MSE News: TSB opens account and issues debit card to customer who died last year

Katiehound

stclair wrote: »

That's sod I logged a compliant 3 weeks ago and was sent an acknowledgement letter. Then 5 days later got another letter saying basically they had a back log and to get in touch with the FOS.

I certainly had one of those letters saying I could get in touch with FOS (haven't done so- yet! rather hoping a cash incentive might be appearing instead!)

Uxb

fun4everyone wrote: »

They are a joke.

Must have skimped on testing this new platform before hand. The original timescale given for this "upgrade" in the email I received was 50 hrs. How much time effort and money did they actually put into checking it all worked properly? Cutting corners with peoples finances and getting what they deserve now.

It is Sabadell Bank the owners of TSB that are the joke.
The IT migration was I understand entirely handled by and designed by Sabadell in Spain with TSB UK being told what was going to happen.

masonic

wizzywig27 wrote: »

I had read on here people had been advised they could go to the FOS , when I asked him he just said that isnt the case and they have 8 weeks.

I'm already in week 6. It pays to get your complaint in early.

EachPenny

wizzywig27 wrote: »

Things just go from bad to worse for this bank. How on earth this could happen is beyond me.

If you bothered to read the article you'd know how it happened. :doh:

wizzywig27 wrote: »

Waiting for the regulars to come along and try and justify the error and defend the bank.....

OK, since you ask. It has nothing to do with the recent IT problems, the error was made last year, and it sounds like human error.

In normal circumstances something like this happening wouldn't be news. Nobody outside of the family and those involved at TSB would have paid much attention.

As I've said before, there will be a whole set of day-to-day problems which would happen regardless of the IT upgrade. However, because of the IT upgrade problems suddenly anything to do with TSB is 'news' with people pontificating on how bad TSB are. In reality though, problems like this one just happen when you run a big business. The chances are several dead people were sent new debit cards by their bank today - the same will happen tomorrow, and the day after that. It has nothing to do with how good, bad, or indifferent TSB are.

Sea_Shell

That's what I thought.

I bet things like this happens all the time, with all the Banks, but because its TSB it's reported on.

Hopefully TSB's problems will stop following them around like a bad smell, as for me, they seem to be back to normal now.

Caddyman

Firstly, I'm pleased to see someone was assigned to clean up this thread, it had after all, got completely out of hand and some very silly things were posted.

As for this rather abhorrent 'error' concerning the deceased being sent a debit card and having an account opened after death, if I have read the story correctly, the gentleman passed away in November last year but the error was made in May this year, a full six months after his passing. This is still unacceptable, but granted, deceased people still do receive all sorts of mail, sometimes quite a long time after their passing. That being said, if banks are informed as soon as practicable that someone has died, they really should make every effort to ensure they cleanse their records, especially months after the event. Personally, I find this particular situation shameful and TSB should be fined by the Regulator, though I suspect some TSB's apologists might find that somewhat unfair.

It's interesting that only yesterday I too (as a former customer), received a letter in absolute duplicate, i.e. the exact same letter in the same envelope printed twice in case I couldn't see it the first time, that TSB had cancelled a direct debit I previously held with a merchant. In my view, they did no such thing as it was I who initiated the cancellation weeks ago via the banking App prior to switching accounts and I received confirmation at the time of my cancellation of the D/D. I'm not at all sorry I've switched away, they can keep their in credit interest!

EachPenny

Caddyman wrote: »

As for this rather abhorrent 'error' concerning the deceased being sent a debit card and having an account opened after death, if I have read the story correctly, the gentleman passed away in November last year but the error was made in May this year, a full six months after his passing. This is still unacceptable, but granted, deceased people still do receive all sorts of mail, sometimes quite a long time after their passing. That being said, if banks are informed as soon as practicable that someone has died, they really should make every effort to ensure they cleanse their records, especially months after the event. Personally, I find this particular situation shameful and TSB should be fined by the Regulator, though I suspect some TSB's apologists might find that somewhat unfair.

Yes, I do think it is unfair, but no, I'm not a TSB 'apologist'. TSB clearly are having major problems, but taking things which are not directly connected to these problems, glossing over facts, and twisting things to make it sound like the problems are more dramatic than they are is both unfair and distasteful.

Some people appear to derive pleasure from other people's misfortune - we need to remember that behind the TSB brand there are people working hard every day trying to provide the best service in what are currently very difficult circumstances. I would guess the individual(s) responsible for this man having a debit card and PIN sent out are absolutely mortified - but the bank has apologised and made a generous compensation payment for their error and that should be the end of it.... rather than having the story plastered over the internet.

The fundamental error was made at the point the account was closed. The article doesn't state exactly when this was, but does say it was 'last year'. The error was a failure to apply interest to the man's account at closure - so TSB owed money to the man's estate. Rather than keep quiet and hang on to his money the bank opened a new account to put the interest into so the executors would be able to recover what the estate was owed. The second mistake was that issuing a debit card was not suppressed (this would appear to be human error) leading to the system correctly issuing a debit card and PIN. Which just happened to be sent out in May and had nothing to do with the IT upgrade.

As for "abhorrent", whilst I would sympathise with the person involved for their loss, in the modern World life is messy. People have multiple relationships with multiple businesses, most if it involving impersonal transactions with computers and call centres. The days when the bank manager would know a customer had died by reading the public notice in the local newspaper have long gone.

Therefore dealing with someone's estate after death is complex and not a quick job. So it is not 'abhorrent' for a financial institution to still be seeking to communicate with someone within six months of their death when the institution owes them (or their estate) money. The issue in this case is simply that the communication was unnecessary and mistaken.

eskbanker

EachPenny wrote: »

I'm not a TSB 'apologist'.

Unfortunately there is a misplaced and inaccurate perception on here that anyone who chooses not to grab a pitchfork and join the lynch mobs baying for TSB blood must be an 'apologist' or 'defender' of the bank!

Like yourself, I'm more than prepared to call out much of the TSB shambles for what it is (and again they've clearly erred here), but equally there is so much hysterical overreaction stoked by the tabloid-style coverage of every blip that any sense of proportion seems to go out of the window.

The TSB threads on here do tend to attract the easily outraged (and more than a few provocateurs, hence the deleted silliness) and their black-and-white indignation doesn't leave much room for reasoned debate, you're either with them or against them - sad, but c'est la vie....

veryintrigued

As has been noted above this is a lot more balanced and sensible thread now.

Thanks to the mods.

wizzywig27

100% agree now the nonsense has gone, glad we are back on topic.

I agree this probably happens a lot more than we realise, and because of the problems at TSB they are exacerbated somewhat, but only TSB have themselves to blame. I can understand that problems they have encountered as these things happen, what I cannot understand is the way they have handled it since.