Having just read the thread by netsniper regarding company re-registration it got me to thinking about the services when you buy a house ie telephone,electric,gas,water and so on in the uk we just call up the service company and that's it can anyone tell me how this is done in Bulgaria? its just something I never really gave much thought to until now so it would be good to know this sort of thing well in advance

Good point Sarah I have to admit I did think it would be the same as we do here it would be good to know as you say to know well in advance

Afraid not as simple. The electric you have to go to the main office and change it over, same with water. Telephone is up to you as to whether you have cable facilities but to get a telephone can be hard work, but again depends on the area, Electric has to be paid every month if not you will be disconnected and there is a charge to reconnect, and takes a couple of days.

Thanks for the reply Fletch so is it possible to set up direct debt or do they have to be paid in person

you can set up a direct debt but they are a little hit and miss, if you have an apartment and your own meter the reading can be taken, but if you have a house they would need to gain access for the meter reading. There is no standing charge in Bulgaria so when you are not using your property and everything is switched off your electric is nil, the problem arises is if you have used it and then gone back to the UK this electric bill would be outstanding. The electric bills go to the post office every month, and are held there for a few days to enable you to pay them there, if you have a good neighbour if you have a rural property or in a village maybe you could leave some money with them to pay yours when they pay theres. Although I would suggest that you know these people well and trust them.

We pay in person every month at the Post Office.

The strange thing is, we never get a bill ... we just have to remember to go up there and ask for the Electric (Tok) and Water (Voda) bill.

They once turned up at the house to cut off the supply as we hadn't paid for two months! This is because we'd forgotten to go and pay ... difficult to remember really as we never get a bill.

I gave the guys from the Electric company a couple of leva and told them to grab a coffee at the cafe at the end of the road then ran like hell to the Post Office, paid the bill and came back with my receipt!

They just laughed, thanked me for the coffee and wandered off again!

Can't imagine that situation in the UK if the Electric Company turned up to cut you off!

Well that's a bit worrying not getting a bill do you ever receive letters etc of is it just the bills you don't get? and why is it that the post office know what you have to pay for you electric and water sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but unless I ask I will never know

We just don't get bills (used to do when we lived in Sofia, but not here). The guy comes and reads the meter and we're just supposed to go and pay the next week or so!

The meter readings are sent from water board / electric company to the Post Office computer which is where the whole town goes to pay!

I once asked the guy from the electric company why they don't post bills and he looked at me as if I was some kind of guy from Mars.



It tends to be a bit different in each area, this is how it works here!

The bill is at the post office for you to pay it, no they dont send bills to the house, on the bottom of the bill the post office hold is the date that they are sent every month, so the next time you go to the post office ask for the date from the lady in the post office. Just another one of those strange things in Bulgaria

Thanks for that Fletch and Chris its something I didn't give any thought to either

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Thank you to both of you so how I see it now is that I need to make notes in my diary to remind me [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Can anyone tell me as asked above is there any facilities to pay by direct debit

Hi Scott

As Fletch said:

Fletch wrote:

you can set up a direct debt but they are a little hit and miss

Personally, I'd rather walk up my Post Office every month than trust a Direct Debit here.

I was talking to a Bulgarian friend of mine last night (he's a lawyer in Sofia) and he mentioned that he pays all his monthly bills online via PayBG ... I must investigate and report back on this.

Chris

If you have a Bulgarian bank account you can set up direct debts with them, but as I said the companies need to gain access to read your meters and if you have an apartment water meters are in the apartment. I know of quite a few people with direct debts they seem to be paying every month and have ended up in massive credit which then causes you another big problem

Thanks for that chaps look forward to more about payBG

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