Can i take over a deceased persons E-on bill?

Markymcmarker

Sorry for keeping this short and somewhat blunt. I'm struggling. 

My mother has sadly just passed away and has/is leaving the house to me. However, it turns out she has 2k in debt on her E-on energy. I am scared they will say I have to sell the house to pay for it. I stupidly didn't put my name on the bill but have lived here for over two years now and had no idea she was in this much debt.
I am going to call them tomorrow but I was just wondering what is the likely hood they will allow me to put my name on the bill and pay it off slowly rather than in one lump sum? I am panicking. 

Brie

My condolences!  I'm sure this is a very difficult time for you and finding out something like this doesn't really help.

OK - so don't panic.  They are not going to tell you to sell the house.  They may ask that you settle the bill.  If your mom had died without anything much in her estate they would have to write this off.  But because there is something (the house.  And?) they may ask for you or someone to pay.  They will be more likely to do so if they know that you have been living there and therefore had the advantage of the energy provided.  

Call them up and ask for the bereavements team.  Don't get pushed on to talking to just a customer service person who won't know the answers other than what's on their script. Do be strong and tell them you need time to sort things out.  

See if you can start your own account so that you can see how much you might need to pay per month.  Assuming they want to just change the name on the account to yours check the bills so you know how much the energy has cost for the last year.  Lets say it was £1600.  Add to that the £2k arrears and we're talking £3600.  Can you afford to pay them £300 a month for the next year?  If not can you afford to pay the £1600 over the next year (£135ish a month)?  If that is doable ask them to keep mom's arrears separate and see what you can pay towards that over the next 2 - 3 years.  

Do have a thorough check of her other outgoings to ensure that there isn't something else lurking somewhere.  This is why it would be good to have a new account with Eon so that you can sort out all your mom's financial issues separate somewhat from your own.  Do go through the bereavements team for anything you need to deal with - normally you are talking to more experience staff and hopefully ones that are more sympathetic.

If money is tight and you discover more that you need to deal with I would suggest posting further at some point on the debt free wannabee board.  It's a great place for people to get advice on how to sort out their budgeting to ensure that things don't get ignored or spiral out of control.  

Keep_pedalling

This is a debt owed by her estate, and as the estate is not insolvent it will need to be paid but there is no need to panic. Has she appointed you as executor of the will? 

Assuming you are her executor, contact the bereavement department tomorrow to inform them of her death, they should put the issue of the debt on hold until you have obtained probate. Also tell them that you are now living there (don't mention that you have been there for the last 2 years) and need a new account for yourself for ongoing use.

https://www.eonnext.com/help/bereavements

If you need any help or support with dealing with her estate and probate then post over on the Deaths, Funerals and Probate board.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/deaths-funerals-probate

wrf12345

Do check that the debt relates to the "final" meter readings from when you take over rather than fantasy estimate ones the energy companies often use. That may make a difference one way or another.

Keep_pedalling

wrf12345 said:

Do check that the debt relates to the "final" meter readings from when you take over rather than fantasy estimate ones the energy companies often use. That may make a difference one way or another.

Good point, you will need to provide a meter reading for your own contract anyway.

EssexHebridean

I think the straight answer to the question in the OP's thread title is "You probably don't want to" - no benefit to you in taking someone else's debt (which yes, might need to be settled by you in the longer term, but will still be a debt of the estate) and turning it into a debt in your own name. 

MWT

EssexHebridean said:

I think the straight answer to the question in the OP's thread title is "You probably don't want to" - no benefit to you in taking someone else's debt (which yes, might need to be settled by you in the longer term, but will still be a debt of the estate) and turning it into a debt in your own name. 

Ordinarily I might have agreed, but in this case where the OP is living in what might be the only substantial asset in the estate and they do not want to sell it, it makes more sense to deal with the debt proactively as it will not go away since the estate has sufficient assets.

EssexHebridean

MWT said:

EssexHebridean said:

I think the straight answer to the question in the OP's thread title is "You probably don't want to" - no benefit to you in taking someone else's debt (which yes, might need to be settled by you in the longer term, but will still be a debt of the estate) and turning it into a debt in your own name. 

Ordinarily I might have agreed, but in this case where the OP is living in what might be the only substantial asset in the estate and they do not want to sell it, it makes more sense to deal with the debt proactively as it will not go away since the estate has sufficient assets.

Oh I'd agree - they definitely need to address it - but it should be addressed as an Executor or Administrator of the estate, not by taking on the account and having the debt transferred from the estate in their personal name. 

MWT

EssexHebridean said:

MWT said:

EssexHebridean said:

I think the straight answer to the question in the OP's thread title is "You probably don't want to" - no benefit to you in taking someone else's debt (which yes, might need to be settled by you in the longer term, but will still be a debt of the estate) and turning it into a debt in your own name. 

Ordinarily I might have agreed, but in this case where the OP is living in what might be the only substantial asset in the estate and they do not want to sell it, it makes more sense to deal with the debt proactively as it will not go away since the estate has sufficient assets.

Oh I'd agree - they definitely need to address it - but it should be addressed as an Executor or Administrator of the estate, not by taking on the account and having the debt transferred from the estate in their personal name. 

Agreed, and this should have been pointed out earlier, hopefully the OP is in fact the executor, otherwise it is not really their place to be talking to the supplier in the first place.

The only mitigation would be that they have been living in the house for some time now and benefitting from the energy supply so some liability probably attaches regardless.