Halifax Appalling Treatment

Mishomeister

When you took out a mortgage has the adviser offered you a critical illness cover?
If so, what was your declining reason?

No one in my family has ever been critically ill so I don't think that will ever happen to me either?
Or maybe the one 'I can't afford it' with the price being £60 p/m and your Net Disposable Income £500 ?

ACG

As has been mentioned, you can post a cheque or do a bank transfer. Ask halifax if you wanted to make a payment in general how you would go about it - they cant refuse to give you that info i wouldnt have thought.

Also has as been mentioned, family protection... does your partner have any? This could be Income Protection, PHI, Life Insurance or Critical Illness among a few other lesser known policies. These if you have them could make your whole situation a lot easier.

Also get in touch with Citizens advice, you might be able to claim some extra benefits to help out financially.

Thrugelmir

noms wrote: »

I understand the need for security but given our circumstances I'd have thought Halifax would at least write to her with some advice. I'd then be able to pick up the letter.

You need to address the legalities of the situation yourself. The bank is unable to assist until you do so. As frustrating as this may seem its the correct procedure. The bank has no relationship with you. So obtain the authority to administer her affairs ASAP.

noms_2

I really appreciate all the advice given here and sorry for the general response but to add a few details: I've phoned and written to the Halifax to ask them how (given I don't have the password) I go about paying. The response has been to ignore any request for advice and charge us again. I did say that I would pay money or cheques into the account but the call centre response was again "not without the password". I'm not asking for account details just to hand over a cheque or my debit card details.

@Yorkie and beecher2 is it really as easy as that? just walk in with the paperwork and pay? If that's the case why are they not telling me to do that. I phoned their 'helpline' to ask how I go about paying given our situation and instead of telling me this they put the wall up.

We're going through hell here and I'm sorry but whether they have emotional involvement or not or whether they have no legal obligation to hand over this simple piece of advice this is as low and callous as anything I've experienced.

elmer

Im sorry for your circumstances, but the Halifax are not being callous, they do not know that your fiance is incapacitated, you may be a bailliff trying to aquire information from them, and as any breach of the DPA can result in a fine, they have to deny you any access to your fiances information.

elmer

Annisele

Noms - Halifax's staff aren't allowed to give you advice. I appreciate that all you really want is information, but sometimes that can be a fine line.

If you ask "what should I do", then the only thing the staff are really allowed to say is "sorry, we can't give advice". If you tell them you don't want any information about any accounts, and ask the specific question "if I know the account details of one of your mortgages, how do I make a payment to it", you might get a more helpful answer.

I agree with the people suggesting you go into the branch. Take a mortgage statement, your chequebook and a debit card, and you should be able to find somebody who'll help you make a payment.

Yorkie1

I don't know for sure how Halifax worked.

I was basing my reply on what NW said when I went in to ask how I might make an overpayment in branch on my mortgage account. They said I just needed to go to the counter and pay in a cheque with the mortgage account number written on the back (or something similar). I would imagine that the payment in process would be not far off that for Halifax, albeit that the payment isn't actually an overpayment.

beecher2

I have made Halifax overpayments in branch before simply by presenting a cheque made out to my name (or the name of the mortgage holder in your case), with the sort code and account number on the back.

If you don't want to just walk into the branch, make an appointment, perhaps with the Power of Attorney adviser, even though you may not be in a position to set up PoA.

noms_2

elmer wrote: »

Im sorry for your circumstances, but the Halifax are not being callous, they do not know that your fiance is incapacitated, you may be a bailliff trying to aquire information from them, and as any breach of the DPA can result in a fine, they have to deny you any access to your fiances information.

elmer

As explained in my opening post Halifax are aware of our circumstances which means I have told them that my fianc!e is in a cancer induced coma and unable to nominate me or sign anything. Whether they're being callous or not depends on your point of view but from where I'm sitting a good old fashioned poke in the right direction is not going to hurt anyone.

I suppose it says a lot about the erosion of our expectations when in comes to defending the inactions of those in the financial services industry.

antrobus

noms wrote: »

As explained in my opening post Halifax are aware of our circumstances which means I have told them that my fianc!e is in a cancer induced coma and unable to nominate me or sign anything. Whether they're being callous or not depends on your point of view but from where I'm sitting a good old fashioned poke in the right direction is not going to hurt anyone.

I suppose it says a lot about the erosion of our expectations when in comes to defending the inactions of those in the financial services industry.

And I could contact the Halifax and similarly make claims regarding my relationship to the account holder and why it was they were unable to communicate with the bank. That doesn't mean anything and achieves nothing.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

You need to address the legalities of the situation yourself. The bank is unable to assist until you do so. As frustrating as this may seem its the correct procedure. The bank has no relationship with you. So obtain the authority to administer her affairs ASAP.

What that man said.