Dad passed away with 2 months into contract of 12 months, want me to pay remaining 10

skintandscared_2

Maybe legally they have the right to ask the 12 months be paid, but morally they should just take the equipment back. Just a thought - Watchdog and the papers love stories about things like this ... people being held to ransom in morally wrong situations by large corporations who care more about money than people... They should be ashamed of themselves.

getmore4less

You say they were not married so was there a will? it makes a difference to the process and who gets what.

From your questions it is not clear you understand what you need to do with the estate.

If there is very little money and any property jointly owned you may not even need probate

Is there a house how is it owned?

Part of your resonsiblity(if you are planning to be an executor) is to pay the debts and distribute the estate.

So first you need to establish the T&C of the contract to see if there is a debt. certainly there will be no need to pay in the short term, so plenty of time to astablish if the contract does not incure debts, it might be best they get their kit back ASAP to reduce liabilities.

lindsayg_2

I can't believe that dying isn't a good enough reason to break a contract without penalties!

If you feel strong enough to fight this, you should. Write a letter describing the situation and send it to everyone from Watchdog, to Moneybox, to the Daily Mail.

If that honestly is the law then it should be changed. No way I would just shrug my shoulders and pay up if this was me. Having said that, I'm not the one who has just lost a parent, so I totally understand if you decide to pay.

As others have said, though, it's the estate that owes the money - not you.

Butti

I'm really sorry to hear about your dad and the subsequent problems you have had.

It seems very clear to me. Council tax and utilities are based on a household and can be in more than one name. They also are used and affect the existing household.

The Seimens contract is a different matter. It is a contract between your father and Seimens. Yes your father is in breach of the contract by unfortunately dying but this is not your problem. If they want to make a claim on the estate they can do that but I don't rate their chances.

Do talk to them and suggest they collect their equipment. Explain that their contract was with your father not you. If they will not play ball I would suggest you talk about writing to the consumer pages of the Guardian or to Watchdog, afterall 'there's no such thing as bad publicity!'

They are trying it on because they are going to be out of pocket!

B

kazwookie

Tell Seimens to make a claim on the estate, end off. miserable so and sos.

Sorry for your loss

timbstoke

Sounds to me like the contract has been frustrated, and the best Siemens would be able to hope for in a consumer contract would be to be reinstated to the same place they were before the contract was taken - i.e. they have their equipment. If your dad was operating as a business then it may be different - business contracts lack a lot of the protection of consumer contract. Either way, try negotiating with them first - this is one of the few debt-related issues where it's best to try and get someone on the phone, if only because basic human decency makes it much harder for them to tell you it's not their problem over the phone than it is by letter.

dancingfairy

I think you need to read the contract and see what it says. I'd also be inclined to get some books out of the library re dealing with someone's estate who has died for guidance- I believe Which do a good guide. It might also be worth having a chat to someone at your local CAB to see if they can shed any light on things for you.
I think it also depends on the time and effort you are able to spend defending against this charge - it may well be unfair but at this difficult time you may not have the mental resources to fight against a large company so do consider the effect of this as well - perhaps closure and trying to grieve is more important to you at this time?
Best wishes at this difficult time.
df

KD1

Thanks for your replys I am going to request the contract. My dad hired this equipment for his business. I have put some more specific inormation:

* I applied and have been issued grant of probate to deal with my dads estate and pay bills and arrears, also to receive life pollicies to pay this as mum and dad were not married.

* house was in mum and dads name as beneficial joint tenants and has automatically gone into mums name so I did not have to deal with this as my dads estate and is not in my name.

* Turns out life policy's was tied to mortgage so no money now left to pay bills and £18,000 is remaining on house.

* I am currently not working and recieve JSA.

* Siemens are asking for location of equipment dad had on lease and want me to pay a remaining £3001.18, the lease were a renewable contract every 12 months he was with them for 4 years. £42.52 were for insurance on the equipment which they have built into this cost as well.

Thanks

RAS

KD1 wrote: »

. My dad hired this equipment for his business.

Did dad work as a sole trader or was he running a limited company?

KD1 wrote: »

. house was in mum and dads name as beneficial joint tenants and has automatically gone into mums name so I did not have to deal with this as my dads estate and is not in my name.

Turns out life policy's was tied to mortgage so no money now left to pay bills and £18,000 is remaining on house.

Is mum able to take on the remaining mortgage debt?


[QUOTE=KD1;46111609Siemens are asking for location of equipment dad had on lease and want me to pay a remaining £3001.18, the lease were a renewable contract every 12 months he was with them for 4 years. £42.52 were for insurance on the equipment which they have built into this cost as well.
[/QUOTE]

Ok, so where is the equipemtn; the long er you keep it the longer youy will HAVE to pay for it.

What does that insurance cover? Any chance it might cover you incase of dad's death?

Beyond the house and the life insurance linked to the mortgage, what other assets are their int he estate (exclude jointly owned furniture).

KD1

* Yes Dad was a sole trader.

*Mum has had to take out an extended mortgage as matures next year on an interest only mortgage and is now having to convert to a capital and interest mortgage.

* Equipment is here at my mums home, they have requested equipment and still want 3001.18.

* Almost certain the insurance does not cover death, just equipment its self but will look for insurance policy at my mums.

* Other assets tools clothes and some electrical items which were my dads total to £2180 if anyone were going to have that it would go to the council tax