@eonhelp Eon debt of deceased last tenant - being chased by a DCA

[Writerchris]

Hi all,

 

I've got a rental flat that I bought after the old lady who lived in it had sadly passed away.

 

 

The tenant has contacted me as she has received two letters from a DCA regarding alleged unpaid utility bills from Eon.

 

She called them to see what it was all about and they said they "couldn't tell her as it related to 'the people before'

and asked her to pass on a case reference number and contact phone number!

 

I told the tenant that she could disregard the letters but she's she's worried as they addressed them to her so I'm looking for the right reply to get them to cease and desist!

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

Chris

[Bazooka Boo]

she's worried as they addressed them to her so I'm looking for the right reply to get them to cease and desist!

 

So they've addressed the letters to your new tenant?

NOT to ''the legal occupier''?

 

Yet when she rings them they tell her that they cannot discuss anything with her as it is for the previous tenant?

 

You couldn't make this up!

As her landlord I think you need to be dealing with them, and instructing them that the previous tenant has passed away, and your not

best pleased that they are threatening your new tenant for a debt she doesn't have.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

I assume from reading, that the current tenant opened mail from eon addressed to the old tenant. And then passed it to the landlord. Just inform eon that old tenant passed away and that should be the end of it.

If they have address mail for the old tenant to the new tenant, then that would be quite a different issue indeed.

[Writerchris]

Thanks guys - Bazooka's right - they addressed it to the new tenant and then refused to tell her what it was about but ordered her to tell the old owner/tenant (now deceased)! She's a great girl the tenant, very conscientious and hard working so I'd like to sort it out for her as I don't want her to worry.

[Writerchris]

I'm definitely going to write a letter to them - anything in particular that I should add/ legal angle/template?

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[Stigman]

I'm definitely going to write a letter to them - anything in particular that I should add/ legal angle/template?

 

I expect you will get a reply asking for a copy of the death certificate so to stop letter tennis include that if they would like a copy of the death certificate then Eon can apply and pay the appropriate fee to obtain one.

 

Also make a complaint to Eon and then follow through with a complaint to the Ombudsman https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/domestic-consumers/making-enquiry-or-complaint if you get no satisfactory response.

 

Stigman

[Staraker]

This all sounds a bit messy. Writerchris, I presume that Eon are still the supply to the property - hence they linked the dead occupier with your new tenant - but was there a period when the bill was in your name between the two? Do the letters actually address the new tenant as if the debt is hers?

[Writerchris]

I'm not sure who the tenant is using now

- it wasn't Eon who contacted her but a debt collection agency

who gave her a phone number and a reference and asked her to call

 

 

- she did ask what it was about

- they said "unpaid utility bills dating from 2014."

but would give her no further information

said they needed to contact they previous resident.

 

 

Never had my name on the utility bills as I never lived there.

Property was empty for about 8 months following the death of the previous owner.

 

 

Her daughter sold it to me and it was refurbished and let to the tenant.

 

 

My builder was on site doing the refurbishment and then the tenant so I don't know much about previous bill demands for the property etc.

[Staraker]

But what about the period between you taking possession of the property and it being refurbished, and the tenant actually moving in?

 

 

You've also not said whether this is for gas, electricity, or both.

 

 

If your tenant is also using Eon, that might explain why her name has been linked to the old account, and those details passed on to the DCA.

 

 

You probably need to be speaking to Eon, rather than playing Chinese whispers through the DCA.

[dx100uk]

whos the fleecing dca?

 

 

EON would have sold it on I bet..

 

 

we have two reps here i'll get them onboard.

 

 

dx

[dx100uk]

eon paged

thread moved to the utils forum

where they'll see it too

 

 

dx

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Hi Writerchris

 

I agree with Staraker, best to talk to us rather than the DCA. They'll only have limited information and won't be able to see the account history. In the meantime, I'll try to give you a few details of what might have happened here.

 

Where an account closes due to a bereavement, we've a dedicated team who deal with the executor of the estate. The account will be closed down and a final bill issued and sent to the executor. A new account will be opened to cover ongoing usage. This will be set up based on the details we're given at the time. If this covered the period between the closure of the deceased account and when the new tenant took over responsibility, I suspect this is what the DCA is referring to.

 

If we weren't given a named account holder or details of a landlord/letting agency, the account will be in the name of the occupier. Before passing an account to a DCA, we'll send many bills/reminders/correspondence. It may be this was going to the property. Did you pick up any mail from us at the property before the new tenant moved in?

 

When an occupier account is passed to a DCA, they sometimes do a blanket search to identify anyone connected with the property. They'll then send letters to each person identified to ask for details about who was responsible for the period in question. These may be the letters your tenant has received.

 

Did you let us know you had bought the property and were responsible for the energy between the purchase and the new tenant moving in? Did you or the new tenant contact us once responsibility for the property changed? Each contact would've kick started a new account based on the details provided. If your new tenant has an account in her name to the dates/meter readings given then this is what she'll be responsible for. As above, talk to us about the period between your purchase and the new tenant taking over.

 

Sorry for all the questions and if my speculation is wide of the mark. Just trying to work out what might have happened here.

 

Malc

[Conniff]

Do you have an update for us Writerchris ??

[Writerchris]

Hopefully so Conniff and Malc, thanks for the help.

 

The property was our first rental so we didn't know we had to inform energy companies that we owned the place as we weren't living there and expected it to be ready to rent within days. It took longer than we thought and was empty for a while then refurbished. We asked our builder to pass on any post that was addressed to us but it appears that the seller (daughter of the deceased previous owner) gave the wrong name to Eon and we therefore failed to receive any correspondence. I'll track down the period when the property was vacant and give Eon a call.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Thanks for letting me know Writerchris. The more information you can give us the better.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Been out of the office for a week and a half.

 

Malc

[Staraker]

Hopefully so Conniff and Malc, thanks for the help.

 

The property was our first rental so we didn't know we had to inform energy companies that we owned the place as we weren't living there and expected it to be ready to rent within days. It took longer than we thought and was empty for a while then refurbished. We asked our builder to pass on any post that was addressed to us but it appears that the seller (daughter of the deceased previous owner) gave the wrong name to Eon and we therefore failed to receive any correspondence. I'll track down the period when the property was vacant and give Eon a call.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

You didn't think you were liable for even what you thought would be the "days" between taking possession and tenant moving in?

 

 

Surely the builder will have been using electricirty at least during the refurbishment,

whether that had been actually been "days" or longer?

 

 

The last two rental properties we've lived in,

the first thing we did on moving in was to get the meter readings to establish that we were only paying for the utilities from when we first got through the door,

and weren't copping for anything the landlord was liable for.