Cancellation charges of a deceased

Mr_Lawnmower

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

The problem with your argument is that the customer is no longer around. He is deceased.

The ISP could, I suppose, sue the Executor of the estate, but all the executor has to do is resign to make any writ null and void, and appoint another one. This could go on ad infinitum or until the ISP gets fed up with paying out for court writs.

That's not a problem. As !!!!!! points out, action can be brought in the name of the deceased, with the resulting liabilities falling on the estate. The executors would become personally liable for any unmet debts following final disposition of the estate.

They haven't been called "writs" for some time. Since the implementation of the Woolf reforms in the 1990s, the term is "claim".


Now that we have established there is no "get out of jail free" for the estate, surely the most important thing is to make a polite approach to Zen enquiring if there is any discretion in the fee to be charged rather than attempting to assert non-existent legal rights or looking for loopholes to leave any debt unresolved. The executor(s) have an obligation to meet any debts before distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries.

Cancellation of service within a minimum contract period almost certainly leaves Zen with wholesale termination costs, as Zen typically align their minimum contract period with that of the underlying wholesale service. However, Zen will not be incurring full costs for service provision and have some discretion over their profit element.

The original poster implies that Zen have settled on full recovery of the termination charge on the basis there are sufficient assets in the estate for probate to be required. Even so, it seems worth asking Zen one more time, explaining that the executor understands there is no legal right to evade full payment but wonders if any discretion can be exercised in the light of what sounds like a tragic and unexpected death.

Topcat2007

Many thanks for all the very helpful replies - I did find an MSE guide on what to do when someone dies & it does say that the contract is not automatically cancelled but most providers will cancel, to avoid the publicity if nothing else.

We are members of Which & Zen are a recommended provider, so will speak to Which tomorrow & get their perspective. A post on their FB page as suggested above wouldn't look too good for them either. It just seems so callous to demand payment, their attitude on the 'phone was dreadful.

Meanwhile we are getting chasing emails from Zen for the money!

A good chunk of the estate is going to charity so it would be good to preserve it as much as possible.

Apologies for not getting back before - I couldn't find the thread!

System

Have you considered approaching the insurers as the fire and resultant damage appears to be the reason why the contract can no longer continue at that address.

As an aside, I wonder why people think that companies should write off debts on death. Things are getting to the point where people seem to consider it a right to have the debt written off.

custardy

Topcat2007 wrote: »

Many thanks for all the very helpful replies - I did find an MSE guide on what to do when someone dies & it does say that the contract is not automatically cancelled but most providers will cancel, to avoid the publicity if nothing else.

We are members of Which & Zen are a recommended provider, so will speak to Which tomorrow & get their perspective. A post on their FB page as suggested above wouldn't look too good for them either. It just seems so callous to demand payment, their attitude on the 'phone was dreadful.

Meanwhile we are getting chasing emails from Zen for the money!

A good chunk of the estate is going to charity so it would be good to preserve it as much as possible.

Apologies for not getting back before - I couldn't find the thread!

Fire a tweet at them

https://twitter.com/zeninternet/with_replies

Marktheshark

!!!!!! wrote: »

Have you considered approaching the insurers as the fire and resultant damage appears to be the reason why the contract can no longer continue at that address.

As an aside, I wonder why people think that companies should write off debts on death. Things are getting to the point where people seem to consider it a right to have the debt written off.

Perhaps they "think they should" because we have LAWS.
Service contracts expire on death, period !

DiamondLil

Topcat2007 wrote: »

Meanwhile we are getting chasing emails from Zen for the money!

I was executor of my mum's will and, once I'd informed them of her death, I had chasing letters from Saga re. an outstanding amount on her home insurance (of less than £15).
They were pretty demanding and even told me to pay them out of my own money and claim the sum back from her estate.
I 'phoned the probate helpline just to clarify my position and was advised to - politely- tell Saga to get in line and wait for their money.

Topcat2007

!!!!!! wrote: »

Have you considered approaching the insurers as the fire and resultant damage appears to be the reason why the contract can no longer continue at that address.

As an aside, I wonder why people think that companies should write off debts on death. Things are getting to the point where people seem to consider it a right to have the debt written off.

Good point about the insurer - didn't think of that.
As for expecting the debt to be written off - we have no problem paying for the usage & charges up to the death but I think to ask for a service which cannot be provided after death is rather harsh.

Mr_Lawnmower

Marktheshark wrote: »

Service contracts expire on death, period !

Please read the thread and stop repeating this falsehood.

As I explained earlier in the thread:

Mr_Lawnmower wrote: »

There is no general rule in the law of England and Wales that contracts are void on the death of a party. The service can still be performed even though one party is deceased, so it is very unlikely that the death terminates the contract by frustration.

The original poster has now accepted, based on an MSE guide, that there is no automatic right of termination:

Topcat2007 wrote: »

Many thanks for all the very helpful replies - I did find an MSE guide on what to do when someone dies & it does say that the contract is not automatically cancelled but most providers will cancel, to avoid the publicity if nothing else.

Most providers will write off some or all of the termination fees following a death, but this is down to their discretion rather than being a right.

Mr_Lawnmower

Topcat2007 wrote: »

Good point about the insurer - didn't think of that.

I'd made the same point earlier in the thread.

If Zen are aware of the circumstances of this unfortunate person's demise, they may well be expecting an insurer to cover any outstanding utility bills. If there is suitable insurance cover, it is only fair that an insurance claim is made, as any write off of the outstanding sum ultimately increases the charges for other customers.

If there is no insurance cover or the insurer has refused to pay out, it's worth stressing that point to Zen when making a polite request for cancellation or a discount of the termination charge.

macman

You still haven't told us whether the fire occurred after death, or before. If after, it is not relevant to the contract issue.