lump sum from pension due to death

BENTOR_2

My husband died on 27/03/11 He only had a couple of small pensions and no insurances. The co-op insurance sent letters stating amounts which where unexpected they then sent 2 cheques amounting to £20,000 which I banked and thought my children and I would be ok and not have to worry. The co-op have been in touch and they calculated the amount incorrectly and want the money back do I have to give it back?

dunstonh

sorry for your loss.

they calculated the amount incorrectly and want the money back do I have to give it back?

Unfortunately, yes. If you are paid money you are not entitled to have, you do not get to keep it.

Have they said what the error was?

Linton

BENTOR wrote: »

My husband died on 27/03/11 He only had a couple of small pensions and no insurances. The co-op insurance sent letters stating amounts which where unexpected they then sent 2 cheques amounting to £20,000 which I banked and thought my children and I would be ok and not have to worry. The co-op have been in touch and they calculated the amount incorrectly and want the money back do I have to give it back?

You do - it's their money. What do you think would happen if the payment was the other way round?

If the error has caused you problems they should be prepared to discuss repayment terms, though in this case there doesnt seem to have been much time elapsed to cause any problems.

BENTOR_2

dunstonh wrote: »

sorry for your loss.



Unfortunately, yes. If you are paid money you are not entitled to have, you do not get to keep it.

Have they said what the error was?

They said they calculated the amount to the wrong year.

dunstonh

Pensions return either contributions paid (very old style ones) or the fund value of the pension on death (personal pensions or stakeholder pensions). Some have to provide an income rather than lump sum (such as those with protected rights).

However, number of years would not have anything to do with a pension unless its a defined benefit scheme and that would only apply if he worked for CIS at some point during his life.

BENTOR_2

My husband did not work for CIS the pensions (3) were taken out in the 80's and he stopped paying into them in 1997 they calculated that he was still paying into them to date which is where they got there figures from but they are now unable to telll me what the value of them are.

zzzLazyDaisy

I am sorry for your loss

It would be reasonable to ask for a written statement showing how they arrived at the initial figure, and how they arrived at the new figure, so you can seek independent advice on their calculations.

I would do this by way of a formal complaint, pointing out that this matter has caused unnecessary stress at an already difficult time, and asking them to give the matter their prompt attention.

http://www.co-operativeinsurance.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1205911701972,CFSweb/Page/CFSCtplStandard?WT.svl=copy

I used to work for the CIS many moons ago, and (at least in those days) they took complaints very seriously indeed.

dunstonh

I have no idea how they could have made that error

I have seen that error before from an old home service provider. I dont know how or why but I was told in that case that the premium collection and the actual policy record were manually linked and when the premium stopped, they didnt turn off the statement record which kept increasing.

We put in a complaint which was rejected and the FOS looked at and eventually ruled that there was no entitlement to the money. They did award £450 goodwill for inconvenience.