Bord Gais debt collectors

amber2

Not too sure if this is the correct place to post but here goes, mods feel free move if not. My brother passed away in March and in late April we contacted by phone Bord Gais to inform them for billing purposes. Next month we got a bill again in his name and despite numberous phone calls & letters & emails we still kept getting bills in his name. Eventually the bill was taken out of his name but in September they again sent a letter stating the outstanding matter was being handed to a debt collector, even though it was made clear he was deceased when they amended title of the service. I wrote back & told them, stating he was deceased & if they wanted to Persue the matter I told them his new address in the graveyard he is buried & also told them how distressing this is for the family to receive these letters.

Lo & behold today we get a letter from the debt collectors addressed to my brother. How do I stop these letters, appreciate any advice. The house was unused from when he passed to date so its not like any electricity units were being used after his death.

Greenmachine

What is the question?

brembo26

Its here?

amber2 wrote: »

How do I stop these letters, appreciate any advice..

brembo26

Maybe try and get speaking to a manager or send them a copy of the death certificate?

amber2

brembo26 wrote: »

Maybe try and get speaking to a manager or send them a copy of the death certificate?

No death cert yet as there hasn't been a coroners court. Asked for a manager but they don't want to transfer me to one.

cml387

Was there an outstanding bill for gas to be paid when your brother died?

brembo26

Maybe these guys could help http://www.consumerhelp.ie/

rubberdungeon

Prior to the inquest (or whilst awaiting the post-mortem report), the Coroner's office will provide an Interim Certificate of the Fact of Death, which may be acceptable to banks, insurance companies and other institutions.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/sudden_or_unexplained_death/coroners.html

cml387

Any outstanding bills are usually paid out of the deceased estate, if there is any money.

amber2

cml387 wrote: »

Was there an outstanding bill for gas to be paid when your brother died?

Yes there was roughly 3 weeks use it was for electricity only no Gas. When a transfer eventually took place the meter reading they had was much higher than what was actually displayed on the meter. Don't know if the guy who reads the meters just submitted it incorrectly.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Sorry for your loss.

Any outstanding bills are normally paid from the estate of the deceased.

cml387

If your brother left a will, then there should be an executor, and he should take care of any debts accruing to the estate.
I don't know if this is really a consumer issue.
Although you can't ask for legal advice in the Legal forum, you may be able to ask a general question about utility bills payment on the decease of the billholder.

amber2

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Sorry for your loss.

Any outstanding bills are normally paid from the estate of the deceased.

He was 34 yrs old no estate, no will. Contacted his mobile phone privider & we had no such issues. I would have thought they would have been written off given the amount, it's relatively low. As I said just for a few weeks electricity no gas bill.

cml387

amber2 wrote: »

He was 34 yrs old no estate, no will. Contacted his mobile phone privider & we had no such issues. I would have thought they would have been written off given the amount, it's relatively low. As I said just for a few weeks electricity no gas bill.

These are faceless organisations I'm afraid. They just see a bill owed. Could you not just pay it off if it's such a small amount?

daRobot

Sorry to hear of your brothers passing at such a young age Amber, it must be a tough time.

I think that you definitely need to call them, and clearly explain the situation.

Unfortunately, a lot of people try it on when avoiding debt, even to the point of claiming that the said person billed has passed away, so you need to ring up and put it straight.

amber2

daRobot wrote: »

Sorry to hear of your brothers passing at such a young age Amber, it must be a tough time.

I think that you definitely need to call them, and clearly explain the situation.

Unfortunately, a lot of people try it on when avoiding debt, even to the point of claiming that the said person billed has passed away, so you need to ring up and put it straight.

Thank you daRobot very tough time

I will give them a ring again & perhaps insist on speaking to someone in seniority failing that ill try consumerhelp.ie as Brembo advised. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Femme_Fatale

So sorry Amber - that's unbelievably tough.

I'd suggest contacting Bord Gáis via social media - e.g. their Twitter or Facebook. Often those kind of posts on Facebook are ridiculously aggressive and so one-sided, but you don't write that way, and it's a more personable approach then the generic emailing/telephoning approach.

Best of luck with it...

Greenmachine

brembo26 wrote: »

Its here?

Now we have something to go on. I notice you edited after I asked for clarification.

UnhappywithBOI

Stop opening the envelopes. They are clearly marked. Bin them.

Even if they do send it to collection they have no grounds. You have already communicated to them the facts.

The only strength debt collectors have is the fear you feel. What can they do ?

They are silly system messages you are getting worked up on. Simply ignore them.
Would any judge on this planet rule in their favour ?

May your brother rest in peace.

foggy_lad

While I would usually tell people not to talk to Debt collection agencies, in this situation it is probably your best course of action to take. Clearly Bord Gais are not interested in listening to you or what they must consider to be just another hard luck story.

OP you should call the debt collectors and tell them that your brother is deceased and that the debt they are collecting covers a period after his death, Then tell them that you have informed Bord Gais of this on several occasions but they failed to close the account and continue to send bills in your brother's name. Ask them if there is anything they can do to stop the harassment from Bord Gais as it is very distressing in this very difficult time for you and your family

markad1

Sorry to read your brother passed so young. That company should be ashamed. You have enough to deal with without that.

Femme_Fatale

Greenmachine wrote: »

Now we have something to go on. I notice you edited after I asked for clarification.

Ah look, the question in the OP was very clear. Don't know what the need for pedantry is, when someone who has recently been bereaved is looking for a bit of help.

markad1 wrote: »

That company should be ashamed. You have enough to deal with without that.

I don't think it's a case of them knowing the individual situation and just not giving a **** though, it's just that the system is automated, and one of thousands upon thousands of account queries. That's why I think taking it to social media would help make it stand out more.

Greenmachine

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Ah look, the question in the OP was very clear. Don't know what the need for pedantry is, when someone who has recently been bereaved is looking for a bit of help.

I don't think it's a case of them knowing the individual situation and just not giving a **** though, it's just that the system is automated, and one of thousands upon thousands of account queries. That's why I think taking it to social media would help make it stand out more.

No it wasn't. Go away out of that will you. I sympathise with the OP. I was one of the first people to read his tread as it came up near the top of the new posts list. Nothing was very clear at that point.

So sorry for your loss. Please do ring again and insist on speaking to a supervisor. Also, return a copy of the bill with a death notice from a Newspaper. If all that fails to put a stop to their insensitive behavior, let them pursue their claim and see how far it gets them! Rise above it and concentrate on yourself and the rest of your family.

Onthe3rdDay

cml387 wrote: »

These are faceless organisations I'm afraid. They just see a bill owed. Could you not just pay it off if it's such a small amount?

Normally I would disagree strongly with this point. However if the bills are causing that much distress and if the amount is small it might be better to pay.

However, I'd just ignore them. You've tried to be polite and do the right thing. They've ignored you. They'll just have to write off the debt if there is no estate. It's a common practice in the US to make
family members feel guilty about debts that deceased relatives leave behind. It's possibly done here too.

Concentrate on your family and your own well being. Sorry for your loss.

dudara

Did your brother own his own house?

AK333

Don't ring them, you won't speak to a senior enough person. Write to them, registered post. Send them a copy of the Interim Death Certificate from the Coroner and let them know that if they persist with this correspondence and harassment you will use your registered post letter to them as proof of notice in any possible future legal proceedings and they will be responsible for your costs.

Sorry for your loss but I had a similar problem with a debt collection agency for Vodafone, bill having been paid two years previously, and a similar letter to them stopped any further correspondence immediately. If your family has to take a grant of probate out for your brother, your solicitor could handle this correspondence for you.

Best of luck

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

emo72

if its really only a small amount then its never going to court. sorry about your brother. bin those letters, you have other things to worry about.