Oh... in response to the question... Legally they cannot make someone else pay a bill that was defaulted on by another. Spin it as they may, that's not legal. What they should do is make it legal for the gas companies to turn off the gas of deadbeats who do not pay.
So they die, so what? That is called natural selection.
Science and medicine have combined to infect the human gene pool. Some dumb folks, who should have died because of their inherent stupidity, have been kept alive by science and medicine and have been allowed to perpetuate the infection. Which brings me to my new motto: Stupid people shouldn't breed. It makes things harder for the rest of us law abiding, bill paying, contributing members of society.