Prudential nightmare

54druids

My mother in law had a care bond which she didn't end up using, she has since died and for about 7 months my husband and my brother in law have been trying to cash it in which they are entitled to do since they are both lifes assured and sole beneficiaries in the will. A family friend was the trustee on the bond. To begin with the Pru told my brother in law that he just had to fill in a form and send it off with proof of id in the form of certified passport, bank statement and utility bill. They then said the Trustee had to complete a deed of assignment which she came over to England especially to do as she lives abroad. Despite phoning them first to confirm what they needed (she is the only one they would confer with as they refused to speak directly with my brother in law or my husband), they then asked for something different from her once she had returned home. Since then they seem to have put every obstacle in their path and keep changing the goalposts about how to cash it in and every time a reponse takes 5 days. We are at our wits end and wonder if anyone else has had this experience or can give us any advice on how to draw the whole thing to its conclusion

dunstonh

The trust is the owner of the bond. So, the trustees are the one that need to sign the forms. The trustees are also the only ones they should be discussing this with.

A deed of assignment is to transfer the bond to new owners for them to continue it in situ (or cash in after if they wish - there are potential tax issues to be aware of).

The trustees could encash the bond without a deed of assignment but the tax may be higher depending on the type of trust in place.

Prudential are not authorised to give advice but only to take instruction. So, the instructions given to them need to be clear. The beneficiaries cannot instruct. Only the trustees.

Do your husband and BIL want to assign it to them before encashment or encash it before assignment? (tax will be different potentially).

54druids

Thanks for responding. The Pru were given very precise instructions by the trustee that the bond was to be cashed in by my husband (he is then going to send half to his brother). There shouldn't be a chargeable event as the bond has decreased from the initial investement. Where we are at now is that finally the deed has been assigned to my husband and he is now just trying to cash it in. He has already sent them everything they asked for but they keep coming back for more and drip feeding the info they require e.g. asked for bank statement which they had asked for before and we had it signed by a soliticitor but now they want the original (we only do on line banking) and it has to be signed and have precise wording on. What is very annoying is that all along they have given us misinformation or only part of the information required and that is why it is dragging on. We are wondering if this is a deliberate ploy as the longer this goes on, the greater potential for the bond to decrease

dunstonh

The Pru were given very precise instructions by the trustee that the bond was to be cashed in by my husband (he is then going to send half to his brother).

That would require assigning the bond to your husband. Your husband would then need to complete the surrender forms. it is effectively two transactions that are not linked. It appears you are now at the second stage based on what you have said.

Where we are at now is that finally the deed has been assigned to my husband and he is now just trying to cash it in. He has already sent them everything they asked for but they keep coming back for more and drip feeding the info they require e.g. asked for bank statement which they had asked for before and we had it signed by a soliticitor but now they want the original (we only do on line banking) and it has to be signed and have precise wording on.

Most of the insurers do electronic checks but the problem is when the check fails, they have to revert to the old fashioned way of getting documents. The documents are usually accepted as certified copies but some firms have been restricting these recently and moving to originals only or getting fussy on the actual wording used in the certification. I had one in the last week that wouldnt accept the wording I used but I did the same wording with 4 other providers and they were fine with it. It can be a right pain with some providers when they do this but there is no way around it if they say that is what they need.

We are wondering if this is a deliberate ploy as the longer this goes on, the greater potential for the bond to decrease

No. Its not in their interest to delay admin and it does them no benefit. Financial crime is a current hot potato and firms have been ramping up staff awareness and training and the regulator is firing off fines left right and centre to firms for inadequate controls. Whenever something is under high scrutiny, you tend to find things changing quickly and some firms going further than others whilst they all decide what the regulator is actually after.

54druids

Thank you, that is very reassuring and I will pass it on to my hubby which will may stop him from almost having a coronary every time he receives and email from them.:)

54druids

Just to let you know we finally got the money albeit 2k short of what my brother in law first was quoted so we now have to look into that. Thanks for all your help