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.

overanddone

How on earth do you resolve issues with such a blatantly dishonest and obstructive bank? They do not accept any electronic documentation, even images let alone attachments. They refute passports and accepted signatures and the government supports them becaue it doesn't want to pay the bill for the thefts of bonds. It is incredible that it is asserted that everything is sorted out when it clearly isn't, because of the complete lack of any secure document transmission being provided which would both avoid the creation of these issues, and assist in honestly sorting out issues going back over 20 years, which are still being blocked today.

peterjmahony

My parents have both past in 2015 (Mother) and 2021(Father). They were both in a nursing home and their property was sold to cover costs. I'm at a loss as to how I will be contacted as any account documentation will gave been registered to their, now sold, home address. I did initially try and contact NS&I, but was fobbed off with paperwork and lack of any advice on how to proceed.

I know they had Premium Bonds, but no idea how much or the Bond numbers. What resolution or process will take place to refund these?

x44

Presumably the executor of your late parents' estate would have communicated with NS&I about realising the holding so they should have their address in their database or indeed the address of any solicitor acting on the executor's behalf.

That said I'd well imagine that in many cases executors would have moved, themselves died and the rest and it aint going to be easy for NS&I to trace some of the people they need to contact. Even then executors might be in line for a load of aggro when they are trying to distribute the newly found funds to long since disappeared/died etc beneficiares of the original will.

BreakingGlass

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82006476#Comment_82006476

Quoting myself, but I wanted to update the thread. After a couple of holding replies to her complaints, my daughter last week received a full response to the issues that she had raised. NS&I did not uphold all of her complaints, but did provide a thorough, considered response to all of the issues raised. Most importantly, they satisfied her that her late husband had no further accounts or investments with NS&I.

She was also sent a cheque for £75 in recognition of the distress caused.

Andrew95073

Over a year ago I was beneficiary of an estate with a considerable sum in NS&I accounts. As I live in Scotland and the estate was in England I engaged the services of a local, ie English solicitor to manage probate etc. While he has been informed by NS&I of the sum involved, they are still obstructing payout. While NS&I are holding on to the money it has been earning interest and, by my rough calculations, I will owe somewhere in the region off £1500 to the tax man. While NS&I was set up under the auspices of the Post Office, I suppose we should expect inadequacies if not downright fraud.