By: Stephen Ducks
Sorting out the financial affairs of someone who has died can be a distressing and confusing process. Most of the big banks and financial institutions have special departments to ensure that matters are dealt with as sensitively as possible but not all companies manage to do this.
A recent programme on BBC Radio Four unearthed some appalling stories of crass and inappropriate behaviour. One caller told of her experience with a bank’s call centre. She rang to tell them that her husband had recently died and was told that the bank could not act on her instructions because they had to speak to the account holder. She asked them if they knew what dead meant and whether they had any hints for her on communicating with the dead. A few months later she can laugh about this experience but just think how upsetting this could be for someone who is still raw with grief.
Sadly, this is by no means an isolated incident. A telephone company told a widow that “the account could not be transferred into her name without her husband’s permission” because it was his name that appeared on the bill.
Another caller said that she often felt as if she was the first person ever to be reporting a death. She said that front line staffs were unhelpful and apparently baffled by the situation and there was very rarely any human response of sympathy or compassion.
Such insensitive behaviour can be very upsetting but many bereaved people suffer calls that are not just insensitive but down right aggressive. A credit card company called an elderly widow three days running to demand payment of an outstanding balance despite being told that probate had not yet been granted. The calls only stopped when she complained to a supervisor. A local council issued a summons for non payment of council tax on an empty property. When the deceased’s son rang to explain the situation he was told that it was irrelevant whether his father was dead, he occupied the property for the first two months of the year and the council was therefore entitled to payment.
The only reliable way to protect yourself from people like this is to instruct a professional to handle probate on your behalf. About 88% of people choose to seek out professional probate services. However, the 12% of people who handle the administration of an estate themselves deserve better. I should like to see compulsory training for all call centre staffs who are likely to handle calls from bereaved people and an enforceable code of conduct for all banks, utilities and other creditors that must be followed in all cases. Until then, if you are dealing with the affairs of a deceased person I am afraid you will need a thick skin and a great deal of patience.
