Changing name on a FIT account with British Gas due to bereavement

RobertWhipp73

Does anybody have experience trying to change the name on a British Gas account which is used to handle the payments for electricity generated by solar panels.  My Dad recently passed away, my mum and he owned everything jointly, but the FIT account at BG only allows for one name to be used, they chose to use Dad. 
Now my Mum is being asked to apply for a change of ownership and provide all the details BG already hold about the panels as well as prove that she owns her own house and her own panels.  Seems ridiculous, there is no change of ownership and due to covid-19 I cannot go round and help out. 
Surely providing the death certificate and proof of ID should be enough.  They are even asking for a solicitors letters proving she is the beneficiary - we have not had to do this for anything/one else, solicitors have not been involved because everything was joint and the bereavement teams so supportive - not British Gas.
I cannot believe at a time when she is most vulnerable this cannot be made simple, the people on the phone are not helpful and lack any compassion.  Any suggestions?

burntwood

RobertWhipp73 said:

Does anybody have experience trying to change the name on a British Gas account which is used to handle the payments for electricity generated by solar panels.  My Dad recently passed away, my mum and he owned everything jointly, but the FIT account at BG only allows for one name to be used, they chose to use Dad. 
Now my Mum is being asked to apply for a change of ownership and provide all the details BG already hold about the panels as well as prove that she owns her own house and her own panels.  Seems ridiculous, there is no change of ownership and due to covid-19 I cannot go round and help out. 
Surely providing the death certificate and proof of ID should be enough.  They are even asking for a solicitors letters proving she is the beneficiary - we have not had to do this for anything/one else, solicitors have not been involved because everything was joint and the bereavement teams so supportive - not British Gas.
I cannot believe at a time when she is most vulnerable this cannot be made simple, the people on the phone are not helpful and lack any compassion.  Any suggestions?

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your dad.

You say your "mum and he owned everything jointly", and so that presumably included the house.

With his demise, there must now be a change of ownership of the house. (as well as sorting out the rest of his estate he left behind)

Perhaps your mum (or whoever is administering this estate) should seek independent legal advice if they are unsure as to how to proceed. 

Welcome to MSE, btw.:)

jrdutton

I too am trying to do this. My father passed away in February and I'm now trying to transfer the FIT to my mother, who has lived in the same house as him for 50 years. The form is complex, and I have to send a copy of the will. My father, I now discover, was not good at paperwork in his last few years, and installation dates, generation meter details and export meter details are completely beyond me. The British Gas team have not been particularly helpful, especially as this should be so easy to sort out. Every other company I've dealt with has been incredibly supportive and made the transition from my dad to my mum easy.

Any suggestions of things that made it easier for you would be helpful.

[Deleted User]

A simple search of various energy company websites shows the following:

Quote: My parent/spouse/family member has passed away and I need to transfer the Feed-in Tariff payments.

Please accept our sincerest condolences for your loss. To transfer FiT payments, please get in touch as soon as you’re able to do and provide a copy of the death certificate. Outstanding payments will be made to the executor of the estate, so please also let us know who this is. We’ll then be able to arrange a change of ownership application for the person who has inherited or purchased the property. Unquote

Energy companies have to be sure that the necessary due diligence has been carried out before they pay FITs to a person other than the original owner.

lawyerman6

Yes I do. It has become a total nightmare made worse by the sheer incompetence of British Gas. My sister developed two barns at our old family home for residential use. She had solar panels fitted to both properties. After she died two years ago income payments continued for a while until BG suddenly decided that the MCS certificates were wrongly registered as the address given was that of the main farmhouse and not the barns. Meanwhile the original installer company went into liquidation. BG, who say they act as agents to Ofcom [who will not deal with the public direct] have refused to make any further payments and have demanded that basically we start from the beginning by supplying amended certificates, photos of the meters actually installed in the properties [despite the fact that one of them has been sold], Schematic Line Diagrams and other papers which I don't have. They repeatedly sent letters to the properties despite being asked to write to my home address. They have refused to agree to a site meeting. Their telephone answering system is diabolical and the customer relations officer who has sent me long emails detailing a list of administrative steps that have to be taken before any further payments will be made, does not give any address or telephone number where she can be contacted. It seems that I am going to have to appoint a consultant to sort the mess out. This is only a very brief account of a process that has gone on for months and involved dozens of emails. It has proved to be the most stressful and absurd bureaucratic quagmire I have ever experienced.

Lawyerman 6

runMUM49

Dis anyone ever get any answers on this matter? 2025 and its still happening.