forced to pay deceased dads gas debt

DUTR

needhelpasap1 wrote: »

hi all thank you for your reply firstly the house is not owned by myself the house is rented so dont know if this has any impact also my father had no estate or assets after his passing, my father was paying weekly payments £20 every week but he was always in arrears since 2007 as far as i can see, as he was in his late 80s he used to feel the cold as even i do and the heating was on alot however i did not see it my area to tell him to turn it off his payments would fluctuate however all the bills are in debit from as far back as 2007 so he never caught up it would seem. bg also never asked me for the death certificate they simply appear to have changed the names from my father to me. i did not sign the tenancy until 2 weeks after my fathers death. thank you

Who owns the house?
As the rental market suggests you done pretty weel to take on the property from someone you know , so soon after his passing, usually a rented property is redecorated before the new tenants move in, if it's a case that the landlord is a family member, then there is still more to the story than you are letting on.
As mentioned the debts do not suddenly vanish with a passing, so if the case is getting evermore complicated, then you may have to seek legal advice.

needhelpasap1

hi dutr,
the house is with a housing association and was quite straightforward in renting they offered it to an family who may have needed it first as my father had lived there from 1971. supppose in good faith i guess very lucky in that respect. thanks

needhelpasap1

nothing complicated and i am letting you know everything not holding anything back thank you

Cardew

needhelpasap1 wrote: »

hi all thank you for your reply firstly the house is not owned by myself the house is rented so dont know if this has any impact also my father had no estate or assets after his passing, my father was paying weekly payments £20 every week but he was always in arrears since 2007 as far as i can see, as he was in his late 80s he used to feel the cold as even i do and the heating was on alot however i did not see it my area to tell him to turn it off his payments would fluctuate however all the bills are in debit from as far back as 2007 so he never caught up it would seem. bg also never asked me for the death certificate they simply appear to have changed the names from my father to me. i did not sign the tenancy until 2 weeks after my fathers death. thank you

Well as the house is rented, and your father died intestate with no assets, I cannot see any way his debt could pass to you.

It really is important that you get hold of the initial gas/electricity bill from the date you informed them you had taken over the tenancy. That will clearly show if there was a £900 debt on the account at the time your Father died.

needhelpasap1

thanks cardew i think i will send all info to the ombudsman and see how i get on there. thank you very much for your help and opinions everyone . b

Joyful

How long have you been living in the house before your fathers death? Am I correct that you then just took over the tenancy and put it into your name?

brewerdave

Joyful wrote: »

How long have you been living in the house before your fathers death? Am I correct that you then just took over the tenancy and put it into your name?

I think Joyful has hit the nail on the head - the Utility Co. know that you were living there for some time prior to your father's death -presumably you or the landlord informed them -they don't care whether you were paying rent to him, they are just treating you as a co-habitant therefore "jointly and severally liable".
Because you have accepted the installation of a prepayment meter and are actually paying off the debt I'm afraid that the Ombudsman/Courts will side with the Utility Co.

Cardew

brewerdave wrote: »

I think Joyful has hit the nail on the head - the Utility Co. know that you were living there for some time prior to your father's death -presumably you or the landlord informed them -they don't care whether you were paying rent to him, they are just treating you as a co-habitant therefore "jointly and severally liable".
Because you have accepted the installation of a prepayment meter and are actually paying off the debt I'm afraid that the Ombudsman/Courts will side with the Utility Co.

I mentioned in Post #6 that BG might be treating the situation as a case of 'jointly and severally liable'.

However 'jointly and severally liable' only applies when two or more names are on the bill/agreement. In that case they can quite clearly hold any one of those named persons responsible for the whole amount of the bill, and not just their share.

However if the bill is in one persons name, they alone are responsible for the bill. It doesn't matter who stays in the house and for how long. On the electoral roll or not.

My daughter stayed with us for 3 months when she returned from abroad. Had I died intestate, with no assets, could they 'go after' her for any utility bill debt? Of course not.

You or I could have lodged at the OP's house for a few months - or his other children/friends etc, does that make us also 'jointly and severally liable' for his father's debt?

As things have been explained by the OP, and assuming the £900 debt existed before his father's death, it appears to me that he just got 'conned' into taking on ALL of his father's debt.

I agree that now he has got a pre-pay meter he is in a weak position; but I cannot see other than he was fooled by BG. Personally I would advise him to go and see his MP.

spacey2012

He was placed under duress .
Quite a threat to have no heating.
I would send them a final deadlock letter and instruct the matter and complaint has been exhausted over the previous months with them and if nothing further is heard within 7 days you shall assume they are happy for the matter to proceed to the ombudsman.

needhelpasap1

thank you for your reply i was actually living with my partner for the previous 20 years and only visited my father daily to ensure everything was fine so i wasnt living in the house. i took over the tenancy after he passed away so for a small period of time i.e. the 2 weeks the house had no one in it. it was a completely new tenancy from day one. the prepayment meter was what i did not want however they came and fitted it even though i didnt want it and said that the gas would be cut off and i would not have any gas from them or any other supplier unless i co-operated, even phoning bg the other day and previous times the employees i have spoke to have asked me why i am paying this debt and even they think this is wrong... i have wrote to the ombudsman and will await his there response if nothing i will also try a solicitor as i really do think this is unfair and not for me to pay as i was not a tenant living in the home i merely visited daily thank you