Paying back the credit card debt as an a will executor.

TheMysteryAngel

Hello, this is my first time on this forum. 
I'm the executor of the will of my mothers partner, if not stressful it's taking me out of my comfort zone. I contacted the financial institutions concerned within 2 weeks of his untimely passing and they all gave the usual platitudes etc. His biggest debt was nearly 5 figures, I told the bank concerned that we'll repay the monies on receipt of receiving the funds to pay the debt, as off nearly 3 months since his passing these as yet have not been received.
Yesterday I received the second letter from the Bereavement Unit of the bank concerned chasing up the monies, with them apologising that the previous letter was incorrectly worded and did not include all the information required.
They've told me that if the funds are available to send them a cheque and to fill out the enclosed form ( that wasn't enclosed)
I asked them to give me details of how to transfer the money to them once I'm in receipt of funds.
I was told they don't accept bank transfers.
To which point I've pointed out for me to pay in a cheque I would need to drive to a bank, pay for parking, pay for a stamp and an envelope and no doubt recorded delivery and all this in my own time, as opposed to transferring the money directly. 
Surely in 2025 every bank and this bank is a major high street bank has the facility to accept bank transfers. 
If my mothers partner was still with us, would they expect him to have paid his credit card debt by cheque each week?
Having for the first time in my life at a pretty advanced age finding myself dealing with such circumstances I find it staggering how unhelpful some of these companies are. 

SiliconChip

I'm not sure why you need to drive to a bank and pay for parking, surely you can just write the cheque, put it in an envelope, add a stamp and drop it in the local post box (or if you want to get proof of posting, take it to the nearest post office).

fatbelly

Do you have an executor's account with chequebook? If so, it appears straightforward, as above. Remember to take your expenses out of the estate

If not then wait until you get a demand from someone who can accept payment in a conventional way

TheMysteryAngel

SiliconChip said:

I'm not sure why you need to drive to a bank and pay for parking, surely you can just write the cheque, put it in an envelope, add a stamp and drop it in the local post box (or if you want to get proof of posting, take it to the nearest post office).

If I had a cheque book I could write a cheque. It's 2025 not 1985. Banks should be set up to take bank transfers.

Marcon

TheMysteryAngel said:

To which point I've pointed out for me to pay in a cheque I would need to drive to a bank, pay for parking, pay for a stamp and an envelope and no doubt recorded delivery and all this in my own time, as opposed to transferring the money directly. 
Surely in 2025 every bank and this bank is a major high street bank has the facility to accept bank transfers. 
If my mothers partner was still with us, would they expect him to have paid his credit card debt by cheque each week?
Having for the first time in my life at a pretty advanced age finding myself dealing with such circumstances I find it staggering how unhelpful some of these companies are. 

Why do you need to drive to a bank, park etc if all you're going to do is post the cheque? You can buy postage online (and reuse any old envelope) and Royal Mail will collect free of charge from your home or office on your preferred date.

That said, it's extremely hard to credit (no pun intended) that a bank is unable to accept funds electronically. If you really don't have a cheque book, tell them so and ask what they recommend.

msb1234

The problem is that the CC account will be closed so you cant do a regular bank transfer as if the account was still active. Dont be too worried about paying off the debt quickly - the bank will wait. It was over 2 years before I paid off my mum’s credit card after she died. By that point a debt collection agency had taken over the debt so I was able to pay them over the phone. They were very good to deal with by the way.