PRAC/BW chasing deceased mothers £89 EON bill.

[HertsCorn]

Hi,

I have just received a letter at my address from BW Legal/PRAC on behalf of Eon in the name of my deceased mother who passed away in May 2020. In the letter, it says she owes E.ON a sum of £89.59. 

 

Last year she was transferred into a care home for palliative care from hospital in February and therefore would not be returning to her council house and I informed council, utilities etc etc. We had 3 weeks to clear her house which we did. We cleared the house and handed it and the keys over to the council. We then informed Eon that the house is now empty and is in the possession of the council. Mum passed away in May 2020.

 

I was her executor of her will. The will was very basic and it was just small possessions to give to family. There was no money to leave. In a part of the will was she had life insurance policy which was spent on a headstone for her and my father. 

 

Please advised what to do next. 

[HertsCorn]

It says Eon have passed the debt on to PRAC Financial. 

Really don't need this right now as I've just come out of hospital after suffering a stroke

[HertsCorn]

So I phoned up BW and informed them of the circumstances. I was asked to provide proof etc. This is the email and actual letter I sent to all parties involved (E.on, PRAC and BW)

 

Following my telephone call with your agent on the 4th December 2021, I wish to inform you that my mother xxxx xxxx passed away on the xxth May 2020. I enclose a copy of her death certificate for proof as requested. 

 

My mother has never resided at this address. It was used as a care of address whilst she was moving into a care home for palliative care. E.on was informed of the circumstances as soon as possible.

 

I was also informed by your agent that no further action would be taken and that I consider this to be end of the matter. 

[HertsCorn]

My best guess is that when we surrendered the house back to the council, we informed them of the utilities already in place and that the council didn't contact eon. 

The council was going into lockdown that day and I guess things got missed etc. 

[HertsCorn]

Don't worry I intend to get to the bottom of this. 

I assume that I cannot be chased for this in anyway ? Or if I am chased I can ignore and not play their game ? 

It's just the principal of it all. To ask my mother to pay a "debt" 18 months after her death isn't on.

[HertsCorn]

What fun it would be if it went quite far with "collectors" turning up at my door. Imagine the service charges adding up and all for nothing

 

Yes I do have a PRAC letter and it does say Our Client E.ON.

[HertsCorn]

The actual timeline is mum transferred from hospital to care home 18 Feb. We cleared house etc and handed keys back to council 17 March. We informed Eon on the 17 March and gave a final meter reading (Key meter) We assumed that was it. Mum died 25 May in care home. 

Don't know if this makes a difference ? 

 

Just remembered that when giving final meter reading to Eon, the final balance was worked out to be in credit for what they are chasing for now £89.59.

They sent a cheque to my address. It was spent on admin for her estate, death certs, letters to creditors etc.

 

Also BW are saying the debt owed is from the 7th March to 10th May 2020. 

This clearly cannot be possible. 

[HertsCorn]

No not a bill at all.

She was in credit by £89.59 when the account was closed. 

They sent the check to her care of address (my address) as she was in a care home.

Edited December 5, 2021 by dx100uk
unnecessary previous post quote removed

[HertsCorn]

7 hours ago, dx100uk said:

 

so the eon A/C was never in her name anyway?

Yes it was in her name at her address. 

She used my address as a care of address when she moved into a care home. 

I was managing her affairs from my address while she was in the care home. 

Eon was made aware of this and agreed to it. 

She/we used the Royal Mail redirection service from her old address to my address. 

[HertsCorn]

28 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

EON may have paid £89 refund in error and now they want it back.

That's their problem. They said account was £89 in credit when it was closed. Sent the cheque after about 3-4 weeks.

They can't get it back from dead people. Unless they hold a seance.

[HertsCorn]

22 hours ago, BankFodder said:

So we are talking about money which they may have paid her an error.

This is well over 12 months ago.
When was a refund actually made

How long ago did they start chasing for this debt?

What are BW legal proposing to do about this debt? Are they chasing you personally or are they chasing your deceased mother?

It is most unlikely they'll take any action on a debt this size – but if they did then there is clearly an estoppel.

It might also be worth looking at the effect of the backbilling code on this. If the time between making the refund and the time they started chasing for it is more than 12 months, then they are breaking the code.

Refund was in March/April 2020.

 

The first I became aware of this was the 4th December 2021 via letter to my address.

 

BW wants to offer a 70% reduction to about £26ish.

They are not chasing me personally. They are chasing my dead mother. 

 

I'm not paying towards their Christmas party drinks bill. 

 

[HertsCorn]

9 hours ago, Ethel Street said:

Sorry to hear about your mother's death @HertsCorn

 

I had a similar situation with E.On when my mother died and I was her Executor, although not involving DCAs. Some organisations seem unable to grasp that the person they claim owes the bill is no longer alive. I did find though that once I'd provided the Death Certificate that was the last I ever heard of it. Even debts my mother had owed and I was willing to pay from the Estate were never collected.

 

Can you clarify your post #7. Have BW agreed that they will not pursue you for payment and won't contact you again? Have they confirmed it in writing?

 

In answer to your general question about whether they can pursue you personally the answer is no (assuming you weren't personally guaranteeing your late mother's E.On account, which I'm sure you weren't). As Executor you have to settle the bills of the deceased out of the Estate but you were fully entitled to assume that E.On had closed the account as they'd sent you the closing account balance by cheque after you had given them the final reading. Neither Executors nor family members are legally responsible for the debts of someone who has died. And even if the Executor had been negligent no-one is likely to pursue court proceedings for £89.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BW haven't agreed to anything in writing or by phone. Just got a letter saying your (dead mother) credit rating may be affected we may send collectors etc.

 

When I called them they just said send in a copy of her death certificate with a covering letter. 

I assume this will be the end of it all and never hear from them again. 

 

I sent a letter and copy of death certificate to all parties (Eon, BW and PRAC) and sent a copy of each company's letter to each other as well. 

 

Yes I know that they can't chase me for my dead mother's alleged debt. It's just the principal of it all. 

 

Surely these companies have systems in place to know the customer is dead after 18 months ?