Large debt to Electric Company. Do they have to accept repayment plan?

[Arashi]

Posting for advice for my mum.

I have read her meter for her today and if the readings are right she owes the electric company nearly £10,000. I think this is because the last time she gave them a meter reading she had given an incorrect number - she gave 4 digits but it should be 5.

She is elderly (obviously) and suffers from osteoarthritis and had poor mobility and is waiting for an operation. She struggles to access her meter the best of times and is terrified of a prepayment meter - both because of the cost increase (she has heard they are more) and the difficulty of topping up - she's not very technological and would struggle to get to the post office to top up there and the worry of being cut off due to her age.

She wants to know if she offers to pay her current bill (get a smart meter so the readings are accurate) and offers to pay £100 a month off the arrears which realistically is all she can afford do they have to accept? Or can they force a prepayment meter on her? Obviously if they take her to court she would be unable to pay so there is an option of IVA / bankruptcy but she would rather pay but its such a huge amount and would take ages to pay back?

1. They cannot cut your mum off, worst case scenario is prepayment meters and there are limits to the recovery rate they can apply to the debt - however credit rating may be affected based on the outcome of the repayment plan
2. Please get an accurate bill and contact the British Gas Energy Trust - your mum doesn't need to be a customer of British Gas but they may be able to help her fix the outstanding amount (they can issue grants)
3. Please look into more energy efficient ways of heating, 50kw a day is extortionate usage
4. Citizens Advice Bureau can be really helpful in situations like this, they know all the relevant legislation and can negotiate on behalf of your mother - they'd be a good place to check for help

Best of luck, I hope you manage to sort something that's realistic for your mum. Be sure when you contact CAB or BGET that you make clear your mum's vulnerability - not just physical, but how your uncle handled things.

When I spoke to them about something similar.... the last thing they want to do is set up prepayment meters and took there payment plan

I'm sorry to keep asking, but I still don't see an answer to whose name the bill has been in the whole time. This is important information as to establishing responsibility.

I know it's not answering your question, but it seems like you may be catastrophising unnecessarily if this has indeed been your uncle's bill until recently - which you have indicated.

Or has he just been paying your mum's bill, without providing proper readings and just making low payments based on estimates. Also, something you seem to indicate.

It's worrying on the face of it, but until you establish some basic facts, no-one can advise.

@hedgehoglurker prior to last October the bill was in my uncles name however mum paid the bill by giving the money to my uncle.

He then died and mum has taken over the bill (I don't know if swapped names or if she's got a new account and I'm trying to find out off her).

She then gave a meter reading on October of the 2000 units. That was a bill in her name..It has been an estimated bill each month since then. Her June bill has an estimated meter reading of 8400 units as at the 28th June. Her actual meter reading today is 37k.

I am no expert but surely she is only liable for the bills after she took over the account, the electrcity supplier would have needed proof of your uncles death to close his account and transfer it into her name. Any money due to last October would come out of his estate. I dont see how she could use 10k worth of electricity in less than a year. Do you want to post a pic of the actual readings so we can see if we can help at all.

Who closed uncle's account and transferred it? They must have given a closing reading.

Right. If it is a new account, hopefully she can establish that the opening reading of 2000 was incorrect. It is a 5 digit meter, so 2000 as a 4 digit reading was clearly incorrect. It should either be 2,000, or 20,00, or indeed something in between.

It may take some sorting out, where they get regular readings over a period of time to establish an estimate of regular use, but please don't simply accept that she owes £10k.

I think citizens advice would be helpful, if the supplier are not.

Sorry, that was reformatted after it sent. Either ?2,000 , 20,00? , or something in between.

I’ve recently had similar with British Gas. My opening reading on my gas meter was out by a digit. So instead of 10000 it was 1000 so when I gave my next reading it generated a huge bill. It took a few phone calls and lots of stressing on my part but it is now almost sorted.
please do give the company a call and explain the initial reading was really wrong. They’ll probably do as British Gas did for me, monitor usage over 3 months and take an average for the year.
Try not to worry just give them a call and explain.

If your mum put the very low reading in the credit should be traceable, it sounds like it was after the account was switched to her? Especially if there is still £1500 credit on the account. Set up an online account if there isn't one and you should be able to see all meter readings including estimates and the one in question.