SSE trying it on with a 98 year old

smjxm09

My father who is 98 and who moved into sheltered accommodation last year asked me to pay a SSE Southern Electric Bill as I am his Power of Attorney. The letter stated that he owed £68 but instead of being addressed to him personally it was addressed to the occupier. I checked his SSE account and found he was on a different account number and that he owned nothing.

I have to question the motives of SSE sending a bill to the occupier when they clearly know who the old account belonged to and who their new customer is and that he is vulnerable as they have a record of my Power of Attorney. By addressing the bill to the occupier he would have paid the bill it he was able to get out of the house.

Is it common practice for utility companies not to name their residential customers when sending out their bills or was SSE just desperate to find anyone willing to pay money owed?

[Deleted User]

Yes it is. And all suppliers will send out bills to addresses as Occupier or The Occupant. The reason probably is that the last known occupier has vacated the property and the new occupier, if there is one ,has not got in touch with the supplier. Even a vacant property owes standing charges, and there is an owner somewhere who has nt registered with the supplier for the property
In your case OP it sounds like an address mess up, nothing more sinister than that.
If you call SSE I m sure they will explain this and most likely give you £30 as a little compensation

welshmoneylover

smjxm09 wrote: »

My father who is 98 and who moved into sheltered accommodation last year asked me to pay a SSE Southern Electric Bill as I am his Power of Attorney. The letter stated that he owed £68 but instead of being addressed to him personally it was addressed to the occupier. I checked his SSE account and found he was on a different account number and that he owned nothing.

I have to question the motives of SSE sending a bill to the occupier when they clearly know who the old account belonged to and who their new customer is and that he is vulnerable as they have a record of my Power of Attorney. By addressing the bill to the occupier he would have paid the bill it he was able to get out of the house.

Is it common practice for utility companies not to name their residential customers when sending out their bills or was SSE just desperate to find anyone willing to pay money owed?

What is the date of the bill?
Is it dated after your father left the property?
Is he still responsible for the bills or a new tenant?
As it is addressed to the occupier and not your father, perhaps it is not his bill after all.

smjxm09

You haven't read the post properly.

The bill is dated October 10th. My father has been in the property since the end of last year. The bill was meant for the last tenant but it was addressed to the occupier stating that the occupier owed £68. As he is now the occupier my father was left with the impression that he owed the money and would have paid the bill if he could.

welshmoneylover

smjxm09 wrote: »

You haven't read the post properly.

The bill is dated October 10th. My father has been in the property since the end of last year. The bill was meant for the last tenant but it was addressed to the occupier stating that the occupier owed £68. As he is now the occupier my father was left with the impression that he owed the money and would have paid the bill if he could.

My apologies, the bill is probably for the landlord/letting agency during the vacant period.

macman

I would check that the meter s/n matches that on the bill, and submit current readings. Then put the account on monthly DD and handle it yourself online. If he is on quarterly billing then he is almost certainly on an uncompetitive tariff, since most fixes require monthly DD.
BTW, SSE have no idea whether your father is 98 or 18, unless you have put him on the Priority Services Register (which you should do anyway).

smjxm09

A meter reading was submitted the day my father took over the property. He is on a fixed tariff and pays by direct debit.

I will contact SSE to find out what they know about by father regarding the Priority Service Register. They certainly know about the Power of Attorney on the account.