NS&I to pay £367 million to bereaved families after failing to trace savings

MSE_Emily

Tens of thousands of bereaved families will be contacted by NS&I and told how to access their loved ones' cash. It comes after the state-owned savings provider initially failed to locate the accounts…

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NS&I to pay £367 million to bereaved families after failing to trace savings

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BreakingGlass

I helped my daughter with her finances after her husband passed away early in 2024. NS&I were by far the worst financial agency with whom we dealt. They took an age to respond to her requests for information about her late husband's accounts, and to this day we cannot be totally sure that they carried out a thorough search for accounts in his name. Their responses to her queries were tardy, lacking in detail, did not answer the questions that were raised and left her unconvinced that she was being taken seriously.

After reading about NS&I shortcomings both here and elsewhere, my daughter last week sent a complaint letter to NS&I documenting her dealings, and yesterday received a holding response. I sincerely hope that NS&I address hers and the many other complaints in a professional and caring manner.

Iaapita

I had to get probate just claim my late mothers premium bonds as their limit is just 5k where as everyone else is 20k plus.

x44

They must have gone donwnhill a lot.

Back in 2018 I was dealing with them as executor and I found them the best. Valuations all detailed, P.Bond wins previously sent by cheque (somewhere in the deceased's house probably/lost!) but never cashed listed. All the forms as required to cash in or transfer for each holding all supplied with the valuation info.

I suppose it did help in that I had all the account/holders numbers available to detail in my letter to them enclosing the death certificate.

Enzo_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82007694#Comment_82007694

I dealt with NS&I as executor for two estates in 2013. They were terrible to deal with - slow and incompetent - and by far the most useless of any financial institution I dealt with.

They made a complete mess of transferring index-linked savings certificates out of each estate. On one occasion I was told on the phone that I needed "the consent of the holders" - who were dead - to access a list of all their savings certificates. When I replied that I'd better get down to the cemetery with my spade then, there was a silence on the other end of the line while the stupidity of what they had just said dawned on the person I was speaking to at NS&I.

It was only resolved by my going through the formal complaints procedure in relation to each estate.

For the sake of my executors I won't have anything in NS&I when I die.