ScottishPower sent six cheques addressed to my late brother
ScottishPower kept issuing uncashable cheques to a bereaved relative after being told the account holder had died. The company says it is reviewing failings and has refunded some balances plus goodwill.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
A Guardian consumer complaint says ScottishPower repeatedly sent letters, bills and cheques in the name of a dead relative, despite being told of the death. The case highlights how poor internal communication can turn routine billing into prolonged distress for bereaved families.
A man told an energy company his brother had died, but the company kept sending bills and refund cheques to the brother anyway. It is like mailing a parcel to a house with no one there and acting surprised when it comes back.
Analysis
What happened
A bereaved London reader says ScottishPower sent a debt collection letter for £130 on his late brother’s gas account even after he had informed the company of the death. The company also owed a £430 credit on the brother’s electricity account, but the refund arrived as a cheque made out to the deceased, which could not be cashed.
After further emails, ScottishPower reissued the cheque in the same name. The reader says he was then told a third cheque would take four weeks to be “manually” processed, only for four more cheques to arrive later, again addressed to the dead brother. ScottishPower then said the electricity account would be closed because there was no credit left, and it stopped replying to emails.
A wider pattern
The column says other bereaved readers have reported similar treatment. One reader in Fife says his late mother’s account generated a cheque for a £312 credit, a bill for £191, a letter saying the account was clear, and another promise of a £60 refund that never arrived. Another reader says she kept receiving emails to her husband weeks after notifying ScottishPower of his death.
ScottishPower’s response
ScottishPower says bereavement is “incredibly distressing” and that it tries to show “care and understanding.” It acknowledges that, in a small number of cases, that standard has not been met. In the cases mentioned, it says it will review what it could have done better, and it has refunded balances plus £200 in goodwill in one case.
The company also says it is waiting for the energy ombudsman to complete an investigation before offering a final resolution in the main complaint.
Key points
- ScottishPower allegedly sent repeated cheques to a deceased brother’s name, making the refunds impossible to cash.
- The reader says he had already told the company about the death and was still chased for debt on another account.
- Other bereaved customers report similar problems with letters, bills and emails addressed to dead relatives.
- ScottishPower says it regrets the failures, is reviewing the cases and has paid goodwill in at least one complaint.
- The ombudsman is involved in the main case, suggesting the dispute is not yet fully resolved.
ScottishPower says it is reviewing what went wrong and has already refunded balances plus goodwill in one case. If that review leads to better communication between teams, bereaved families could face fewer mistakes and faster closure of accounts.
The cases described suggest the same error can repeat many times, even after death has been reported. If the company does not fix its internal processes, bereaved relatives may keep receiving incorrect bills, uncashable cheques and delayed responses.
