Changing the name on your Gas Bill

Today I was doing some bills and noted that 2 of them are still being sent in my husbands name (I was widowed last April) so I decided I would now change them to my name. I phoned the Water Co., no problems at all, she changed the name there and then and assured me that the next bill would be addressed to me.
Then I phoned British Gas!! the guy on the other end was so officious you would have thought that I had phoned to refuse to pay the bill!!! well apparently I cannot just change the name it has to go to probate!!! I said that if it was going to be a big deal I would just leave it as it is but NO can't do that either, he said "Now that you have given me this information, by law I must pass it on" I honestly felt like I had done something wrong!! apparently I will be contacted in the next 48 hours!! I thought it was going to be easy!!!

Val

 

Firstly, may I say how sorry I am for your loss Gemini.

I think the gas company has handled this pretty poorly. As if this wasnt a hard enough thing for you to do as it is, without the need for some stuck up phone boy to make you feel like a criminal. I can understand that now they know your situation, they have to act to change the name on the bill, but they could have made sure it was done in a friendly and respectful manner.

There is another option... and that is to tell them where to stick their gas. I certainly know I would.

Take Care :thumb:

 

-EDIT-

Just read through my post...

Didnt mean to make it sound that understated, might choose my words better next time... something like

I think the gas company has been incredibly insensitive to say the least.

 

Hi Gemini - I too would like to say how sorry I am.

I thought the man from British Gas was quite unneccessarily officious. It costs nothing to be sympathetic and helpful.

At one time I was working in a hospital as an accountant, and one of my tasks was dealing with the estates of people who had died in the hospital, but who had no next of kin - there are a lot more such people than you might think. So I had quite a lot of dealings with banks and utility companies. Some people were very helpful and made changes quite happily with just a phone call, but many organisations had a set of rules. Invariably this involved writing them a letter and enclosing a copy of the death certificate. Sometimes this involved an original copy (you can get several original copies from the Registrar of births, Deaths and Marriages). But often a photocopy was sufficient.

In the case of banks, where money is involved, I can understand the need for some formal notification. Its often for their files as a protection for them in case anything went wrong. However in the case of a utility company, it seems rather unneccessary. I cannot see that it is anything to do with probate, this is something that you can do yourself if you wished to.

 

Perhaps British Gas are making so much money, and have so many customers... they are trying to reduce their quarterly profits with poor customer service... certainly seems that way.

If you are the kind of person who can confront them about their poor customer service, then I would do so Gemini... send a complaint in... they might just then be a little more symathetic. (Shouldnt be a need for this though )

 

Hello Gemini. I'm sorry to hear your news. I can imagine how difficult all that is for you.
And BG has just been out of order !!!!!!! Well that person on the phone has Just terrible
I don't know what else to say. Hope you can get it sorted out with the minimum amount of pain.

 

Really sorry about your loss Gemini.

I think the chap you spoke to was a real twerp and I really wouldn't worry about it at all. For BG to say they'll contact you within 48 hours regarding a billing issue would create a national record for them!!

All BG are really concerned about is that the gas bill gets paid and the name on the cheque doesn't really matter. If you'd just moved out of the house and paid a final reading bill and then moved into another house and taken out a fresh contract it would be a fairly simple matter and I really can't see why BG can't manage your situation without the rigmarole they've suggested - all it involves is typing a name into a database.

I'd suggest that if you get any hassle you have a word with a local or national paper or your MP.

 

As I said earlier, depending on how comfortable you are confonting these situations, then Id complain direct... if your not such inclined, then I agree with Dave W that these are other options to take

Just as a mention, when we contacted our local MP about something which I wont go into detail about, it was amazing how quickly things got sorted out... and the company involved were of a similar size to that of British Gas.

Either way, I sincerly hope you havent been upset too much by this, and hope British Gas sort out this situation with the minimal of fuss.

 

With my husband working abroad much of the time, it made sense to get the bill changed to my name .... at least so I thought.

Firstly they want to know the name of the account holder & account number. I give it to them.

Then they tell me they will only ' ... talk to the person who pays the bill'

I pay the bill - That's as maybe, but the account isn't in your name

No, but I pay the bill, it's paid by direct debit out of my account, which is in my name. But we have to talk to the account holder

He's in America for 6 months. Then he'll have to get in touch with us when he gets back and give us his permission to talk to you.

And in the meantime, you'll continue taking the money out of my account? If you're the person who pays the bill, yes.

But you said you need to talk to the person who pays the bill, and you are. But you're not the account holder.

OK, so if I'm not the account holder, then according to British Gas I don't exist, right? Eerrrr, well yes

OK, I'm cancelling the direct debit tomorrow. If you don't pay the bill you could find yourself in Court.

Unlikely - I don't exist remember?

Two days later, I get a 'phone call from British Gas, had I considered getting my electricity from them? Sorry, the person in whose name this account is held isn't here ..... That's all right, we can talk to you :gaagh:

 

shiney that is very very nice of you to offer to do this for me, but they said that I would be contacted in the next 48 hours and no-body has phoned me so I am hoping that they thought better of it!! I won't know of course until I get the next gas bill so I shall just have to wait and see, but thank you once again.

Val