WHY do banks make life so difficult?

Lisa M 99

Registered User
Feb 12, 2009
247
0
Winchester
I am FUMING and need to sound off!

I have 3rd party agent access on mum's account and also LPA. I keep receipts for everything, pay mum's care home fees etc but today I was made to feel like a criminal who had done something wrong and I am SHAKING with anger and very upset.

I got a letter from mum's bank saying they had tried to contact me (I received no contact) so i phoned them but my customer ID no longer worked. When i eventually spoke to someone they said that it was the WRONG CUSTOMER ID for me even though i've been using it for the past year! I tried to explain this but was told that it was NOT my id!

I then explained that my name changed recently through marriage and that i had been assured that this would not affect any online banking. I also sent through all of the documentation required.

The bank have recalled the online payment to mum's care home and now i have to go into a branch WITH ID to prove who i am and to get the recall unblocked!! I can't believe it!

On top of all of that when i asked them which number they used to call me on it turns out it was mum's! When i explained that the line was dead as she was in a care home, they said that i did not pass the level of security to have it removed!! AAAGGHHH!! (Again need to go into branch to confirm who i am so they can do this).

They then said that they would need to speak with mum to sort it out. At this point i was screaming and sobbing down the phone that she has alzheimers (already explained to them) and is in a care home (again already explained).

Now i have the stress and worry of hoping that they will send me a new customer id and pin so that i can conduct mum's finances online and that going into the branch will clear me so i can pass security!

These people are UNBELIEVABLE, inept, insensitive DUNDERHEADS and my hands are tied until i can get to the branch tomorrow and find out exactly who i need to complain to at the highest level.

This is the last in a series of ineptitudes from mum's bank. Can you imagine if she had had to deal with them how she would have coped? I am struggling myself!

Sorry to offload and thanks for 'listening'. Feel a bit better now.

xxx
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
Dear Lisa

Your post brought back all the struggles I had with my mother's bank and it's been 4 years since that happened. I had hoped that things might have improved, but obviously not in all cases. My issue was also those stupid customer numbers and online banking (the bank "lost" my signature card, and "couldn't offer" online banking to a third party). I can remember the branch manager almost being in tears trying to sort it out, and a customer service person being stunned when their own technical support people wouldn't talk to them (because I wasn't a "customer").

Sorry - you don't need to hear this history but most of us who have had to deal with banks, particularly as a child rather than a spouse, have encountered some of this stupidity.

I hope it all gets sorted out.
 

sue38

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
10,849
0
55
Wigan, Lancs
Hi Lisa,

In May I tried to ring my mum's bank to see if she had travel insurance through her bank account. She couldn't ring herself as she was on an operating table in an Athens hospital having an emergency operation on her bowel. All I got was that they couldn't disclose any information as I was not a signatory on the account (the other signatory being my dad who is in a care some with dementia).

You have to keep asking to be put through to someone superior until you get high enough up the food chain to speak to someone who is allowed to use common sense.
 

lottierolo

Registered User
Aug 27, 2009
5
0
essex
Hi Lisa

Know how you feel. I have similar problem with a major insurance company who are restructuing and sent voting forms out to my parents. I have POA for Mum but they still wanted me to bring her to the phone to confirm that she is happy for me to speak to them on her behalf! No amount of me telling them that she was unable to come to phone as she has AD and is in fact in hospital would suffice. Even when I explained that if she was standing next to me she still wouldn't be able to talk to them as she is now incapable of conversation and just spouts nonsense to the "untrained ear"

I eventually wrote a letter explaining it all AGAIN and enclosed POA showing that I am able to sign on my mums behalf.
This was 2 months ago and I am still awaiting return of POA despite being promised that it would be rushed back to me. When I call to chase up the paperwork, as i do EVERY DAY, They still want me to put Mum on the phone to confirm that she agrees that I can act on her behalf. I am going round in circles and despair at the complete incompetence and lack of understanding these financial insitutions display.

I am now inclined to write to the Chair of all the banks and insurance companies that Mum has accounts/policies with and invite them to visit her in hospital to have tea and she can formally and personally tell them she is more than happy for me to make a bliking phone call on her behalf by demonstating to them how she can swear, roll up tissues and fill everyone on the wards' water jugs with them and lash out agressivly at anyone who comes within 3 feet of her whilst screaming "i will cut you up" as this seems to be the only way she can talk now!

Good luck to you in sorting it all, hope it goes well for you.x
 

Pollyanna

Registered User
Jul 8, 2008
814
0
Lisa

My Mum is going through exactly the same thing! She's found it very upsetting and sadly humiliating.

All her cards have been stopping, cheques returned etc etc.

She was told in front of a bank full of people that she was being investigated for fraud.

It's as if this is all new to the bank. They are incapable of being able to sort it out.

Mum has to pay for my Nan's care home and all the cheques been returned to the home making. I was expecting to see my Nan sat on the doorstep with all her possessions:eek: !

Polly x
 
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Lisa M 99

Registered User
Feb 12, 2009
247
0
Winchester
It's FRIGHTENING to read all of these stories of utter incompetence! It does make me feel a little better that i'm not on my own, but havn't we got enough to deal with? I feel like writing to Watchdog or something.....
 

Daftbat

Registered User
May 16, 2009
46
0
Cumbria
Thankfully not had to use my POA yet......

As for banks! Although not AZ related, my aunt died last year and she had always been the one to take care of the household finances so my uncle was starting from scratch. She had a few different accounts so he had to close them and withdraw the money as per her instructions in her will. Most of the banks were good, but the major high street player (as I'm probably not allowed to name and shame here's a cryptic clue - A public house with pottery bases (8)) took OVER 6 MONTHS to sort it out. Despite all the paperwork being in order they refused to discuss it with him unless he could tell them how much money was in the account. :mad:

Anything to make an extra buck and keep our money for as long as possible! - Watch they don't put penalty charges on for stopping that payment too!
 

Tarika

Registered User
Jul 26, 2008
111
0
I know how you feel

I know how you feel. It took me over 3 months to get power of attorney over my mum's bank accounts. The trail of incompetence and delays were really traumatic. I too was told they would need to speak to my mother. I started off being tolerant, then threatened to make a formal complaint- that got things moving to the extent the branch manager turned up on my doorstep with wine and roses (really!! it's true) to apologise for the delay.
I feel strongly that there should be specific training for all staff in these institutions because so many of us are having to go through this.
I hope all works out for you
love Tarika
 

vdg

Registered User
Aug 6, 2009
264
0
Hampshire
I have had problems with banks too. One bank didn't understand about the new LPA for finance and property.That took a few heated phone calls and a trip to Southampton to sort out[we live about just under an an hour away].One building society lost all the paperwork then miraculously found it again after I made a complaint.
The only one who was any good was the one who got it all sorted in 5 days flat including my passwords, pins etc.They have been helpful all through:)

Word of warning about letting go of LPA's.I have been advised never to send the original.Our solicitor does verified copies, they cost a fiver a go but it's worth it so's not to lose the original as now Mum is so bad I couldn't get it replaced.
 

Amber 5

Registered User
Jan 20, 2009
890
0
64
Berkshire
I experienced frustrations and delays with my mum's bank after sorting out POA and being added as a signatory on her account. (My brother who is POA jointly and separately with me applied at the same time, taking time out of work to do so, but we were eventually told that there could only be two signatories on an account - this was after waiting two weeks and being sent yet another form to complete - aaagh!)

At this stage, we thought the sale of mum's house would enable the money to be transferred into her account, I would receive a cheque book and debit card enabling me to pay off any outstanding bills and that the first payment to the Care Home would be covered!! As I was away on holiday for the completion date, my brother received the cheque from the house sale but found that the bank in question wouldn't accept it as a payment into my mum's account as he wasn't a signatory. (Since when has it been so difficult to pay money into an account?!)

Meanwhile, the first payment for fees was taken out of her account and she went overdrawn (luckily I later found out that she had an overdraft facility so won't be charged for it).

Since my return from holiday I fully expected that I would by now have access to internet banking as this is what a very helpful assistant had tried to set up for me just before I went away. I tried numerous times to access mum's account but it wouldn't let me. So after more phone calls and I discovered that the username I had been given should have been a POA username and in order to get one I have to go into a branch with ID and set it up.

So this is what I did only to be told that I couldn't have access to online banking as POA. Luckily, after reading about people on TP having problems I wasn't prepared to accept this and could see on the assistant's system a whole list that she was whizzing through incredibly quickly. I asked why not and she couldn't answer me, so I waited patiently until she had checked and tried to get me on the system.

It all worked out fine in the end, but I was left feeling as many others here do that this bank do not fully know what they are doing when it comes to POA. It is so important that they take the time to look and learn and stop all this time-wasting and stressful messing about.

Sorry to pour it all out, but it has made me angry all over again!!
Best Wishes, Gill x
 

Lisa M 99

Registered User
Feb 12, 2009
247
0
Winchester
Sounds like i've opened a real can of worms here! How awful that we've all been through the same thing!

I think I WILL get onto Watchdog to hightlight the problem. Something HAS to be done.

Keep smiling all. Your stories have sent me comfort and at the very least made me feel that i'm not alone!

xx
 

NewKid

Registered User
Mar 26, 2009
367
0
Warwickshire
And another gripe ... !

Just returned from trying to set up standing order to pay care costs in timely fashion - told APA 'not set up, paperwork nowhere to be found'... even though I was trying (for once) to be efficient and already did all this with ID/ POA cert etc 5 week's ago! Also told Mum would need to sign that I am taking over matters - DOH! ... please see POA form. Etc etc. Yes, drives you mad. Nothing new/ useful just sounding off too! Lovely sunny day though! ;)
 

KenC

Registered User
Mar 24, 2006
913
0
Co Durham
We have had joint bank accounts ever since we got married, but two years ago we saw a solicitor to get the papers signed, so that my wife could handle everything legally.

However the bank still try to ring up to speak to me, even though they were told to speak to my wife.

We went to see about Internet banking, which is fine, but they insisted on us having separate accounts, which we did not want.

After using my wifes account for around a year, they tried to contact me again, to find out why I was not using the Internet banking scheme, and would not accept the fact that we only wanted one account, and that was the one my wife was using.

I do wonder why they need to make things difficult fo everyone these days.
 

jackie place

Registered User
Aug 4, 2009
93
0
eccles manchester
Hu Lisa

Yes I was in a similar position with my husband Bank got Id and pin no as I deal with all his finances and guess what !!!! Only a couple of days ago the Bank rang up it was HSBC askingto speakto my husband who I explained he was not well and had AZ I also mentioned that I had permission to speak to them on his behalf as I had 2nd party to his account. They would not listern to me so had to get my husband to agree and pass through security etc then i could talk to them and answer the questions that they wanted. it is so stressful when you are trying your best to handle the situation but they make you feel like a criminal as though you are doing wrong. its time the bank changed the way that they contacted perople who are ill etc.

Thanks for this glad that there are other people in thesame position as me

love Jackie x x x
 

Lisa M 99

Registered User
Feb 12, 2009
247
0
Winchester
Thanks again all. I know it doesn't change the incompetence we've all had to deal with, but it's a huge comfort knowing i'm not alone!

Went into branch of mum's bank today to prove i was who i was. Was told i should take passport SO i took passport, marriage cert, bank cards, statements, you name it, I had it!

It got sorted in the end but despite all of this and me double checking what i'd need to take they STILL asked to speak with me (the branch had to call the online banking team on a verified line) to ask about recent transactions. Luckily i managed to remember one of the latest ones as receipts was something i had FAILED to bring along!

They have assured me that the last online payment to mum's care home has been unblocked so I will just have to believe them as i don't have the strength to deal with them again today! (Maybe i will call on Tues).

I asked why banks were so appallingly incompetent and they told me that when registering an LPA or doing anything slightly out of the ordinary, it has to go through several different departments and get verified then sent off to other departments. Still no excuse for plain incompetence in my book though!

Keep smiling,

Lisa xxx :D
 

Rootshalle

Registered User
Nov 25, 2008
22
0
London
Yes this rang bells with me. Funnily enough my mums bank were OK with me, but another bank where she has some savings & is actually my bank as well (I've been their customer for 20 odd years) were much harder to convince who I was despite all the evidence, POA, & supporting history which I thought was odd. Got there in the end through many calls to various call centres around the the UK & the world plus visits to local branches.
 

Clive

Registered User
Nov 7, 2004
716
0
Hi Lisa

Using EPA was always a problem and the bank staff could never get it right finding something different to get wrong each time. Thankfully I am now past that stage.

I need to get a Grant of Probate so I have to find out what capital and interest was in mum’s accounts at the time of death.

Though I have several stories one bank, which has recently been taken over, gets first prize for incompetence.

I start off by taking the death certificate in to the bank with a letter listing her four accounts and requesting the capital balance and interest due at date of death.

They make me sit facing a wall whilst the Bereavement Consultant disappears for 10 minutes because she has to give each account a new number because the bank has been taken over. When she comes back with the new account numbers she tells me that she has to send the accounts to Head Office to get the interest calculated. (Why could she not have changed the numbers after I had left the branch).

Three weeks later there has been no statement from the bank so I go in to the branch again to see why.

The Bereavement Consultant has major difficulty in talking to Head Office on the phone because the systems have been changed and she has difficulty answering the necessary security questions. But eventually, using a combination of emails and telephone to contact Head Office, she is able to reassure me that the information will be sent to me in the next few days.

A week later the statement arrives along with a long letter saying how sorry they are to hear of mum’s death etc. I (stupidly) only glance at the statement but see it covers only three of mum’s four accounts. I ring the telephone number on the letter but it is Saturday and they are closed.

I go into the branch on Monday morning. They are very sorry and contact Head Office by phone and email again. The information for the missed account will be sent out at once.

A week later I have still not received the information so I ring the telephone number on the letter I received with the statement for the first three accounts. I go through all the security questions etc. 10 minutes later I am told “your mum’s name has been spelt wrong so the computer couldn’t send out the statement. We will send it out at once”.

A week later still no statement. I ring the number and go through security and explain what has happened etc. “Oh we cannot send you any information on this account because it has been frozen until you provide the bank with the Grant of Probate”.

Well the lady gets it all sorted out and four days later I get the statement with exactly the same letter of sympathy I received with the first statement. No apology etc.

I take a quick glance at the statement that is for a 3% fixed rate account that “mum” started 4 months before she died.
Basically the statement read something like.

Capital £100. Interest due for 4 months at 3% is £90.

Obviously wrong. I go back to the branch and have to point out what is wrong, as the bank clerk does not immediately understand the concern. Clerk contacts Head Office by phone and sends long email. Very sorry sir, a corrected statement will be sent by first class post.

When nothing comes I ring the Bereavement Department at Head office and go through all the security questions. I explain I should have received a statement and wonder if it has been sent. “Yes it was sent on the 29 July (which happens to be that day, though the gentleman does not seem to appreciate this !)”

I ask what the letter says. The wording is exactly the same as the previous two letters. I ask what the statement says. It is exactly the same as the wrong one I received previously.

Can you not see it is wrong I say? “NO”.
Can you work out a simple percentage sum? “NO”
Can you not see that it is impossible to get that amount of interest in 4 months? “NO”
Can I speak to the Supervisor. “Sorry she is on the phone”. “She will be on the phone for a very long time”.
Please get her to ring me.

No returned call, so 4 hours later I go through all the above again. This time I eventually manage to speak to the Supervisor who tells me that the statement will be right because the way bonuses and things are calculated make it difficult to calculate the interest due. I ask the Supervisor to check with the department that calculated the figure and ring me back.

There was no call back so next morning I rang and went through the whole thing again. Eventually the lady on the phone condescended to speak to the Supervisor who told her to tell me that “if I HAD A PROBLEM I should write in” (They could not see that they had a problem).

I then contacted the manager at the local Branch who took ownership of the problem. It took her 24 hours, and three phone calls back to me, before it was established that the interest due on THREE of mum’s four accounts had been calculated wrongly.

I have asked to be compensated for my wasted time but this request also seems to be lost in the system somewhere.

So, if you have read so far, you will appreciate that if people in Banks cannot even do simple maths, then how can we expect them to understand a legal document like a Power of Attorney?

Clive
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
Oh Clive. I wonder what would have happened if you'd accepted the interest that they said they were giving her - that is, do you think they would have ever worked out that they had given you too much?
 

JPG1

Account Closed
Jul 16, 2008
3,391
0
Lisa and Clive,

Not only can people in Banks not do simple maths, they often do not understand the words “has died” or “Probate” or even “I cannot apply for Probate until I have managed to arrive at an approximate value of the estate, and I cannot do that until you have given me the figures I need, please”.

Oh, I admit that when I first phoned I asked to speak with their “Bereavement Department”.
“What do you mean by Bereavement Department?”, came the question.
Ok, said I, do you have a Probate department.
Silence.
Then came the question “What do you mean by Probate?” which can be very difficult to answer, quietly and calmly when dealing also with a bereavement.

Once I had explained that XYZ had died on such and such a date and that I had already been into the branch and delivered the required Death Certificate for them to copy, stamp and send to Head Office, together with a letter written and signed by me, I was told that they had an “Estate Management Team”. I would suggest the word “Mis-management Team” might be more appropriate.

Then, I had to deal with: “You will need to bring us a copy of the Will”. To which I asked “Why do you need a copy of the Will?”
To which they said: “Without it, you will have a very long time to wait for the figures, won’t you”?

Once that was all sorted, and they realised they had to send the information to ‘someone’ and as that same ‘someone’ happened to be me, the person who had registered the death (as they could see from the Death Certificate that they already had seen and which had allowed them to ‘freeze’ the bank accounts), we tried to move forwards, and they did send details of the account balances at the date of death. But I knew those balances were not right, so went into the branch, again. An hour later, I left the branch, with the promise that paperwork would be with me within 7 to 10 working days. Branch person spent another age on the phone to HQ.

It arrived – still wrong. So, I phoned Head Office again. In spite of being able to answer every single ‘security question’ and having, still, the same address that they had on record, I was told: we cannot discuss this with you. You will have to write to us. But all I am asking is that you should look at what you have already sent me, to realise that it is wrong, and to send correct information. “It can’t be wrong”, I was told. I spent ages explaining how, where, why it was wrong.

Nope. Can’t be – shan’t put you through to speak to anyone – “They don’t speak to customers”, says person on phone. Then, I ask for her name – she gives me only her first name (because “we are not allowed to give out surnames”), the penny drops and she realises that she’s in the ... deepest of deep doo ... doo ... doo! I am allowed to speak with a Manager in the Estates Mis-Management department.

Three weeks later, problem solved. Correct paperwork arrives, with ‘sensible’ figures.

So, my question to Banks is: what do you do? And why do you do it to us?

.