Eon - Undercharging then huge final bill on Death

thyphs

Hello MSE Forums,

Looking for a little advice on behalf of my Mam and Dad.

A few weeks ago my Nan Died age 87, my Mam rang her Energy company (Eon) to settle the outstanding Bill. My Mam was told over the phone that the total bill to settle up would be just over £1600.

This is where i cant get my head around it, My Nan was on a payment plan, that was set by Eon, she got weekly letters telling her exactly how much to pay, this was paid in weekly installments and not a single payment was missed.
My mam was told that because no payments were ever missed then it possibly never flagged as being in Arrears.

I think its really Disgusting practice that a huge multi billion pound company can put older people in such large debt because of their own failings, then demand the money at the end.
Granted such money may have been owed, but an extra £20 a week paid over a few years is not anywhere near as bad as getting a huge bill at the end.

my question is
1) how can they do that
2) how does my mam then find £1600 out of thin air

thanks in advance

Owain_Moneysaver

If your Nan was on a weekly payment plan this suggests she may already have been in arrears and the plan was to clear those. Perhaps it had been agreed that those payments were all your Nan could afford at the time.

If there are assets in your Nan's estate then they will have to be sold or liquidated to realise cash to pay the debt. If there are insufficient assets then the estate is insolvent and your Mam should get professional advice, as it may now be too late to withdraw from administering the estate.

Your Mam is not personally liable for the debt provided she has administered the estate correctly and not disposed of any estate assets before paying the estate's creditors.

[Deleted User]

As a meter reader for 20 years I can understand how easily it is for some of the older folk to get well behind on especially the gas bill.
I have a lot of trouble actually getting into properties with some elders when they may be hard of hearing or are quite reluctant to answer the doors to strangers. They can go several years before suppliers elevate the access to the meters to "must inspect " status where meter readers are likely to try much harder instead of their usual knock and wait 20 seconds then move on.
Its not just Eon who are like this , apart from British Gas who attempt to read some meters quarterly they are all on at the most only 2 visits per year. This is one reason why big suppliers can end up with customers in debt for £1600, and that is a quite common amount. Normally suppliers force fit prepayment meters but these are not always suitable for older customers
The smaller suppliers would be more likely to only try and access meters once in 2 years. Hence occupiers can end up underpaying especially after a long and cold winter like last year.
In these situations the close family should be helping out by submitting regular readings on behalf of their parents. Then the account would not run out of hand accruing large debits

thyphs

thanks people,

after a little digging Ive found out the following

my nan was on the Staywarm programme - for well over 10 years
This is setup through Eon
according to my Mam, the paperwork that has being coming through has been requesting £29 per week for the last 2 years, before that it was £26
the letter states that you should continue to pay the value on the letter.

I see the point about meter readings, ill enquire about that.

thyphs

Hi All,

Just checked with my Mam and i slightly misunderstood.

It seems like what has happened is that between meter readings my nan has gone into arrears.
however, Eon have done nothing to solve the issues, they have continued to send weekly bills saying to pay the £29 per week.

now to generate arrears of £1600 this must have gone on for years, but Eon for whatever reason haven't changed the weekly payments. I imagine if this had continued the debt would have spiralled further.

My mam also said that she tried to speak to Eon several times about it, but as she wasnt the account holder they wouldnt deal with her, despite being told that my nan couldnt hear over the telephone. my mam said that she had assumed that the weekly amount covered the arrears, but on reflection it doesnt.

so yes the money is owed, no questions about that
But its very worrying that
a) Eon could see the debt rising and did nothing to stop it
b) when contacted about it wouldn't deal with my mam, even though my nan wasnt able to.

wavelets

thyphs wrote: »

Hello MSE Forums,

Looking for a little advice on behalf of my Mam and Dad.

A few weeks ago my Nan Died age 87, my Mam rang her Energy company (Eon) to settle the outstanding Bill. My Mam was told over the phone that the total bill to settle up would be just over £1600.

This is where i cant get my head around it, My Nan was on a payment plan, that was set by Eon, she got weekly letters telling her exactly how much to pay, this was paid in weekly installments and not a single payment was missed.
My mam was told that because no payments were ever missed then it possibly never flagged as being in Arrears.

I think its really Disgusting practice that a huge multi billion pound company can put older people in such large debt because of their own failings, then demand the money at the end.
Granted such money may have been owed, but an extra £20 a week paid over a few years is not anywhere near as bad as getting a huge bill at the end.

my question is
1) how can they do that
2) how does my mam then find £1600 out of thin air

thanks in advance

thyphs wrote: »

thanks people,

after a little digging Ive found out the following

my nan was on the Staywarm programme - for well over 10 years
This is setup through Eon
according to my Mam, the paperwork that has being coming through has been requesting £29 per week for the last 2 years, before that it was £26
the letter states that you should continue to pay the value on the letter.

I see the point about meter readings, ill enquire about that.

The Eon Staywarm tariff was scrapped 5 years ago.
If your nan did not transfer to any other tariff, she would have been on the suppliers standard variable tariff (the most expensive) for the last 5 years.

It's not your mum's bill, it's your nans; it would need to be settled from your nan's estate.

wavelets

thyphs wrote: »

Hi All,

Just checked with my Mam and i slightly misunderstood.

It seems like what has happened is that between meter readings my nan has gone into arrears.
however, Eon have done nothing to solve the issues, they have continued to send weekly bills saying to pay the £29 per week.

now to generate arrears of £1600 this must have gone on for years, but Eon for whatever reason haven't changed the weekly payments. I imagine if this had continued the debt would have spiralled further.

My mam also said that she tried to speak to Eon several times about it, but as she wasnt the account holder they wouldnt deal with her, despite being told that my nan couldnt hear over the telephone. my mam said that she had assumed that the weekly amount covered the arrears, but on reflection it doesnt.

so yes the money is owed, no questions about that
But its very worrying that
a) Eon could see the debt rising and did nothing to stop it
b) when contacted about it wouldn't deal with my mam, even though my nan wasnt able to.

Your nan should have been receiving frequent statements from the supplier

[Deleted User]

My Mum died owing EDF £400.she was aged 89 and died owing around £16000 in total debts and had virtually zero assets. The house furniture was nt of very much value and what there was put towards the funeral costs which were paid by the local council.
She had borrowed money sometimes from both doorstep agents and extortionate credit card interest companies which ended up with her being unable ever to get straight again.. It was at the time before the big crash in 2008 I think when people borrowed left right and centre.
All of her debts were scrapped including EDFs £400. They all died with her I m afraid, and none of the debts get passed onto the immediate family if there is little in the estate.
Funeral costs always come first, creditors come third in line behind the Taxman.

Nick_C

Sorry for your loss.

Sounds like E.On were treating your Nan kindly by not getting heavy with her arrears.

She had extra money in her pocket, and if she died with no assets then E.On will not be getting their money.

Ms_Chocaholic

It's a shame your mum didn't pretend to be your nan on the phone - I know this amounts to fraud but I often did this with my mum (in her presence) and at least it got things sorted, things that my mum found too anxious to deal with.

Robin9

A lesson here for all of us with elderly parents - keep an eye on their utility (and insurance) bills.

My MIL asked me to some years ago and I read her meters whenever I see her.