How do you manage bills for someone else?

NeverTooLate

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81946783#Comment_81946783

People on low income can ask for a social tariff for their water.

KxMx

It's not guaranteed though as some water companies have very narrow criteria.

p00hsticks

After my dad died I set up a new email account for my mother which I monitor, and switched all her accounts to paperless so I get to see all the bills. I do have PoA for her - she has capacity but is severely visually impaired and so struggles to read post and can no longer use a computer.

Cubicsrube

Did this with BT - they were constantly calling mum up and trying to sell her on more expensive packages (bundled sports channels etc) so after I noticed her bill had jumped up, I got involved. They had to speak to her directly on the phone (I handed it over) and confirm her identity; once that was done they were happy for me to negotiate for her. They reinstated her original plan and added me to her account as a secondary administrator, which meant I had access to her online account, and received copies of all bills and alerts. I believe that several utilities now have this system in place. Good luck.

Brie

For those that are/were handling things online for someone but without proper authorisation (i.e. at home without the person present) please remember that if the account holder gets scammed (not by you obviously) then there is little come back. The bank will view it that mom/whomever has handed their details to someone else and therefore anything lost due to fraud will not be recovered. That's why you need to do it properly.

Yorkie1

I've only got involved with Mum's fuel account. I was on the phone to her, discussed the options, and did the necessary selection online of a new company and/or tariff - most recently Octopus. I then just put all of her contact details in, including email. So it was just me doing the typing remotely.

There was a problem when I noticed a tariff choice hadn't gone through. I rang them and explained the situation (having spoken with Mum). They rang her to get her authority to speak to me, and then rang me back and added me to the account. Couldn't fault their approach.