Customers throughout Ireland have told of being moved to different suppliers without their awareness or permission, sometimes years after their final interaction with an outside switching intermediary, according to the Irish Independent. A number of clients of the Limerick firm Dolphin Utilities found unanticipated alterations to their energy accounts, some encountering penalty charges, mysterious direct debits and trouble reaching the business.
Bord Gáis Energy reports Dolphin Utilities matter to an Garda Síochána
Bord Gáis Energy has acknowledged it is looking into a problem concerning an external intermediary and has notified An Garda Síochána of the situation. The company told customers who queried unexpected switches that an agent had set up the changes through an online portal.
Dolphin Utilities was founded by Dave Goggin in 2021. The company offers a complimentary switching facility that purports to assist users in locating the most advantageous rates for utility provisions. Clients are not charged a fee; the business operates on a commission basis. Up until summer 2026, reviews for the business were overwhelmingly positive, with clients reporting savings across energy, broadband and mobile bills.
Switches made at 3am while customers were mid-contract
In recent months, customers have reported the cancellation or switching of accounts without their consent and bills from providers they did not agree to sign up to. Many of those impacted had not used Dolphin Utilities for several years.
Paula, who had used the service to switch providers for a parent, said her mother renewed a contract for a second year after more insistent communication from the business. “It was kind of, sign this, do this, do it now, you’re going to miss the deal,” she said. Because the switch happened two weeks before the contract was due to end, the account owed a €50 exit fee. Mr Goggin admitted it had been a mistake and refunded the money.
However, in October, two years following her most recent renewal through Dolphin, Paula’s mother got a message from Bord Gáis verifying a transfer to their offerings. “It was done online at three in the morning and I was like well she wasn’t up at three in the morning and if she was, she wasn’t checking electricity mid-contract,” Paula said. Bord Gáis confirmed to her that Dolphin Utilities had set it up, with no communication from Mr Goggin or his team beforehand.
Caoimhe, who had switched her electricity, wifi and mobile providers with Dolphin previously and had unsubscribed from marketing contact almost a year earlier, received a similar confirmation email in 2024. She first presumed it was phishing until a direct debit notification arrived. The change was made at 1.30am and the cancellation of her existing contract went through at 6am. “I don’t think I would have given permission for, ‘yeah, in five years you can still use my IBAN number’,” she said.
Ann Marie Wall: “I rang, I rang, I rang”
Ann Marie Wall had been an enthusiastic Dolphin Utilities client for years, even recommending the service to others, until this year. She had been told via WhatsApp that she wasn’t due for renewal, then received an email from an energy provider saying “your welcome pack is in the post.” She was charged €50 by her old provider for breaching a contract that still had six weeks to run.
“I didn’t do anything online. So anyway, it turns out it was him, he did it … All I know is that he had my MPRN number and my bank details, my name, my address and that he’d done all this through an online portal,” she said. Unlike previous switches, no link for her to sign the contract electronically was sent; the provider told her it didn’t have a copy because it was done online.
Ms Wall said she knows of at least 15 people locally who have had a similar experience. One reported being told a smart meter was to be installed in their home, something they had never agreed to. She attempted to contact Mr Goggin through multiple channels for weeks. “I was actually on maternity leave, with a small baby at home screaming 24/7, and a toddler. And I sat down for three weeks and when I tell you I plagued him,” she said. “I definitely sent about 200 text messages … I rang, I rang, I rang … I sent him voice notes. If he was active on Instagram, I would message him straight away.” She then contacted the gardaí and the Data Protection Commission.
Úna hit with €400 Flogas bill after switch she tried to reverse
Úna, who had praised the service in previous years, received a text while on holiday offering a switch from Bord Gáis to Flogas. Within the cooling-off period she asked Dolphin Utilities via WhatsApp to switch her back, and an agent sent a form to sign. She then received a confirmation email from Bord Gáis. But in August she received two electricity bills — one from Flogas and one from Bord Gáis — and in October a Flogas bill for €400. “It was a summer bill, but the price was like our electricity in the winter time,” she said.
Flogas told her she was registered to them; Bord Gáis had received correspondence from Dolphin Utilities in July, but the second half of the process to close off the Flogas account was never completed. Úna has been largely unable to reach anyone at Dolphin Utilities since August. “I have called, I have texted since August. I have rung the phone. I have tried his old phone number … I’m like a crazed person. I’m like, answer me,” she said. She remains with Flogas and would need to pay a €50 exit fee to leave.
Social media warnings as founder keeps posting
On the business’s social media, particularly Instagram, comment sections are filled with people warning others away from the service and asking Mr Goggin to make contact. As recently as last week, he was posting to Instagram asking followers to send their bills so he could secure better deals ahead of winter.
Questions customers are asking about Dolphin Utilities
Who founded Dolphin Utilities and when? Dave Goggin founded the Limerick-based company in 2021. It operates as a free switching service funded by commission rather than client fees.
Which authorities have been alerted? Bord Gáis Energy reported the matter to An Garda Síochána, and at least one customer, Ann Marie Wall, has also contacted the gardaí and the Data Protection Commission directly.
How were the unauthorised switches carried out? Customers say the changes were made through online portals at unusual hours — one at 3am, another at 1.30am — using details such as MPRN numbers and bank details held from previous dealings, often years earlier.
“I’m like, answer me.”