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Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urgent*

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  • Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urgent*

    Hello,
    I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section, I'm new here and I wasn't quite sure if this was the right place to post.
    We're in a very difficult situation and don't know where to turn for advice, especially now we've got only a few days to deal with things. This is a long and complicated situation so I'll try to keep it as brief and to the point as possible.

    My parents marriage broke down in 2012, a divorce was started, stopped then restarted. My parents are now legally divorced with the financial situation going to the final hearing next January.
    I live in with my diabled Mum in what was my parent's marital home (up for sale now). My Dad has a court order keeping him out of the house itself but he is allowed on the grounds to use the workshop for his work and stay in his camper van. Up until a few months ago this also included use of the electricity to run tools and machinery outside.

    Some time back my Mum received a letter from SSE Southern Electric to say that she had an unpaid bill of £421.78. She has never opened an account with them. My Dad does have an account with them that was in his sole name - as it had been since 1980. He added my Mum's name to the bill without her knowledge (sometime last year we think). My Mum sent several e-mails back and forth with SSE aruging the case as she has never entered into a contract with them, she has never opened an account and to date has still not been provided with any details of an account. When my Mum became responsible for the electricity she opened an account with a different provider, who we are still with now.
    Finally SSE responded to my Mum on 30th March this year to say they had removed my Mum's name from the account as requested and from the bills.
    They then added that if my Dad contacted them again to dispute it then it would be classed as a third party dispute between my Mum and my Dad.
    The e-mail ends saying if you (my Mum) are happy with this action as a resolution to let them know (which my Mum did) and they will close the matter. So as far as my Mum was concerned the situation was resolved.

    I assume they then decided to persue my Dad for the money and he refused so they've turned their attention back to my Mum. In April this year they said it would be passed to their senior management team.

    In September she received an e-mail from them saying this:
    "29/9/16 from SSE - Apologies for any inconvenience caused as I am aware you were previously advised the matter was resolved and your details were removed as we believed you were not liable for the outstanding balance due. Following further investigation we have received confirmation that you are solely liable for the balance due, following this the account has been amended and once again placed in your name.
    Due to the time it has taken to resolve the matter and due to any inconvenience I would like to offer to apply £100 of goodwill credit to the account, reducing your balance due to £321.78, to resolve the matter to your satisfaction."
    Idon't know where this 'confirmation' has come from. Again, my Mum has never had an account with them. When she bacame responsible for the bills she opened an account with a different, much cheaper company. She has never had an account with SSE. She has not given them permission place the account in her name.

    At the end of October my Mum received a letter from the Head of Customer Service at SSE saying saying that they have reviewed the compaint regarding liability for the outstanding balance and they've concluded it is a third party dispute. They said it's now a deadlock situation and they may no longer respond to any correspondance about the complaint. They've advised that she has the right to contact the Ombudsman within 12 months though they said they will not put the account on hold.
    I've only just found out about this letter, and the one in September. My Mum contacted the Ombudsman back in March and they told her that they couldn't get involved until the dispute was 8 weeks old. I didn't know about the letter so I didn't know to advise her to contact the Ombudsman again in October.

    The day before yesterday my Mum received another letter from SSE. They've given my Mum 7 working days to pay the bill or they will instruct a National Debt Collection Agency to commence recovery action, including a 15% recovery fee, leading to a possible Court for Summons to recover money owed as well as court fees.


    I've only just read these letters for the first time today or I would have pushed my Mum to persue it earlier. We've had so much happen this year, the divorce, deaths in the family, trying to earn enough money just to survive. My Mum and brother are both disabled and I am their sole carer. My brother, who was on DLA was transfered to PIP last month and they've decided he's no longer entitled to payments (despite being disabled, in constant pain and very often unable to leave the house for weeks at a time!) so we've been dealing with the appeal for that, the judge for the divorce has given my Mum an enormous amount of work to do, my brother was in hospital for a while, my Mum had an operation and we had a death in the family last month so there have been so many things to deal with I wasn't aware it had got to this stage with SSE. My Mum is completely overloaded, she has too much to deal with. Her disiblity is physical but she also has cognitive problems. She has trouble dealing with problems and it takes her a long time to deal with anything. I do the best I can to help but I have little experience with these things and little time myself as I'm caring for two disabled people full time as well as trying to start a business, care for the home etc. We're all stressed and to be honest don't know where to turn. We've been to the CAB and they haven't been able to help on a lot. I don't have the experience to know how to handle this so I'm hoping someone can help direct us on where to turn? We don't have the money to get a solicitor on this - or the time anymore. Surely you can't just put a bill into someone elses name without their knowledge and they end up having to pay it?
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  • #2
    Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

    tagging [MENTION=30402]Milo[/MENTION] [MENTION=9189]bizzybob[/MENTION] [MENTION=26498]ploddertom[/MENTION]
    Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.

    It doesn't matter where your journey begins, so long as you begin it...

    recte agens confido

    ~~~~~

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    • #3
      Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

      The SSE account was for the property your Mum and Dad lived at together, just in your Dads sole name ? Or was it your Dad got an SSE account after he had left the property ? Or added your Mums name to account around the time he left the property ?

      My Dad has a court order keeping him out of the house itself but he is allowed on the grounds to use the workshop for his work and stay in his camper van. Up until a few months ago this also included use of the electricity to run tools and machinery outside.
      Was that the SSE electricity and was he responsible for paying the bill until that point ? ie. When did your Mum take over paying for the electricity? Separately when did she sign up with a new supplier ?

      If after your Dad had left, and it was never on the shared property, then your Mum needs to write back and ask them for the evidence of "Following further investigation we have received confirmation that you are solely liable for the balance due", what confirmation? .... you also want evidence of the amount they are claiming is owed, copies of the relevant bills etc. - in the letter say that the account is strongly disputed with SSE and that she is taking it to the ombudsman, should not be sold to a debt collection agency and that any court action would be strongly defended. A subject access request might also assist separately ( this does cost £10) - it would require SSE to send your mum everything they hold with her data on within 40 days.

      Also I believe the ombudsman can get involved now, the latest letter is a final resolution to the complaint from SSE, and it is a new complaint from the October letter - so within the 6 months.
      #staysafestayhome

      Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

      Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

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      • #4
        Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

        Thank you for replying.
        Yes, they've lived here for about 30yrs but the account has always been in my Dad's sole name.
        My Dad is still allowed at the property, just not in the house itself. He still comes whenever he feels like it.

        Sometime after the court order to keep him out (not sure how long, perhaps a month?) my Mum made an account with another electricity company.
        Throughout all of this, both with SSE and with the new company he was using the electricity to run tools and machinery in the garage - big tools that need converting to three phase, lots of fluorescent lights etc. They cost a lot to run. Plus he was using an extention cord to his camper van. This only stopped recently when we figured out which fuse went to the garage disconnected it. He now uses a generator. He still uses the water outside to wash his vehicles, use a pressure washer etc (which is on a meter) despite being asked not to. It may sound silly but we're on such a tight budget every penny counts at the moment. We're barely scraping by.

        Regarding confirmation, I have no idea what this 'confirmation' is that they claim to have. No doubt it is something that my Dad has submitted to them, though I have no idea what it could be. From what they've said it sounds as though they won't talk to my Mum at all anymore so I doubt we'll be able to find out. They told her they won't reply to anything further.

        We know the amount they claim is owed - £421.78, though they've reduced it by £100 as a 'goodwill' offer for inconvenience caused as they had informed my Mum the case was closed. My Mum has several letters demanding that she pay that amount but absolutely no details of the account they've now put her name on.

        My Mum has contacted the Ombudsman already by phone and submit copies of the e-mails and letters to them last night. When she spoke to them on the phone however they said that although they will ask them to put the account on hold, they are under no obligation to. SSE themselves stated that they would not put the account on hold even if my Mum contacted the Ombudsman. I think we now only have five working days left, and the Ombudsman has said it will take two working days to reply so it's getting very close. We've never had debt collectors for anything before, not even the threat of them. The whole thing in all honesty is terrifying.
        We have very little that could even come to that amount so I don't know what they'd take.

        I will tell my Mum about the subject access request - I've never heard of that before. Thank you.

        I will pass all of that on to my Mum. Thank you so much for your help. In reality if it goes to court there is no way my Mum could afford a solicitor to fight it so I don't know how that would even work.
        The whole thing seems completely wrong to me, that you can just transfer a bill into someone elses name without their knowledge and they have to pay it when they never even signed a contract.
        If she does have to pay it I have no idea where she's going to get the money from. We don't even have £300 saved between us.

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        • #5
          Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

          The subject access request they have to reply to...regardless of whether they want to ..... there's an example and template starting point here -> https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations...ccess-request/

          That should get you all the details of this account, when your mum was added and this 'evidence'. Once you have this you should be abel to go through and figure out what's happening, and it will be useful information for the ombudsman if they proceed with the complaint.

          The Debt Collectors will just be letters with big red writing on threatening court action. When you receive one, respond and inform them that the account is in dispute and a complaint has been made to the Ombudsman and that you are awaiting a SAR response.

          If it does turn out it is legitimately owed, then you would be able to make a payment arrangement based on your income/expenditure - if that be £1 a month, so be it ( example https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/...le-name).aspx) If it went to court and you lost or admitted the same would happen but you would have a CCJ against your credit file, so it is of course better to try and find out if it is legitimately owed before it comes to that. The debt collection agency wouldn't go to court straight away so you should be okay waiting for the SAR reply and ombudsman and telling the DCA that you are doing so.
          #staysafestayhome

          Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

          Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

            On the your Dad's access to the outbuilding issue - does the court order for the injunction re the house state anything about utlities useage ? If his use of electricity and water is causing hardship for your Mum then you could look into returning to court and having the injunction amended - I don't know about this as it isn't my area, but it doesn't seem fair at all - if he was abusive this would be a way he could retain power/control and continue causing difficutlies and hardship for your Mum. Might be worth speaking with your solicitor/law centre/cab about it?
            #staysafestayhome

            Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

            Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

              Which Company does your mum have an electric account with? Has she been paying this and how many bills has she had? Is the 3 phase supply on a separate meter?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

                Where is the electricity meter situated and when (and more importantly 'who') last read it?

                Depending on your answer you may find the Back Billing Code will help you. That's when a supplier can't charge a customer more than the last 12 months' usage if they've not provided accurate bills in the past.

                So who is the customer is the next question. They can't simply set up an account in anyone's name without their express knowledge and consent.

                You say your Mum already has a supplier, so has she got any of those old bills and receipts or some way to prove she's already paid for her supply? Common sense says she can't be billed twice for the same supply.

                You've also said that your parents' financial arrangements for their divorce will be finalised in January (ie next month) so perhaps the solicitor dealing with this for your Mum could include this problem in his discussions with the other side?

                Your family could do without this worry just before Christmas. Start making a fuss to SSE beginning with the Back Billing Code issue.

                Di
                Last edited by Diana M; 18th December 2016, 11:07:AM. Reason: typo

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

                  You say your Mum is disabled (and you are her Carer) so might she be entitled to the Warm Home Discount Scheme and/or the Winter Fuel Allowance depending on her benefits situation?

                  If so that could help to clear this bill is she's subsequently found to owe it (or even part of it).

                  Di

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                  • #10
                    Re: Electricity bill transfered to my Mum during divorce without her permission *Urge

                    [URL="https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/styles/spire_tile__background_image__superwide__image/public/warm-home-discount_0.jpg%3Fitok%3D6fSISz8I&imgrefurl=https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-support/warm-home-discount&h=560&w=1600&tbnid=lT4tehz2V-HyUM:&vet=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=380&docid=89idmxe9iljypM &usg=__RpUGwDh6Ls-6P5tHFcNOPAQmQCg=&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwigqL2Y3P3Q AhWIDsAKHRxPCBcQ9QEIODAA"]


                    Warm Home Discount is a ten year, government-led scheme that was introduced in 2011. It involves the government and electricity suppliers working together to offer extra support to people struggling to afford their energy. ... For 2016/17, the Warm HomeDiscount rebate is £140.

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