Death Notification Service - A Review

optmax

Following the death of my mother I have just used the Death Notification Service (DNS) and thought I would share my experience.

So with regard to the banks that have signed up to the DNS my mother had a current account and a savings account with HSBC; a current account with Santander and an ISA with Halifax. The funds in the accounts were all well within the individual banks differing probate limits.

I hold accounts with all of these too and did have Lasting Power of Attorney, which of course lapsed on her death, registered with the three banks.

During the online process for the DNS you have to enter details from the death certificate but do not have to upload a copy.

My brother and I are named as Executors on our mother's Will.

My mother also had accounts with other banks that have not signed up to the DNS. Some of these will need to see Grant of Probate so I am applying for probate online myself. As the probate registry keep the original Will I have already had certified copies of the Will made by a solicitor (for £5 per copy).

So my experiences:

1. Halifax were brilliant. They phoned me to check a few details, asked me the usual stuff to confirm my ID and also to to confirm some details from the death certificate. They did not need to see the death certificate. They asked about other Executors and were happy that I had bee given permission by my brother to administer the funds. The money was released and transferred to an account of my choosing within 3 working days and less than a week after I used the DNS.

Using the DNS for Halifax was certainly worthwhile.


2. HSBC were good. I received a written acknowledgement within a week and included was a detailed Bereavement Support guide. This indicated that they would need to see the Death Certificate and the Will. The booklet did say I could take the documents into a branch but that an appointment might be necessary. I then made one telephone call to check if an appointment was necessary. There was about a 10 minute wait on the dedicated bereavement phone line at 17:30 on a Friday but yes taking the documents into a branch was ideal and no appointment necessary as long as I avoided lunchtimes. I pointed out that if this information was in the booklet it would have saved me the phone call (and 10 minute wait).

Visiting the branch was a doddle. They photocopied the certificate and the solicitor certified copy of the Will to send off to the bereavement department. They checked my ID via my own HSBC account.

I was advised that my brother, who doesn't hold an HSBC account would need to go into a branch himself with proof of ID and address, after which, the funds would be released and transferred to an account of my choosing.

Branch visit took less than 10 minutes.

Using the DNS for HSBC was probably just about worthwhile as the telephone call and branch visit were both briefer than they would have been without the DNS.


3. Santander were not so good. I received an acknowledgement within a week which also said "We need some more information from you".

The letter said they needed a certified copy of the Death Certificate sent in the post. The copy could be made by a solicitor or at a local branch. I telephoned the bereavement line and got through quickly at 17:50 on a Friday and I made an appointment at my local branch.

I may as well not have used the DNS as the appointment would have been no different if I hadn't. A photocopy of the Death Certificate was made along with a copy of my passport and council tax bill as proof of ID and residence; their system could not use my Santander account details to identify me. I filled in a bereavement form with the information that was already on the Death Certificate and had already been sent via the DNS.

The branch adviser then telephoned the bereavement department, read out the details I had provided and passed the telephone to me. During the conversation I confirmed the details I had provided and then gave details of the account to which I would like the funds transferred. I was then asked to put the branch adviser back on the line so she could complete her part of the form and include some reference numbers provided by the remote adviser.

The funds would be transferred within 3-5 working days.

After the call ended, the local adviser tried to sell me Home Insurance and then asked me about my ISA provision for the current financial year. This was completely inappropriate at a meeting to register a death.

So this was just a regular bereavement appointment and I did not have to send the Death Certificate copy by post as I had been told in their DNS acknowledgement letter.

Using the DNS for Santander did nothing to make the process any easier, nor quicker nor more efficient.