How to notify Shell Energy when someone dies

If you’re dealing with the estate of someone who had a Shell Energy account, there’s something important to know before you call: Shell Energy no longer operates as a residential energy supplier in the UK. In late 2023 and 2024, all Shell Energy customers were transferred to other suppliers – energy accounts to Octopus Energy, and broadband and phone accounts to TalkTalk.

This guide explains the situation clearly, tells you who to contact for each type of account, and covers exactly what to expect when notifying those suppliers of a bereavement.

Quick reference:

• Energy account (formerly Shell Energy): Call Octopus Energy on 0808 164 1088 (freephone, Mon–Fri 9am–5pm)
• Broadband/phone account (formerly Shell Energy Broadband): Call TalkTalk on 0345 172 0038 (Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9am–6pm)
• Have ready: Original Shell Energy account number (from old correspondence), death certificate copy, meter readings
• Do not cancel direct debits until the final bill has been issued

What happened to Shell Energy accounts

Shell Energy Retail – which also traded as First Utility before rebranding in 2018 – was sold by Shell to Octopus Energy, with the deal completing on 1 December 2023 (source: Octopus Energy press release, December 2023). Octopus then migrated all of Shell’s approximately 1.3 million residential gas and electricity customers onto its own systems, completing the transfer in early 2024.

Shell Energy’s broadband and home phone business was handled separately. Octopus agreed to sell that part of the business to TalkTalk, with broadband customers transferring across through 2024 (source: ISPreview, February 2024).

The practical implication for bereavement: there is no longer an active Shell Energy customer service team handling residential energy accounts. All account queries, including bereavement notifications, are now handled by the receiving supplier.

How to notify the energy supplier (Octopus Energy)

For former Shell Energy gas and electricity accounts, contact Octopus Energy.

By phone: Call 0808 164 1088, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. This is a freephone number – free from both mobile and landline. The standard customer service team handles bereavement cases; you don’t need a separate number. Let the agent know you are calling to notify them of a death and that the account was originally with Shell Energy.

Online: Octopus’s bereavement information page is at octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/bereavement. From there you can also access Settld, a free online service Octopus pays for on behalf of its customers, which lets you notify multiple companies – energy, broadband, banks, insurers – simultaneously in a single form that takes around 15 minutes to complete.

Email: hello@octopus.energy

When you contact Octopus, have the following ready:

• The full name of the person who has died
• The address of the property
• The date of death
• The original Shell Energy account number, if you can find it on old correspondence or bills – this helps Octopus locate the transferred account quickly
• Meter readings taken on or close to the date of death
• Your own name, role (executor, administrator, or next of kin), and contact details

If you cannot find a Shell Energy account number, the address and postcode are usually enough for Octopus to locate the account.

How to notify the broadband/phone supplier (TalkTalk)

For former Shell Energy broadband and home phone accounts, contact TalkTalk.

By phone: Call 0345 172 0038, Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm, and Saturday 9am to 6pm. Calls from a TalkTalk landline are free; from other phones, charges are at standard rates (typically up to 9p per minute from a mobile plus any access charge). TalkTalk has a dedicated bereavement team that handles account closures and transfers.

By email: [email protected]

When you call, have the deceased’s name, address, and TalkTalk account number (from a recent bill) ready, along with your own details. If you have only old Shell Energy Broadband correspondence and not a TalkTalk bill, the address and postcode will usually be enough to locate the account.

For a full guide to TalkTalk’s bereavement process, including what happens to contracts and early termination fees, see our TalkTalk bereavement guide.

What documents you’ll need

For the energy account (Octopus), requirements are straightforward. Copies are acceptable – you do not need to send originals.

Proof of death:

• A copy of the death certificate, issued after the death is registered
• An interim death certificate (issued by the coroner before the full certificate) is also accepted

Account details:

• The address of the property is usually sufficient to locate the account
• Original Shell Energy account number, if available from old bills or correspondence
• Meter readings taken on or as close as possible to the date of death – a timestamped photo of the meter on a phone is perfectly adequate

Your own details:

• Your full name, contact number, and your role in relation to the estate (executor, administrator, or next of kin)

If you are managing a large estate and notifying multiple organisations, it is worth ordering several copies of the death certificate at the register office when you register the death. Each copy costs £11 in England and Wales (source: gov.uk – order a death certificate). For utility companies, standard copies rather than certified copies are generally sufficient.

What happens to the energy account

Once Octopus Energy has been notified, what happens next depends on the circumstances at the property.

If someone is still living at the property

If a spouse, partner, or other household member is continuing to live at the property and wants to maintain the energy supply, Octopus can transfer the account into their name. The final meter reading from the date of death becomes the opening reading for the new account.

Any credit balance on the original account will be refunded to the estate. Any outstanding balance becomes a debt of the estate – it does not pass personally to family members unless they were joint account holders.

If the property is now empty

This is the situation most executors find themselves in. Octopus will keep the account open until the property is sold or the keys are formally handed back (source: octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/bereavement). Provide the date the property changes hands, along with final meter readings, so Octopus can close the account to that point.

Standing charges continue to accrue daily on empty properties even where no energy is being used. Notify Octopus promptly about the property’s status to avoid accumulating charges that the estate will need to cover. For an empty property, combined gas and electricity standing charges typically run to several hundred pounds a year before any actual usage.

Keeping utilities connected during probate is often sensible – it prevents burst pipes in cold weather and is usually a condition of buildings insurance – but make sure the account is in an appropriate name and that bills are going to someone who can act on them.

Direct debits

Do not cancel the direct debit immediately after notifying the supplier. The account will generate a final bill, and cancelling the direct debit before that arrives means the outstanding balance will need to be paid separately. Wait until you receive a final bill showing a zero balance, or a refund confirmation, before cancelling payments. For more detail on how direct debits work through an estate, see our guide to direct debits when someone dies.

Credit balances and energy debt

Credit on account: If the deceased’s energy account was in credit – common when direct debits have been running ahead of actual usage – that credit belongs to the estate and will be refunded. In a bereavement situation, Octopus handles the refund on your behalf. If the deceased’s bank account has already been closed or frozen, let Octopus know and they can reissue the refund as a cheque to the executor.

Outstanding balance: If there is a balance owed on the account at the time of death, this becomes a debt of the estate. It is settled from the estate’s assets before anything is distributed to beneficiaries. It does not pass to family members personally unless they were joint account holders.

Insolvent estates: If the estate has no assets to cover the debt, the energy debt is written off. Energy suppliers cannot pursue the deceased’s relatives for debts that are solely in the deceased’s name.

Early termination fees: Shell Energy customers were migrated to Octopus by default; any fixed-rate tariff exit fees applicable to the original Shell Energy tariff were not triggered by the supplier change. If you have questions about exit fees on a current tariff, raise this with Octopus when you call.

Probate and the energy account

Octopus Energy does not require probate to close or transfer an energy account. Energy suppliers are not holding assets on behalf of the deceased – they’re a service provider or, at most, a creditor. For the large majority of accounts, no probate documentation is needed.

If there is a substantial credit balance on the account and Octopus needs evidence of your authority to act, they may ask for the grant of probate or letters of administration. In practice this is unusual for energy accounts.

If probate is in progress and you need the account held while it resolves, let Octopus know – they can place the account on hold while bills continue to be issued. For a full explanation of the probate process, see the government’s guide at gov.uk/applying-for-probate. If you’re also dealing with bank accounts, our probate guide covers how probate thresholds work in a financial context.

How long does it take?

For a straightforward case – account closed or transferred, final bill issued, any credit refunded – the typical timeline is 4 to 6 weeks from notification. The main variables are:

• Whether meter readings were provided at the time of notification or submitted later
• Whether the property is occupied or empty, and when it changes hands
• Whether a credit refund needs to be reissued if the direct debit bank account has already been closed
• How quickly you can supply documents if the account is large or the balance substantial

Keep a note of the date you first contacted Octopus or TalkTalk, the name of the person you spoke to, and any reference number given. If you use Settld, keep your Settld reference too.

Things to watch out for

The Shell Energy name no longer routes to an active team. Searching for a “Shell Energy bereavement number” will return some outdated third-party sources quoting the old 0330 094 5805 number. That line is no longer active for residential customers. Contact Octopus Energy directly using the number above.

Find old Shell Energy paperwork first. The original Shell Energy account number is useful when contacting Octopus – it helps them trace the migrated account. Look for old bills, email confirmations, or direct debit references from Shell Energy. If you can’t find them, the property address will usually suffice.

Some customers were migrated from First Utility or SSE Energy Services. Shell Energy acquired First Utility customers in 2018 and SSE Energy Services customers in 2019. If the deceased’s older paperwork shows one of those brands, the account ultimately transferred to Octopus Energy via Shell – contact Octopus using the number and process above.

Smart meters don’t change the process. If the deceased had a smart meter installed, Octopus can pull readings remotely. You may not need to physically read the meter – but mention it when you call so the adviser can confirm.

Broadband and energy are now separate suppliers. If the deceased had both Shell Energy gas/electricity and Shell Energy Broadband, these are now held by different companies. You will need to notify both Octopus Energy and TalkTalk separately.

Standing charges on empty properties accumulate quickly. As noted above, combined gas and electricity standing charges typically run to several hundred pounds per year even with no usage. If the property is empty, notify Octopus promptly and agree a timeline for account closure once the property changes hands.

Summary

Shell Energy no longer operates as a residential supplier. All energy accounts transferred to Octopus Energy, and all broadband and phone accounts transferred to TalkTalk.

To notify Octopus Energy (energy accounts), call 0808 164 1088 (freephone, Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm) or email hello@octopus.energy. Have the property address, the date of death, and if possible the original Shell Energy account number.

To notify TalkTalk (broadband accounts), call 0345 172 0038 (Monday to Friday, 9am–7pm; Saturday 9am–6pm).

Do not cancel direct debits until the final bill has been issued. Any credit on the account belongs to the estate and will be refunded. Energy debt belongs to the estate, not to family members personally.

If you’re dealing with other utility companies, see our guides to notifying Octopus Energy after a bereavement, notifying British Gas after a death, notifying OVO Energy, and notifying your water company after a death. For a full list of company guides, visit the what to do hub.

Sources: Octopus Energy – Shell Energy customer information (verified June 2026); Octopus Energy completes purchase of Shell Energy Retail (December 2023); ISPreview – TalkTalk acquires Shell Energy broadband customers (February 2024); Octopus Energy bereavement page (verified June 2026); MoneySavingExpert – Octopus buys Shell Energy (verified June 2026); gov.uk – order a death certificate; gov.uk – applying for probate