Death and Bills

Torry_Quine

When my husband died I called up Scottish Power and changed it into my name and kept the tariff. Changed the bank account myself online 

YBR

When my Father died, I phoned round all the companies - utilities, insurance, phones, TV Licence etc - and asked to put them in my mum's name. The vast majority just did it. I wasn't a joint account holder, nor the executor, nor did I inherit anything, very few asked whether I was executor, or queried who I was, or asked for a death certificate or a copy of the will. Actually I was shocked how easy it was.

I really hope they're more stringent now, particularly if the change is to a different surname or address.

mac.d

I'd agree its probably not worth the risk right now, just in case they try to be difficult about it, but for the wife/husband of the deceased, it should be straightforward. Any other relationship and they can insist contract ends with the deceased, and a new contract has to be taken out by the surviving family member in the house. Reed_Richards you might be right on the joint liability of a debt, but it's continuing the contract that is the issue for the energy supplier.

If you do ever contact them, I think its important to make sure you ask to speak to the bereavement team and don't just speak to customer services, I think most if not all suppliers will have one.

There's nothing onerous about having to send copies of death certificates, it's quite common and that's why people are usually advised to get a couple of copies when registering a death. I found energy suppliers to be the most difficult though, HMRC, bank, telephone, council etc were very helpful and easy to deal with.

badger09

Sorry for your loss OP

Here is EDF’s relevant help page. Looks like you can ‘chat’ but I haven’t tried it. 

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-centre/faq/how-do-i-manage-energy-account-someone-whos-passed-away

The notification form looks straightforward enough. 

https://www.edfenergy.com/form/bereavement-notification-form

If you have other utility or financial companies to contact, look on their websites for their Bereavement team details. They have training which general call centres don’t have. My experience in dealing with lots of them is that most were both compassionate & efficient. 

If you phone, keep a note of date, time, name of contact & what they said. It’s not easy to remember everything when your grieving, but notes help. 

There is lots of advice on the Death & Probate forum

Swipe

Normally, I'd advocate letting them know but in the current situation it's just not worth the risk. When my mother died her joint account was still in both her and my late fathers names and the bank didn't care and told me it was very common.