Broken contract

canterbury1

Hi I am new to the site so please forgive me if this has been covered already.
My MIL died in April of this year and the gas contract was in her name(one of the fixed ones I think) my FIL got in touch with the company to inform them she had passed away and was told because she had broken her contract he would have to pay 90 pounds. I sent an email to this company but have not had a reply. Can anyone help and is this right that if you DIE you have broken your contract.

HalloweenJack

what company is it?

DirectDebacle

I am not an expert in contract law but would have thought that in the event of one of the parties dying then the contract has not been broken but simply ceases to exist and therefore becomes null and void. The account would then be transferred into an executors account and the company would have to make a claim on the estate.

Did your FIL ask for the gas account to be transferred into his name? If so and they agreed are they still insisting on the cancellation fee.

All in all I find this quite incredible and somewhat distasteful behaviour of the supplier. Re-training is definitely needed here.

AFIK some (if not all) of the suppliers have teams tasked with dealing with these situations and will usually require a certified copy of the death certificate before closure and final billing can be arranged.

I would contact the supplier and after expressing your disgust at the insensitive way your FIL was dealt with see if a more sympathetic resolution can be found.

canterbury1

Sorry not sure if I could name the company but it is British Gas. My FIL asked for it to be transfered to his name and was told he had to take out a new contract but I believe he couldnt take out the fixed price one that my MIL had.

dogshome

Look at the Terms & Conditions and if you can't find them ask BG for a copy.

Without reading the T&C's no one can give a definitive answer, but I suspect that you may have spoken to an enthusiastic profit gatherer, but not very well informed member of staff on the Customer Service Desk - After all, these contracts are null & void without penalties if the customer simply moves house, which is a voluntary action, whilst death is most certainly not.

Bear in mind that with the expiry of your MIL's contract, your FIL will be a new account to BG who will automatically put him on an expensive 'Standard' tariff, so he/you should explore the Switch sites for the best deal on the known consumption

t0rt0ise

Raise a complaint with British Gas and tell that he has been treated with insensitivity, and suggest that as a gesture of goodwill they transfer the contract to your FIL.

canterbury1

Hi to all that have replied and thanks for your help. I will get in touch with FIL and pass on info.

British_Gas

canterbury1 wrote: »

Hi to all that have replied and thanks for your help. I will get in touch with FIL and pass on info.

Good afternoon,

I am sorry to hear that your father-in-law has not been treated in the way you would expect.

I would be very happy to look into this for you and see if there is something we can do to get you a more appropriate resolution.

If you would like me to do this please email me your contact details and your father-in-law's house number and postcode to [EMAIL="TalkToUs@britishgas.co.uk"]TalkToUs@britishgas.co.uk[/EMAIL].

Many thanks and apologies for any inconvenience caused.

undaunted

I agree with DirectDebacle, this is disgraceful behaviour & you should refuse to pay it. I trust the BG representative will resolve the issue rather than shame themselves further by persisting in this appalling fashion

canterbury1

Many thanks to the BG Rep.
I phoned my FIL this evening and he told me he was under the impression that his bank account would be credited. I'm not sure if he was told this by letter or over the phone. Unfortunatley he doesn't own a computer so will wait for his paper bank statement to see if it has gone through.
Thanks again for the offer of chasing this up. I will still send you the details if I may and maybe you can check how its progressing. If I send an email would you be the one to receive it? as I am in Spain I am a bit limited in what I can do.

bengasman

canterbury1 wrote: »

Sorry not sure if I could name the company but it is British Gas.

Now why am I not surprised, typical BG con.

canterbury1 wrote: »

My FIL asked for it to be transfered to his name and was told he had to take out a new contract but I believe he couldnt take out the fixed price one that my MIL had.

Why on earth would you want to take out a new contract with a company that has just ripped you off? Get a better deal from a better company in stead of going back to these lying crooks.