This is not going to be another whinge, but it's been a strange year. I have reached the point where reaction to new developments consists of taking careful notes and shaking my head from time to time.
The basic story is that my mother died at the end of last year, it took 5 months for the Sheriff Court to approve and "Confirm" her (unusually straightforward) will, and at present it has taken NS&I a further 6 months (and counting) to actually pay anything out. There is no point getting worked up about any of this - no doubt everyone is very busy, and it will be settled as soon as they can manage [my head is shaking slowly]. I live in a state of Considered Limbo - I am not going to fret on any given day, but if a letter from NS&I were to arrive I should be interested.
In July I received a letter I wasn't expecting. NS&I had unearthed another Savings Account that I had never heard of, so I had to complete a new form, and they would start work on this new complication. Righto - I was confident the extra account would be worthless, but I was interested - what on earth was it?
Well, I worked out what it was. My sister was mentally handicapped, and received Incapacity Benefit (or whatever it was called) - long ago my mother used to take her to the local Post Office on a Monday, and cash was paid out. At some point this arrangement stopped. Benefits would now be paid by transfer into a bank account. Legally, my sister did not have capacity to own anything, so my mum set up a National Savings Ordinary Account in her own name, and from then on the visits to the Post Office stopped and it was all done by internet banking. These savings accounts were closed in 2004 and, whatever the replacement arrangements were, my sister passed away in 2013. Since I never heard of this extra account previously, I have assumed that my mother would have cleared it years ago.
Anyway, I've been waiting for a letter about it - I mean, you never know...
Well, yesterday I received two new envelopes from NS&I. You might describe my state as "calm but interested". One envelope was a letter giving details of this closed account, the other was a cheque payable to me for the princely sum of £4.34.
Fine - this is actually better than I expected, but I now have to come up with a scheme for paying in the cheque - preferably a scheme which does not cost me more than £4.34. Since the received wisdom is that such news comes in 3s, perhaps there may be another letter soon about the rest of the estate.
Probably not, I hear you say, so I shall shrug and return to my background vigil, head shaking a little. We are lucky to be so well looked after. Nothing to see here.
Riches beyond belief. I love that the financial institutions, who have tried their best to get rid of cheques, still use them to repay money to people. Any cost will fall on the individual (such as travelling somewhere to pay it in). It's almost as if they don't want to give you any money.........
ReplyDeleteNeil
There is some odd stuff going on - one thing that causes some disgruntlement is when people who should know what they are doing (banks, solicitors) require me to prove my identity by supplying them with a recent typed communication or bill or Council rent book - I don't know about you, but it is some years since anyone sent me a typed bill - my entire world runs by email and direct debit. I just send them my Boer War Victory Medal. That seems to work.
DeleteFunny you should mention this. We had an old Halifax savings account, just pennies left in it. Following a particularly traumatic bereavement, we had cash following the funeral that needed to be paid in somewhere safe and separate from current accounts.
DeleteWhen I attempted to pay in to said account ( "I have this account, I know we haven't used it in a while") I was asked for a passport or driver's licence. I said I had neither but did have photographic ID from a major Government department identifying me as an officer of said organisation. "Oh! I'll check"said the very young girl - after asking someone "no" only a passport or driver's licence (after all it's not like you can easily get false versions of those is it?). "But" I said "I only want to pay in, not take out". "No sorry, without a passport."..etc
At this point I snapped. I was so angry and stormed out saying "it doesn't matter".....with the young girl unable to realise why I was upset.
Went to my bank, explained and they opened a savings account there and then with just my cards and ID I had. The chap apologised the interest rate wasn't very high.
Halifax later wrote saying they intended to close the account and the remaining balance would just be absorbed as it was too little to repay......
As a consequence, they lost our mortgage and now seem to have been taken over by Lloyds. I'm sure it's not connected but I like to think, like Spike Milligan, I was part of their downfall.... although part of me wishes I'd demanded they return the 97p! ☺☺☺
I remember the days, in another century, when every second shop in Edinburgh was yet another Halifax branch. This was before they all became phone shops and tattoo parlours. The charade of "security" in banks is hilarious. I once phoned in to ask Bank of Scotland if there was something wrong with their website, because I was trying to carry out some business on it and nothing was working. Lady on the phone wanted my telephone banking security number - I said I didn't have one, because I didn't use telephone banking - I used the online services. In that case I could not ask any questions about the service. But - but - I wasn't asking about a particular account, I just wanted general information. No good. Our main priority is to guarantee the security of of our customers. All the best with that, then.
DeleteA wry smile. Sorry to hear that these affairs are still continuing Tony. Every few weeks I read something bad about NS&I. In my case I was told to put in a claim in writing and then received a letter that claims in writing would not be considered. I believe we just have to take a few deep breaths and hope things sort out. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim - no - NS&I are fine chaps = I actually have the cheque on my desk as I type this. There seems to be some doubt whether the Post Office or Bank of Scotland's new Banking Hub in the village (the one that used to be Talking Dave's bicycle shop) will allow me to bank a cheque or not. BoS reckon they don't do this, which sounds authoritative, but I'm not so sure.
DeleteYou know you're being toyed with! If you pass you will get a reward. Surely?!
DeleteBy the way, was there a Non-talking Dave?
Hope that plan works. If not, you might consider whether your bank has a facility for paying in cheques by photographing them with a smartphone. My wife has succeeded at this with a stray cheque that turned up (although I should say that an earlier attempt a couple of years ago when the 'app' was first introduced was a fiasco).
DeleteChris - since NS&I is actually owned by HM Govt, I assume my money will sit somewhere in the dark until it forms part of my own estate. If you can't access it yourself, that's certainly pretty safe. Talking Dave's shop was famous - in my cycling days, I have been known to spend 2 hours at a time in general banter with the other customers. Dave should have served drinks.
DeletePsalamanazar - I'm sure I'll find some way of doing it. If necessary, I'll keep the cheque somewhere in my papers as a souvenir. An additional Luddite problem I have is that I do not allow any banking or payment function on my phone - I spent some years involved with internet security at a finance house, and I know how much of the world's genius has been invested in breaking the systems.
DeleteIt's surprising how many government agencies like to pay by cheque but will only take your money electronically.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm afraid patience is the only solution if you're not to tear all your hair out.
Tearing out all of my hair is less of a challenge than it used to be. Just finding an actual physical bank around here is a long shot. There used to be a branches of BoS and RBS in Haddington, but I'm sure they're gone now. They had ATMs too - you have to go to classy places like the Co-op and Tesco's to get your hands on cash now.
DeleteFor my £4.34 worth (two pennies, adjusted for inflation), I think you should open a National Savings account and pay the cheque into that....😊
ReplyDeleteI may get to that.
Delete"Cheque book says no".
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. The whole idea of a customer having to prove decency and good standing to a bank is pretty funny now?
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