Adding/Changing Names to Energy Tariffs

bbh_3

Hi all,

I'm new here so if I've posted in the wrong/section etc. Then please let me know!

I'm currently in the process of selling my home to a good friend of mine, all is going smoothly however, come October/November when we are hoping to complete the sale, it is probably a terrible time to look for a new tariff. When the sale completes I will be moving in with family so I won't be in a position to move the tariff over to a new property. 

She's currently lodging at my home, but as it stands I am the only name on the account. I am considering whether to put her name on the account so that when the time comes for sale completion and I move out she won't end up with a ridiculously expensive tariff, the current one is fixed until 2024 and has no exit fee, so she has options if prices calm down (ha!).

Does anyone know if there are any rules with Scottish Power about going about this? I would like to be upfront with them and say that I would like to change the sole account holder's name to hers, but I don't know if that's possible. If that's the case I'm happy to stay on the account and add her name to the tariff also, and then at a later date (3-6 months or so) when I find a new place I can take my name off and she still keeps the same tariff. Again, if this is even allowed? 

We're good enough, longstanding friends in stable jobs so I've considered the possibility of my credit rating etc if she doesn't pay, so, please no warnings on taking this risk with a friend etc. This is her first home and I just want to help her out in any way I feasibly can during these difficult times.

Just looking for advice, I'm of course hesitant to contact Scottish Power and tell them I'm moving out and want to transfer the account into her name because then the damage could be done in preserving the current tariff. 

Any advice, experience, with Scottish Power is very much welcome!

MWT

bbh_3 said:

I'm currently in the process of selling my home to a good friend of mine, all is going smoothly however, come October/November when we are hoping to complete the sale, it is probably a terrible time to look for a new tariff. When the sale completes I will be moving in with family so I won't be in a position to move the tariff over to a new property.

Moving the tariff was never an option anyway, your tariff ends when you sell the house, Scottish Power are usually very clear in their T&C that fixed tariffs cannot be moved to a new address.

Similarly, what you are trying to do is not supposed to be possible either, since your sale ends the contract.

All you can do is call their CS team and see if they will let you add the name of an unrelated person to your energy account, but I suspect the answer will be 'no'.

macman

Although it is theoretically possible to change the name and payment source on the account over, you would then have to work out between you what was due at the date of completion, and you would pay her that balance, as the account will not reset to zero. What would be possible is just to switch the DD to her bank account; though this means that you remain fully liable for the payments, not her, as it's still your name on the energy account.
However, if you have a fix going as as far forward as 2024, it's likely to be very much more expensive than the price freeze that will be announced tomorrow, so her cheapest option will be to enter a deemed contract when she moves in, and go onto 'frozen SVT'.
It's an interesting question, but one that has almost certainly become irrelevant with yesterday's announcement.
What are your fix rates?

bbh_3

Thanks for the speedy replies, really appreciated!

As it's currently summertime and we live together the account is in quite a bit of credit ahead of the winter months, and I'm not looking for any of that money back. 

You're absolutely right, given the recent news (I must confess I haven't been keeping up to date with the news)Because there's no charge on exit fees she atleast has the option of cancelling if/when she finds something better or even the same. But I just don't know if it's possible to add non-relatives to the bill. Although MWT's answer would suggest that's a hard no. 

I had this tariff fixed back in Feb this year.

For Elec: 

Unit rate	30.09p
Unit rate	16.47p
Standing charge	19.72p

For Gas:

Unit rate	6.78p
Standing charge	21.99p

QrizB

That's a pretty good fix, lower than the April cap let alone the recently-announced October one.

Definitely worth keeping the account open if you can make it work.

MWT

bbh_3 said:

But I just don't know if it's possible to add non-relatives to the bill. Although MWT's answer would suggest that's a hard no. 

Ask, it has to be worth a try at least...

macman

As I said, if there is no liability or trust issue here, then you don't need to change the name. Just change the DD to her account. The supplier neither knows nor cares whose bank the DD is drawn from, and it doesn't need to be the name on the energy account.
As far as they're concerned, it's just an account number and a sort code.

Alderbank

macman said:

As I said, if there is no liability or trust issue here, then you don't need to change the name. Just change the DD to her account. The supplier neither knows nor cares whose bank the DD is drawn from, and it doesn't need to be the name on the energy account.
As far as they're concerned, it's just an account number and a sort code.

^This^.  They won't care. However there is a slight risk to the OP-

Utilities stopped permitting two names on the bill when they started reporting to the credit agencies, around 2012 I think, because of data protection concerns. If the bill was not paid, whose credit should be trashed?

OP, if your 'good friend' ever didn't pay the bill, you are the account holder and you get the black mark!

CanNeverThinkOfAUsername

Just be very careful as you may then become "financial associates" on both your credit files, so you are both linked

Shedman

Alderbank said:

macman said:

As I said, if there is no liability or trust issue here, then you don't need to change the name. Just change the DD to her account. The supplier neither knows nor cares whose bank the DD is drawn from, and it doesn't need to be the name on the energy account.
As far as they're concerned, it's just an account number and a sort code.

^This^.  They won't care. However there is a slight risk to the OP-

Utilities stopped permitting two names on the bill when they started reporting to the credit agencies, around 2012 I think, because of data protection concerns. 

Which is odd then seeing as BG have just recently added my name to my stepdaughters bill (different surnames) and issue the bills with both names on .....even though she did only request that I was permitted to speak on her behalf on the account so we didn't actually want my name added to the bill but just a note kept on her file.  But hey its BG so why would anything be straightforward 😅

bbh_3

Thanks all, once again for the really useful advice. I think trying to get her name on the account will be my first step and if that doesn't get me anywhere, changing the DD might be the most viable option if we're both comfortable with that, at least for the short term when the big expenditures on solicitors fees/furnishings are out the way. This time a year ago I would have thought it would be futile to even consider doing such a thing, but here we are.