Got a letter from southern water 5 years after my dad died

rachel1712

Hello I am looking for some help as I received a letter from southern water 5 years after my dad passed away . They are saying he is in debt but we sorted all bills out when he died so I am in shock about this I don't live in that house since the day he died and moved to new city but they sent it to my current address. I am not sure what I can do about this and I didn't think I would ever have to do with my dad's old house again after he died thank you for any help kind regards rachel

Grumpy_chap

This will be an automatically generated letter.  If you contact SWS by phone and simply explain that your Dad passed away five years ago, they will probably just cancel the debt and close the account.  Use the contact number that was on the letter.
How much is the bill for?  It is not worth them pursuing a small amount.
Was the letter addressed to you or to your Dad?  If addressed to your Dad and you receive future letters from SWS (branded envelope), just write "deceased" on the envelope and put back in the post box.  I totally understand why you opened this letter, but the return to sender approach will soon get the message across.

rachel1712

Hi there was no contact number on the letter and the debt was 158.27 also it said the executor of my dad thank you 

Grumpy_chap

The contact number for Southern Water is 0330 303 0368
I am sure they will be sympathetic and write off the £160 if you call them up and in a polite and composed way explain your father passed on 5 years ago and all his affairs, including water bills, were settled at that time and that you have found it very upsetting to receive this letter

Cardew

If the letter was addressed to the 'executor of your dad', as you state above, then they obviously know he is deceased.

It seems more like a letter from a Debt Collection Agency(DCA) than Southern Water.

If the debt was genuine, in theory they could chase the executor, but it is highly unlikely they will pursue that course of action.

Grumpy_chap

If it has been passed to a DCA, then the way to get them off the case is still via SWS.

freesha

Did you advise at the time that there were no funds in his estate to pay the final bill? If not, do so now.

rachel1712

I spoke to southern water and they are saying my solicitors didn't pay the bill out of the estate so now I have to get in contact with them about it thank you all your help