Can someone advise me

Torchlight66

Hi, My mother passed away in March this year. I was executor of the will. I paid all bills and closed accounts etc. Sold her bungalow and exchanged 1 June'22. The electricity was paid and I have the full and final bill. 6 months later I have received a letter from LCS debt recovery stating I owe a further £65.98 and they acting on behalf of bulb. Every time I ring bulb they hang up on me. I have explained to LCS and sent all paperwork to both parties, death cert/ house exchange/ receipt of payment to bulb for final bill. What do I do ?

Jyana

Did you pay the final bill before or after selling the property? It sounds like it could be before from what you've said here, so just want to check before going any further.

EssexHebridean

Was there a gap between exchange and completion, and did you deal with final readings on exchange? Having said that, it would need to be an unusually long gap to leave that amount outstanding for payment even if that were the case. 

It’s so tough, the death of a parent. The last thing you need is additional hassle on top of the grief. 

ariarnia

i'm sorry for your loss. 

you say youve sent them the paperwork. do you mean this form? https://help.bulb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360015856632-What-to-do-if-the-account-holder-has-died

first thing i would do is email a complaint to bulb using the details here. https://bulb.co.uk/complaints/ hanging up on you is very poor customer service and if they have an email with all the info they can't hang up so. 

there complaints team should be able to help you with the next steps. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

you say "passed away in March this year", " I paid all bills and closed accounts", "exchanged 1 June'22".

Could it be for the period when you closed account and completed?

Even though house was unoccupied any usage/standing charge would still need to be paid.

t0rt0ise

First thing is to ask them to prove it. Have you asked them why you owe this money?

Torchlight66

Yeah they said its a short payment 6 months after the final bill ?

Torchlight66

Jyana said:

Did you pay the final bill before or after selling the property? It sounds like it could be before from what you've said here, so just want to check before going any further.

No I paid the bill after exchange, the day we signed I took photos of the meters and sent them in, the final bill was prepared and I paid that

[Deleted User]

One thing to note is that it is unlikely you have had a "full and final" bill - that means something specific and energy suppliers would almost never issue one.

You might have had a final bill, but they have six years to correct any errors and send you a new final bill.

I don't know if that's what has happened here, but it is a thing that happens.

Jyana

Torchlight66 said:

Jyana said:

Did you pay the final bill before or after selling the property? It sounds like it could be before from what you've said here, so just want to check before going any further.

No I paid the bill after exchange, the day we signed I took photos of the meters and sent them in, the final bill was prepared and I paid that

In that case, as long as you have paid all standing charges and units due while you had the property in the final bill you have already paid (do check your figures first to double check), do as t0rt0ise says and request them to Prove It. Templates for the letter can be found on the Debt Wannabe forum here, I believe.

EssexHebridean

Torchlight66 said:

Jyana said:

Did you pay the final bill before or after selling the property? It sounds like it could be before from what you've said here, so just want to check before going any further.

No I paid the bill after exchange, the day we signed I took photos of the meters and sent them in, the final bill was prepared and I paid that

I’d suspect that there was something left switched on between exchange and completion then. The new owners moved in on completion day, gave their readings, and of course down the line it became apparent there was a discrepancy. You’d already been billed to the reading you gave, but it sounds like the subsequent bill is now being raised to cover that discrepancy.