Kent reliance help needed!

swims73

I’m hoping someone might be able to offer some advice because I feel like I’m rapidly running out of road with Kent Reliance!

I’ll start by saying what an awful service and experience I’m having with them. What should have been a relatively straightforward situation has turned into a two month saga, with a different answer depending on who I speak to.

Earlier this year, Kent Reliance moved to a new online banking system which requires a mobile phone to access. I contacted them at the time because I was trying to manage my mum’s account on her behalf. She doesn’t have a mobile phone, and I was told there was no alternative way to access the online banking.

I therefore decided to use my lasting power of attorney and get added to her account so that I could manage things for her.

That’s when the fun really started!

The information I’ve been given by various advisers on their customer service helpline has been poor, inconsistent and, in some cases, completely at odds with the information on their own website. There also seems to be very little understanding of how a lasting power of attorney works.

I’ve repeatedly been asked whether they can speak to my mum directly, despite explaining that I have an LPA. I’ve been told on several occasions that she needs to complete and sign a form and that I need to post everything to them. I’ve then been given different information by someone else.

I’ve also tried to escalate the matter to a manager, but getting past the first line of customer service seems to be an achievement in itself. I’ve been told the same information repeatedly and, on more than one occasion, have been refused when asking to be put through to the complaints team.

Every time I call, I’m put on hold for an excessive amount of time and then passed from one person to another. It feels like I’m going round in circles.

After two months, I finally raised a formal complaint, which is apparently now under investigation. I’ve since added to the complaint following further dealings with them.

The problem is that I now have an urgent issue. My mum has a bond that is maturing, and Kent Reliance won’t take instructions from me. They are telling me to log into the website to close the account, despite the fact that I cannot access the online banking in the first place!

I’m completely stuck. My emails go unacknowledged, I can’t seem to speak to anyone who understands what is happening, and I really don’t want to have to wait eight weeks for a complaint to be dealt with when I need access to my mum’s money now.

So, does anyone have a magic Kent Reliance phone number, a direct contact for someone who actually understands LPAs, or any other suggestions for getting this resolved?

At this point I’m open to pretty much anything short of camping outside their head office! 😩

Many thanks

mebu60

CEO = andy.golding@osb.co.uk (One Savings Bank).

Vitor

Kent Reliance is a trading name of OneSavings Bank plc, so I would escalate it directly to the bank’s central complaints team, rather than keep repeating the story to frontline staff who AFAIK are based offshore.

State clearly that this is a formal complaint concerning failure to recognise and action a registered LPA, and that a maturing bond requires an urgent, workable instruction route. Ask for written confirmation of how they will accept the attorney’s maturity instruction.

Kent Reliance
OneSavings Bank
Sunderland
SR43 4AB

T: 01634 848944

swims73

Thanks Vitor, that address is where I have written to. The phone number goes to the generic customer service phone line that is useless, and refuses to put you through to anyone else.

I have done exactly as you have suggested and still not getting anywhere. Maybe I should just email the CEO!

Vitor

Have Kent Reliance confirmed in writing that the financial LPA has been registered on the specific bond account? If not, that is the immediate issue. Their published process requires the LPA or access code and the attorney’s ID.