Npower sent electricity bill adressed to exor of, what rights do they have?

kameil09

Hi all,

just after a bit of advise please.... My mum passed away last October and as primary carer I had to take on the role of trying to get everything in order afterwards. She had no will, assets, insurance nothing at all like that, she was 40 unemployed on benefits. If anything she left catalogue debt and stuff like that which I believe has now been written off.

I wrote to all utility companies to inform and sent them a copy of the death certificate. In December I moved back to London to try and rebuild my life and left my older brother in our mother's council property with our younger dependent brother. Basically, my older has now had a sort of breakdown and now in mental a hospital.

I moved back into the home last month to supports my younger brother as I don't want to distress him further by moving him. It seems my older brother did not set up utility bills in his name. Now npower has sent a letter billed to exor of (my mother) the bill is over £600.

What should I do in this situation? I am not in any position to pay this bill. I am now out of work again as I've had to move back home. Will npower disconnect electricity? What rights do they have as bill is not exactly in my name?

I would like to contact them but afraid they will somehow make me liable for this debt and I truly cannot pay. My older brother cannot pay, he is really unwell at the moment and I cant talk to him about anything let alone bills.

Should I use 'addressee not recognized, please return to sender' ? Or will that make it worse? Can they take me to court without knowing my name or having me on a contract with them?

Can I setup electricity with another company in my name at the same address with this problem hanging?

Any advise appreciated.

Thank you

macman

If you were resident in the property during the billing period then you and your brother are liable, as you are in a deemed contract.
You are not liable for any bills up to your mother's death-her estate is liable.

chanz4

Just inform them when you both took over the property, if you don't tell them they have to send it in the exors

undaunted

Firstly I'm sorry to read of your loss & brothers illness.

If your mother had lived there alone & died without any assets in her estate I'd have said they'd just have to write it off.

The difficulty may be if you / brother(s) were living there with her & continue to do so after her death - Npower may try & claim there was some joint liability. I would therefore suggest you seek some independant legal advice (a local legal advice centre may be able to help you for free)

Your older brother appears to be a vulnerable person which may have meant they should not disconnect the supply if he were living there.

It may be wroth an application to Npower energy Trust to cover the bill upto your Mums death.

Good luck

Terrylw1

Since there was no will, you would be acting as an Administrator.

http://m.direct.gov.uk/syndicationController?action=view&param=DG_10029657&utn=4ad4407727554597b611201209020127

You may have a joint liability for the period up to her death if you lived there.

http://m.direct.gov.uk/syndicationController?action=view&st=0&utn=4ad4407727554597b611201209020127&param=DG_10013093

Did you live there at the time of being the primary carer? Also, was your eldest brother old enough to be classed as an adult...incase they try that trick next?

You need expert advice on this, there is an advised point of contact on the 2nd link about this.

What you have to remember is that the supplier has absolutely no chance of determining what any of you used if jointly liable. This is why they normally just write if off. They could never prove it in court, only a reasonable share but how do they prove any real usage? Maybe, the supplier is trying it on...so why not raise a complaint and see if the debt is quickly written off?

Did your mother receive any benefits for electricity or gas due to her condition? Just wondering if her condition meant she had a higher usage and had benefits to pay this? This would be relevant if the supplier tried to bill a share as her usage would be higher.

Sorry to hear about your situation. See if you can resolve if quickly via a complaint, so they back down, so you can all concentrate on the far harder issues you've got on your plate.

chanz4

*** If you don't register, course it will come in the exors!!! REGISTER ***

jalexa

chanz4 wrote: »

*** If you don't register, course it will come in the exors!!! REGISTER ***

I completely disagree that any account for the period beginning post-death should be sent the "executor". IMO should be sent to "the occupier".

What NPower have done I suspect may be a breach of billing process and may also be a Data Protection breach. Hit them where it hurts with a Complaint.

antrobus

Terrylw1 wrote: »

Since there was no will, you would be acting as an Administrator.......

OP wasn't acting as anything. You need to go to court to get letters of admin. OP didn't bother because there were no assets in the estate. People in general frequently don't bother for the same reason.

Buzby

The ICO won't 'hit them where it hurts'. Pursit of debt is legitimate, and as the follow-on tenant also use the services, the deemed contract exists and will have to be paid. If it isn;t, they'll enforce a pre-payment meter install. It may be better to avoid this at all costs.

chanz4

jalexa wrote: »

I completely disagree that any account for the period beginning post-death should be sent the "executor". IMO should be sent to "the occupier".

What NPower have done I suspect may be a breach of billing process and may also be a Data Protection breach. Hit them where it hurts with a Complaint.

What a load of rubbish, what if the exor still owns the property utility companys don't know without doing a landreg who still owns or lives there or even partner.

Its not breach of any dpa regulation, and wont hurt them as the op failed to register correct upto date details

jalexa

chanz4 wrote: »

What a load of rubbish,

You (and Buzby) completely miss the point. The question is not "what if" but "what if not" and your point shows the situation is indeed not clear to you (or probably the supplier).

A "to the occupier" would have sufficed. In time if there was no response "from the occupier", normal debt recovery investigations could be instigated. But not against the deceased and (according to the OP) the supplier was provided with a copy of the death certificate.

The real issue is what period was the account for. The OP implies it was for his brothers residency - post death - and given the time period elapsed and the amount that would seem about right.

I always choose my words carefully. You (and Buzby) should check my post again that you have correctly interpreted who the complaint should be made to before sounding off so vehemently. In particular I used the word "may" because OP's posts only ever give a partial view of the situation.