (top right, just below your client number) is the same as your genuine CF? If it differs, have you tried entering both CFs, one of them might work!

On a related subject, there was some discussion here last year about ENEL ceasing the acceptance of UK credit card payments online. I don't know if anybody has retried this recently, I only suggest that it might be up and running again because I had problems with an Italian card on some UK sites which has now resolved itself.

You can buy, from many Italian banks or from the Post Office here in Italy, a pre-paid credit card, which presumably would be acceptable to ENEL for payment online. Has anybody tried this route?

Thanks a lot for all your help, Charles, and all the very useful information. I will write to the Potenza address if I cannot get a response by the web. There is no discrepancy in my Codice Fiscale number on the ENEL bill as opposed to my card, so that simple explanation is not valid, I'm afraid. I read the discussion about the possibility of paying by a Nationwide credit card and have signed up for one, but unless I can get past the Codice Fiscale problem it won't be of any use. Do you know what the pre-paid Italian Credit Cards are called? I need to know the exact Italian name to buy one, because the woman in our local Post Office is singularly unhelpful. She once told me that it was not possible for a foreigner to open any kind of account at the Post Office, a statement that I now know to be totally untrue.

The card which (might!) work is explained on this page (you do not need a PosteItaliane account)

[url=http://www.poste.it/bancoposta/cartedipagamento/postepay.shtml]Poste Italiane - Postepay[/url]

Also - just a thought, the ENEL site is pretty flaky (especially at weekends...yeah, I know, but 'This is Italy'). Try try and try again sometimes works.

The number Carole B mentions * +390230172011 se chiami dall'estero. Il costo della chiamata è a tuo carico e dipende dal tuo operatore telefonico" sounds as if it will be a premium rate number.

Thanks for the warning, Sally.

[quote=Sally Donaldson;99674]The number Carole B mentions * +390230172011 se chiami dall'estero. Il costo della chiamata è a tuo carico e dipende dal tuo operatore telefonico" sounds as if it will be a premium rate number.[/quote]

No it [U]isn't[/U] Sally. The text says:
+390230172011 if you call from abroad. The cost of the call is charged to you and depends on your telephone company tariffs"

The number is a [I]standard[/I] number [B]02 30172011[/B] in the Milan area.
ENEL make this statement because the other numbers provided are freephone numbers with the exception of the 199 xxxxxx number which is for use from cellphones and which (they warn you) will be charged at cellphone rates.

But that 02 number [I][U]can[/U][/I] be called very cheaply by using Skype Out to fixed telephone lines...

Grazie (because I love you!!!) Tiscali UK have that package where for £20 per month you have broadband, line rental, 24 hour nationwide calls and international calls for free!!!

[quote=Sally Donaldson;99685]Grazie (because I love you!!!) Tiscali UK have that package where for £20 per month you have broadband, line rental, 24 hour nationwide calls and international calls for free!!![/quote]

A bit 'off topic' I s'pose, but Skype is free and Skype-Out. from Europe to Europe is only €0.017 per minute and you only pay for the time you speak. So €10 will give you over 500 minutes and you don't have to pay that every month!

Oh and Sal - though it's nice that 'you love me' - you really [I]don't[/I] :nah: need to say Grazie almost every time I post ... you really don't! [IMG]http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/thumbnail2/2393_kiss_on_the_cheek.gif[/IMG]

We, too, closed our Italian bank account this year and now, after a lot of help from members of this forum and correspondence with Enel, have managed to pay 2 bills by SEPA Credit Transfer from Barclays in the UK. The IBAN is IT08 D050 4002 8000 0000 0100 04Q
SWIFTBIC ANTBIT2P625 Banca Antoniana Pop. Veneta. The charge is £15 for SEPA. In order to reduce this expense I have wondered if it would be possible to wait for 2 bills before paying but I am scared to do this in case they cut us off. Does anyone else do this?

£15 transfer on every bill - wow!

I don't think they would let you pay two bills at a time. I have friends who missed [I]one[/I] bill for electricity and telephone (due to illness and having to remain in the UK) and when they came back here both services had been cut off!

Do you have any good friends over here who have a Paypal account? If so, would it not be less expensive to ask them if you could transfer the money to them and if they would fill out a bollettino and pay it for you?

[QUOTE=Helen Warner;99691]. The charge is £15 for SEPA.?/QUOTE]

£15 per transfer!!!!!!!!!!!! Ow!!
I am sorry to state the obvious but would it not have been much more economical and easier simply to maintain an Italian bank or post office account and pay all bills by direct debit? With just an electricity bill every two months it means you will now pay at least £90 a year just in transfer charges! The Bancaposta charge a max of €30 per year - much cheaper!!!!!!

Thanks for clarifying that Carole B. As a last resort (which I may very well have to exercise if they keep ignoring my other messages), I shall have to try my luck by phone. I do appreciate everyone's help.

[quote=Helen Warner;99691]The charge is £15 for SEPA. In order to reduce this expense I have wondered if it would be possible to wait for 2 bills before paying but I am scared to do this in case they cut us off. Does anyone else do this?[/quote]
I'm with those who think it would be unwise not to pay an ENEL bill promptly. Given how the electronic meters now used virtually everywhere can supply usage readings without anyone visiting, I assume their computerised billing system is also capable of simply switching off your electricity if you don't pay in time.

Have you considered the opposite of paying late? I assume if you pay more than your current bill, ENEL will not send you a refund, but will instead simply apply the credit to your next billing period. Even if you factor in nominal losses due to not receiving interest on money you've spent on services not yet supplied, it would have to be cheaper to pay for six months of electricity twice a year than to spend an additional £60 on transfer charges.

Al

Hello AllanMason,
Thanks for the advice. I certainly WOULD pay more and thereby put my account into credit if I could, but I don't think that the Post Office would allow you to pay more than the payment slip stated. Or would they? Anbody know or has tried to pay more?
Best Wishes and thanks again for your help,
David (papastonch)

You can just fill in a blank post payment form (find it in any post office) with all the details from the pre-printed one written in, and the amount you have chosen.

There was an annual 'pre-paid' ENEL account a couple of years ago, but it had disappeared from the site when I last looked.

As I only get three double-bills a year from ENEL, one of which is always zero to pay, it will cost me only £30 in bank transfer charges. The Bank of Carrara account which I recently closed used to levy charges of over £100 a year, JUST to pay ENEL! For some reason, the Bank Manager, a very rude and arrogant fellow, refused to pay my GAIA bills by standing order and kept "forgetting" to pay my rates (Community Charge).

[quote=Helen Warner;99691]We, too, closed our Italian bank account this year and now, after a lot of help from members of this forum and correspondence with Enel, have managed to pay 2 bills by SEPA Credit Transfer from Barclays in the UK. The IBAN is IT08 D050 4002 8000 0000 0100 04Q
SWIFTBIC ANTBIT2P625 Banca Antoniana Pop. Veneta. The charge is £15 for SEPA. In order to reduce this expense I have wondered if it would be possible to wait for 2 bills before paying but I am scared to do this in case they cut us off. Does anyone else do this?[/quote]

As a small consumer, I only get 3 bills a year, two for approx 60 euros and one with zero to pay. So, if I pay by Barclays bank transfer, it will cost only £30 a year to pay ENEL, which is much cheaper than the Bank account I recently closed, which cost over £100 in rip-offs, OR the BancaPosta, which would cost 60 euros, inclusive of the stamp duty.
But how do you let ENEL know your client number? Will Barclays tag this on to the money transfer?

Charles Phillips, you are a GOLDMINE of information. Thanks a million for all the help. I really think I can sort this problem out now, thanks to you and one or two others.

We only had the one direct debit going out of our Italian bank account. The bank charges were horrendous and we're very relieved not to have the account any more. We couldn't understand the bank statements. We thought we had set up a direct debit for gas. Three years after opening the account the Gas company cut us off for non-payment. Can you imagine any company in the UK letting non-payment go that long?? We now pay the gas bill by SEPA too although we do only pay every 4 months. If they let us go 3 years we figured they wouldn't object to us paying every other bill. So far so good. It may be expensive paying this way but at least we feel in control and it goes down on Expenses anyway so less Income Tax to pay - every cloud!!

After problems getting ENEL to accept Uk credit cards on line we got the address transferred over to our builder and he paid the bill at the post office. However, now he has managed to get ENEL to debit our credit card for each bill. This is seeming to work but took some time (about three bills) to work, but our last bill was debited OK. I know of others who have this system which is why we asked for it, but couldn't have done it ourselves.

I think I now know why my "Codice Fiscale" is blocking me from registering to receive my ENEL bills online. In my latest exchanges with ENEL, they state "il servizio [EMAIL="bollett@online"]bollett@online[/EMAIL] e riservata ai clienti con domiciliazione bancaria o postale", which I take to mean that you MUST have an Italian Bank or Post Office account to qualify for receiving bills online.
"Con" is the right word! The very reason why you would want to receive bills online is if you did NOT have an Italian standing order account. It's all just a con to MAKE you incur financial charges in Italy.
I have tried to get them to agree to send the bills by post to my U.K address, but they are just ignoring my internet messages, so I am going to send my request by registered post to the address Charles Phillips recommended.

We have never managed to receive bills on line - which I presume means they email them to you when they are issued. However, we can view our bills on line and then print them off.

Did try to register to receive bills on line but never seemed to be successful so just gave up in the end. Now we just go into our account periodically to check on things.

Now there are a couple of confusions in your post papastonch. Firstly, receiving your bolletta 'on-line' [B](via e-mail)[/B] is not the same thing as being able to check the status of your ENEL account 'on-line' [B]through the website[/B], which requires only that your are registered on the site.

Secondly, if you are able to get ENEL to accept your credit card, you can get the bolletta by e-mail......that service "E' dedicato ai clienti che hanno scelto di pagare la loro bolletta con addebito su conto corrente bancario o postale o [B]sulla propria carta di credito".[/B]

So please don't despair! ENEL are not obliging you to have an Italian bank account.

Thanks again Charles. I have registered with the ENEL site, but I don't know how to view my bill. Will it only come up when it is due? Which prompt or key do I press to be able to view the bill?

I have our bill sent to our local enoteca and he pays it for us at the post office if we are in the UK.I guess that says a lot about me.

[quote=Charles Phillips;99713]You can just fill in a blank post payment form (find it in any post office) with all the details from the pre-printed one written in, and the amount you have chosen.

There was an annual 'pre-paid' ENEL account a couple of years ago, but it had disappeared from the site when I last looked.[/quote]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Hello Charles,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] My problem is that all of my previous bills were paid through the bank by standing order and so, apart from my customer number, I don't have any details of the pre-printed one. Do you know what details I need to fill in (ENEL general account number etc?) to make sure the payment is accepted at the Post Office and goes to the right place?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] I'm going out there on the 13th December and am hoping my latest bill will be waiting for me at my house. I have told ENEL by email and by registered letter to send it there instead of the bank, but have no faith that they will have done so. In the event that it isn't there, I was hoping to just pay an overestimated amount by blank form.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] Best Wishes and thanks for all your previous help and guidance,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3] David (Papastonch)[/SIZE][/FONT]

I think - though I might be wrong - that enquiring in the post office should mean that they can give you the ENEL account details. However, if you have the time and there is a PuntoEnel which you could drop into (carrying a copy of an old bill) that should be an absolutely certain route to take. You can find a list of locations of PuntoEnels on the website.

Thanks, Charles, I will look up the the location of the nearest "PuntoEnel" (I take it that's the name of one of their sub-offices) on the internet site.
There's not much chance of getting any information out of my local Post Office, I'm afraid. She is more interested in doing her nails than answering any queries. She once told me that foreigners could not hold ANY account at the Post Office, a statement I have since found to be utterly untrue. Obviously, she just wanted me to go away and stop bothering her.
Customer service ethics are very variable in Italy, I have found.

[quote=papastonch;104341]Thanks, Charles, I will look up the the location of the nearest "PuntoEnel" (I take it that's the name of one of their sub-offices) on the internet site.
There's not much chance of getting any information out of my local Post Office, I'm afraid. She is more interested in doing her nails than answering any queries. She once told me that foreigners could not hold ANY account at the Post Office, a statement I have since found to be utterly untrue. Obviously, she just wanted me to go away and stop bothering her.
Customer service ethics are very variable in Italy, I have found.[/quote]

Hello Charles,
Can you tell me what a "puntoEnel" is? I have found that the nearest one is in La Spezia, and I will go there to pay my bill if I can't do it at the Post Office. I have also found a "concessionario Enel Si" (Agent or distributor according to my dictionary) nearer my home, in Carrara. Any idea what this is and whether I might pay my bill there?
Of course, if ENEL have sent my bill to my house as I asked them to by email and letter, I will be able to pay at the Post Office without difficulty, but I have no faith in them.

I don't think the concessionario Enel Si will be any use to you. Enel Si is a division set up solely for flogging 'alternative energy' solutions as far as I can determine. It's a Punto Enel you need (or have you tried the [url=http://www.prontoenel.it]Enel SpA - Enel Servizio Elettrico[/url] site again - it's very flaky, and sometimes worth pursuing even when you have failed before!)

Thanks, Charles, we'll go to La Spezia to the PuntoEnel to sort things out if our bill hasn't arrived at the house. I suppose we can make a day of it.
Meanwhile, I'll keep trying the Enel website to see if it will let me in and give me details of my bill.
Best Wishes and Thanks for all your help,
David (papastonch)

There are two main - but independent ENEL Electricity companies in Italy
ENEL Energia S.p.A.
ENEL Servizio Elletrico S.p.A.

both have the same logo, both phone up offering wonderful new plans to save money, neither works well with the other and life can be a challenge if you change (especially if you change inadvertantly).

My customers are happy to have direct debits from their account (that they can suspend on the internet). The challenge with any account in Italy is the state tax, the monthly fees and the fees for any other services.

Mama mia I didn't know that paying the leccy bill could get so complex, if all else fails I think you can take the bill to the local tobacconist/Lotto shop and the nice person behind the counter can do it all on the Lotto machine. Incidentally if you are buying a house and the former owner tells you he has paid the elec bill to date then make damn sure he has otherwise you will cop for it!

[quote=elliven;104615]Mama mia I didn't know that paying the leccy bill could get so complex, if all else fails I think you can take the bill to the local tobacconist/Lotto shop and the nice person behind the counter can do it all on the Lotto machine. Incidentally if you are buying a house and the former owner tells you he has paid the elec bill to date then make damn sure he has otherwise you will cop for it![/quote]

That's O.K if you have the bill. My problem is that my bills up to now have been paid by the bank which I have just left. I'm worried that ENEL will not send the bill to my house, as I have requested them to. I have no faith whatsoever in ENEL's efficiency. If I don't have the bill, I can't pay it.

For those of you who have followed my efforts to find a way to pay my ENEL bill now that I have quit the Italian bank, here's what happened when I visited my house in December. Normally (because I am a low consumer) ENEL roll two bi-monthly bills into one, so that I don't get a bill in October and I get a double-bill (4 months' charges) in December. But for some reason (just to keep one step ahead of me???) ENEL had sent me a bill in October, which had just lain on my carpet. They followed this up with a duplicate bill a month later, then a "red letter" a month after that. The red letter informed me that I would be cut off if I didn't pay by 20th December. I had arrived on 14th December, so I hot-footed it along to the Post Office and paid. I opened a BancoPosta account at the same time, deposited money in the account and left instructions for them to pay future ENEL bills. They assured me that they would pay "automatica". Here's hoping that they have, as I'm going out there on the 6th March and hope that my electricity has not been cut off!

Just to add to all that here's two experiences. Friends pay ENEL by DD from their Italian bank account. I thought that the metre could now be read "over the wires" so to speak. ENEL sent us some blurb sometime ago boasting about this, and yet our friends have over paid ENEL almost 500 euros, which they now have as a credit. So one does have to make sure that there is more than enough money in the Italian bank account or so it seems.
We have recently changed banks (not easy) and the DD to ENEL did not get paid by either bank. ENEL rang us, we explained "Haven't you received the ENEL Form we filled in?" Any way paying the bill was easy ENEL gave me some account numbers. Then I went to the post office with the dosh and the nice lady completed the payment slip for me. All done. Fingers crossed the new bank pays the next bill.

[quote=papastonch;110043]They assured me that they would pay "automatica". Here's hoping that they have, as I'm going out there on the 6th March and hope that my electricity has not been cut off![/quote]

Hopefully you'll be ok, but if it doesn't get paid, ENEL will first of all reduce the kW to the house and send another warning letter. Only after a decent period after that, if the bill remained unpaid, would they cut off the supply. Or at least that is what happened to some people I know. Fingers crossed.

It has just been pointed out to me that the pay button on accounts online isn't functioning ..... Another headache for those with Postepay or other cards issued in Italia. It seems no-one can pay.

I of course mean online.

Enel, despite their revolutionary electronic meters, now have a new trick that they are applying. They read your meter on say the 3rd of the month, add another 6 days estimated usage to that and then send the bill giving you about 1 week to pay. If you query it and give the corrected reading, a new bill arrives with about 3 days to pay. Paying the original, and also correcting it through their office, results in a cheque being sent back to you for the difference..
This has only been happening on the last few bills, so it must be that the little interest they gain helps keep them solvent.
Have also seen that if you pay an extra E2 a month they will supply you with energy from renewable sources!!!!!!!