British gas bill in name of deceased. Advised other tenants must pay.

eskimo26

Hello all, 
I've been dealing with preparing for probate since my Uncle passed away. We can't proceed until we have a death certificate which is delayed as the case has gone to a coroner. However, I reached out to British Gas who deal with the dual fuel to make them aware of the situation so they can temporarily freeze the account until probate can be carried forward. 

I had a strange phone call with British Gas in which I was advised that as his wife lived with him in the same home she would be liable to settle the arrears on the account despite her name not being on it because "she also used the gas and electric". The account is in the name of the deceased only. My understanding is that all arrears are settled from the estate during probate and do not transfer to anyone else if their is a lack of funds to cover them. So what they have told me doesn't ring true. Can anyone confirm what the right protocol is for these arrears?

They advised me to email their team explaining that the death has occurred as they are more knowledgeable (despite me phoning the team that deals with bereavements, so it's the same team!).

I'm thinking to email the following:
Dear Bereavement Team,
As discussed previously through your call centre please be advised that my Uncle passed away on xxxx. We will keep you appraised of the situation once resolution of the estate begins.  
Best wishes, 
xxxx. 
    
Any thoughts or advice on this situation? Thank you. 

[Deleted User]

 Why would she not pay it? She used it! 

Stubod

I would assume that if somebody is still living there and using the service then they are liable for paying the bill....why would they not be ?

Gavin83

They can't make her settle the bill. However if there were any assets in the estate then the estate is liable to settle the bill. If she's the sole beneficiary and she can afford to it may well be easier for her to settle the bill now. Either way she'll effectively end up paying, unless of course the estate is insolvent.

However you can't just freeze the bill, expect not to pay and to continue receiving energy supplies. She needs to contact the energy supplier and get the bill put into her name. If she doesn't she may well find herself cut off.

eskimo26

Sorry to not make this clear in the initial post, I'm looking for people who understand probate to give me advice on the correct legal procedure in this situation as per forum rules. I'm happy to answer questions relevant to this. 

However, personal opinions have no bearing on correctly resolving probate. The procedure is stressful enough as it is. 

Any help from genuine people will be very appreciated. 
   

 

[Deleted User]

eskimo26 said:

Sorry to not make this clear in the initial post, I'm looking for people who understand probate to give me advice on the correct legal procedure in this situation as per forum rules. I'm happy to answer questions relevant to this. 

However, personal opinions have no bearing on correctly resolving probate. The procedure is stressful enough as it is. 

Any help from genuine people will be very appreciated. 
   

 

 Her being cut off is not an opinion its a fact. She can't receive energy for free! 

Joint tenants have joint liability for energy bills. One moves out the other continues to pay or finds themselves in the dark 

eskimo26

Gavin83 said:

They can't make her settle the bill. However if there were any assets in the estate then the estate is liable to settle the bill. If she's the sole beneficiary and she can afford to it may well be easier for her to settle the bill now. Either way she'll effectively end up paying, unless of course the estate is insolvent.

However you can't just freeze the bill, expect not to pay and to continue receiving energy supplies. She needs to contact the energy supplier and get the bill put into her name. If she doesn't she may well find herself cut off.

Thanks for your help,
Just to confirm that we have the meter readings so we can show which costs fall after his death and these will obviously be settled outside of probate. 
The estate is very likely to be insolvent as from the few documents i've seen so far my uncle had several arrears and was in debt.

So you would be correct that i'm working on the assumption the estate will be insolvent. 

British gas confirmed they won't be cut off. They described the process as:
1. Freeze the account until a death certificate is issued.   
2. Send a letter asking if the wife wishes to put the account in her name which she is not          required to do. 
   That was from British Gas themselves.  

Savvy_Sue

She may not be required to put the account in her name, but if she wishes to continue receiving a gas supply it's got to go in someone's name, surely?

Or are they offering a choice between changing uncle's account into her name, or opening a new account in her name, not related to the arrears? 

Mickey666

Sounds to me as if the wife should now open a new account with BG as she must now be responsible for the energy supply - assuming she doesn't want it cut off.

The deceased's estate must surely remain responsible for all the bills BEFORE the supply is transferred into her name adn this would be paid by the estate inthe normal way.  The 'normal way' includes not paying if the estate really is insolvent.

As for whether the wife should pay her husband's bill if his estate has no money, she may have a moral responsibility but I'm less sure about a legal one.  Presumably that will be discovered if BG take her to court for non-payment (assuming husband's estate is insolvent).  Is the amount owed at the date of husband's death significant enough that BG would bother with legal action?

naedanger

I don't know the answer. However the following link may be worth considering: 
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/debts-after-death-ew/?
In particular:
If you name is not on the bill and the energy company tries to argue that you have benefited from the energy supply and so should pay the bill, contact us for advice.

xylophone

Re the marital home -  is this a rented property or did your uncle own it?
If both owned it, tenants-in-common or joint tenants?