Bills

[Sally6115]

Can someone tell me if I can add my name to general household bills where my father is the named bill payer, I.e EON, Council tax, home insuarance
my mum is severely sighted (blind) and though her name is also on the bills she cannot read or deal with them Either. And obviously he cannot deal with anything like that now and getting him to answer security questions is impossible
I have POA for finance and property and health and welfare for both.

 

[Angel55]

Hi

You can often find the information on line depending on the company/council as to their requirements. The companies usually as for a copy of the LPA/POA and you can ask them to forward a copy to you so you can pay, keep an eye on the bills etc

With bank accounts we had to physically go to a branch but although a bit of a pain has not raised any issues since we logged the LPA with them.

Priority registers as well are good for the utilities if you haven't done that yet again you can go on line or ring them. They make sure in power cuts and things that people at more risk are prioritised which makes sense really.

Hope that helps 💗

 

[yoy]

Contact them all and explain that you have poa. They will probably want to see proof - some might accept a scanned copy being emailed to them, some will want to see a paper copy, in which case, visit your local Job Centre Plus office who will do certified copies free of charge - don't pay a solicitor. Once the poa is registered with them you can deal with things on their behalf, and have the bills redirected to your own address if that's easier. Have you also registered the poa with their bank/s so you can do likewise.

 

[Kevinl]

As long as the bill is getting paid, I've never had a problem, gas bill up until recently still came in my (now late) wife's maiden name, I married her, we're partners, she's not my property, stayed that way for 49 odd years.
Sometimes she was "mrs me" keeps simple for schools and the like if we all shared a surname, other things like the bank never questioned it.
As long as it gets paid on time no-one seems to bother, paying half the bills on touch and go with a bank card at the local small supermarket, doesn't even raise an eyebrow.
K

 

[try again]

I always found it simpler to register for online access and manage via the internet. In fact I still do on one of mums account due to pure laziness on my part to send poa documents .

 

[wurrienot]

I just phoned the utilities companies and had my name added to the accounts. I didn't need to show I have POA and they didn't need to speak to dad. I dealt with British Gas and EON.

 

[Kevinl]

It might be different doing it on line, but, if you're "pretending" to be her even for the best possible motivations it might be at best because you're a wonderful person, however, at worst it could be a criminal offence, no poa or not using it... cutting corners like that could leave you open to allegations of financial irregularities if not abuse when the time comes. Where there's a will there's a relative as they say and some of the ugly stories you read about the possibility of future accusations being made against you even if they're baseless, it can turn ugly.
K