Nationwide sending letters to dead customer

lottieholder

My partner died 18+ years ago. He had an account with Nationwide. It had about £1 left in it and I’ve been unable to close the account as I wasn’t the executor to his estate. Every year at about this time I receive a letter from them about something or other. This time relating to Virgin Money. This time the only contact detail is if I want a letter in braille.  I ring them every year and every year they promise the letters will stop. It is actually quite distressing but I don’t know how else to make them cease.  I have also written to them snail mail and email.

The executor is his daughter and I no longer have any contact with her.  How do I get them to stop?

JGB1955

Have you sent them a copy of the death certificate?

Robin9

Have you a copy of the Death Cert ?

Section62

lottieholder said:

My partner died 18+ years ago. He had an account with Nationwide. It had about £1 left in it and I’ve been unable to close the account as I wasn’t the executor to his estate. Every year at about this time I receive a letter from them about something or other. This time relating to Virgin Money. This time the only contact detail is if I want a letter in braille.  I ring them every year and every year they promise the letters will stop. It is actually quite distressing but I don’t know how else to make them cease.  I have also written to them snail mail and email.

The executor is his daughter and I no longer have any contact with her.  How do I get them to stop?

Make a formal complaint to Nationwide - for failing to do what they previously promised.  If the response isn't satisfactory then take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

A 'satisfactory' response in my opinion would be a cast-iron promise to stop sending the letters, a small financial payment to reflect your time and trouble, and flowers to say sorry for the distress.

They are likely to say they legally have to keep writing to the account holder until the account is closed (in which case they shouldn't have told you previously they would stop) but in the circumstances they should be more proactive and seek to confirm themselves that the account holder is deceased (e.g. by tracing and contacting the executor themselves) and either closing the account or make it dormant.  I'm actually surprised after 18+ years that their dormant account process hasn't already come into effect.

sheramber

Nationwide is a BS so, by leaving £1  he would stll  be a member. The correspondence is probably to with membership activities, rather than a dormant account. 

Front line staff may only be dealing with accounts.

A complaint will be the best option.

friolento

Nationwide have a bereavement support team, may be contact them on 0800 464 30 18

They are likely to want to see the death certificate.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/nationwidecouk/documents/help/challenging-times/bereavement/p3162_bereavement_support.pdf