Abbey National – bad customer service for bereaved people

Annie_Get_Your_Gun_4

I want people who have accounts with Abbey to know just how difficult it’s going to be for their families to get money after their death, especially if that money is needed to pay funeral expenses and the funeral director is chasing them for payment.

Here I am more than 2 calendar months since Abbey received the required documentation and no money!

My Mother passed away in September 2006 and I am trying to administer her Estate, but am being severely hampered by the incompetence of Abbey’s Probate Department.

On 5 January 2007 I took the Grant of Probate etc. to Northern Rock, Barclays and Abbey for them to send to their respective Probate Departments.

Northern Rock and Barclays cheques were received on 20 and 26 January 2007 respectively.

ABBEY IS ANOTHER STORY, AS FOLLOWS:

When I took the documents into the Basingstoke branch of Abbey I was asked to sign a form for each account in order to close them. The paperwork was then sent to their Probate Department which they received on 8 January 2007.

Having heard nothing from Abbey, I telephoned their Probate Department (tel. 0845 600 6025) on 16 January which, of course, was a call centre and was told that it would take “about another 10 working days before the documents would be logged onto their system as they had a backlog”.

I didn’t like that answer, so I rang again and spoke to Leigh who told me to ring her back on 19 January.

I rang on 19 January and spoke to Elouise who didn’t know who Leigh was! Elouise told me documents received on 2 January were being processed that day and I should ring again the following week.

Rang again on 24 January and spoke to Amanda who said documents received up to 3 January were being processed and to ring back on Friday, 26 January.

Rang Friday, 26 January – was told to ring back on Monday, 29 January.

Rang Monday, 29 January and spoke to Sandra who said the documents would be logged on the system by close of business that day and I should ring back on Tuesday, 30 January and they would be able to tell me when I should be receiving a cheque.

Rang on 30 January and spoke to Amanda who said the documents weren’t on the system and I should ring back at the end of the week. I said this was not good enough and was taking far too long, but was met with silence at the other end of the phone.

My brother rang the Probate Department on 1 February to be told the documents were being returned to me for him to sign as they need the signatures of both Executors and I should have been told that when I took the documents into the Basingstoke branch on 5 January 2007! My brother asked if the requirement for the signatures of all Executors was a legal requirement and was told it was not, just Abbey’s own policy. He told Abbey it was unacceptable that they had held onto the documents for a month before advising us of their error and that he wanted to speak to a Manager. Of course, they were all busy, but he was told a manager would ring him back by close of business the next day (2 February) – and he is still waiting! My brother got the number for Abbey’s complaints department, rang them and gave them the details of our complaint, but we’ve heard nothing from them either – surprise, surprise!!!

6 February - No documents received, so I phoned Abbey again and spoke to Amanda who told me the documents had been sent to my brother’s address, not mine as my brother was told by Alistair last week. As my brother is not living in his own house at present he had to go there to retrieve the documents.

If they make the cheque payable to both Executors, why is it necessary to have both signatures?

This incompetence is causing us financial hardship as we have to maintain my Mother’s house until it is sold, I am unemployed and my brother is self employed.

I think people should know about Abbey’s excuse of a backlog of work which they are using to hold onto people’s money far longer than is acceptable so they can get interest on it and their disregard for the additional stress and upset they are causing people who are grieving. I would also like to highlight their incompetence and ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude.

THE FINAL IRONY IS – MY BROTHER AND I ARE ABBEY SHAREHOLDERS!!!

Nicki

I am sorry for your loss, and the problems you have been having. In your shoes, I would contact one of the money pages of the national newspapers about this. This is exactly the kind of story they like, and they are very good (by the simple expedient of naming and shaming in print) at getting these institutions to apologise by putting their hands in their pockets.

ethansmum

I'm sorry to hear of your problems. When you lose someone, this sort of delaying doesn't make things any easier.

We had a similar problem. My Mum and Dads name was on the current account, however due to some internal !!!! up, My Mum was not allowed to take any money out of the account, and that they would require my Dads signature. At the time Dad was in Intensive Care and was not given much hope of survival.

So all my Mums money was tied up in Abbey - she couldn't pay any bills let alone buy groceries. Abbey demanded a letter giving my Mum power of Attorney, we went to the solicitors but of course they couldn't get anything signed by my Dad because he was in a coma! Eventually after 6 weeks Mum got a letter from the hospital to say that Dad couldn't sign anything and then they reluctantly agreed to let Mum have her Money (The account was in Joint names anyway!)

They make you sick!

Froglet

Absolutely heartless.It reminds me of the extreme thoughtlessness and lack of compassion when my dad died.He had a sudden heart attack and it was a great shock to us all.When my mum and I went in to the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society to let them know ,so that they could change the joint account into her single name,do you know what the ......woman behind the desk did? Took the book off my mum, scribbled out my dad's name and handed it back to her:eek:

The shock and the still very raw emotion of our bereavement,prevented me from losing it totally,but i did burst into tears and walked out.My mum was actually calmer than me but she was furious afterwards when she had time to think about it.

You would expect some flexibility at these times,whatever their "rules" wouldn't you?

klondyke

Nicki wrote:

I am sorry for your loss, and the problems you have been having. In your shoes, I would contact one of the money pages of the national newspapers about this. This is exactly the kind of story they like, and they are very good (by the simple expedient of naming and shaming in print) at getting these institutions to apologise by putting their hands in their pockets.

I always enjoy reading Jessica's page in the Saturday Telegraph supplement 'Your Money". She often remarks that she gets more complaints about Abbey than any othe banking institution.

Last week there was a bit about a bereavement - two siblings had been told they needed an executors' account, but when they went to Abbey, where the deceased and they had accounts, they were told they could only open a savings account - branch had never heard of an executors' account!!!!

Annie_Get_Your_Gun_4

Thank you to all of you for your advice and sympathy. I am sorry to hear you have also had problems - no-one cares anymore.

I am contacting the national newspapers as suggested. I tried Working Lunch and Watchdog last week, but no response.

Thanks again.

georgina_fenwick

I'm very sorry for your loss, some people are just cold inside.

When my dad died 2 years ago i had trouble cancelling his internet account with Wanadoo, the idiot i spoke to there kept insisting they could not cancel the account until they had spoken to the account holder - my dad. After arguing with this heartless person for ages and telling her the account holder could not come to the phone as he was dead, i was in floods of tears and told her she would have to get a medium to hold a seance, at the finish i told them, fine don't cancel the account and we would just cancel the payments and they wouldn't get another penny. When my oldest sister heard what they had said she wrote them a nasty letter and cancelled her connection as well, she had only been connected 2 weeks.

The thing that STILL gets me is we were able to cancel his car insurance, RAC, bank cards and everything else, and this was just an internet connection and we couldn't cancel it.

The lunatics are running the asylum.


georgina

dianasnan

We had to deal with a relatives estate and only had problems with one company, Hoseasons, with whom my MIL had booked a holiday. Phoned to cancel and was told I would have to compete a claim form for her insurance.
Fair enough BUT their letter said they would only consider a claim if there was a valid reason covered by the terms of their policy. If death of the potential holiday maker isn't a valid reason for cancellation then I don't know what is.

A charity was left a small sum and we had a snotty letter within a few days of receiving probate to say that they knew they were getting some money and where was it:mad: the tone implied that we were trying to keep the money when in fact, having just got probate, we were trying to work our way through various companies to release funds with the probate letter.I soon cancelled my subscription to that particular charity.

most other companies accepted cancellations over the phone and were helpful.

womenwithaltitude

My Father passed away on the 12th July this year. Towards the end of that month I met up with an advisor at his local branch and completed as much as relevant forms as I could. And made a request for various information to enable me to complete IHT form. I was told I would get the information back in 10 days. When it had not arrived I phoned, still no documents. When excuses have been made but none of them are credible. I was speaking to someone else going through a bereavement and they told me that their solicitor had to threaten to injunct them before they received the information. I cannot believe how heartless abbey are. Its not the poor staff at the contact points though some of them are appauling most have been perfectly pleasant. Its a big organisational failure. Even LLoyds who were sweetly incompentant in the branch have sent me the information I need. Where do I go next :mad:

mountainofdebt

have you tried emailing them at [EMAIL="watchdog@santander.co.uk"]watchdog@santander.co.uk[/EMAIL]?

this was an email address given out on last week's watchdog programme for people who had issues with Santander service

Freddie_Snowbits

1. Have you got probate? You will need his to act on your deceased fathers affairs.
2. Sounds daft, but get someone idenpendent involved to deal with this, a Solicitor.

Sorry about your loss.

(Oh and just emailing some oggle programme won't make you happy)