Bank paid out saver’s money to wrong family
July 3, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
A bank has faced major embarrassment after paying out the savings of a pensioner to another customer’s family – under the assumption that the customer was dead.
The pensioner, who had £3000 in savings with the Abbey, discovered when she visited the bank that her savings had been paid out and her account closed because her records stated that she was dead.
The 77 year old customer stated that she visited the bank after her statements stopped arriving in the post. She stated: ‘I took the matter up with my local branch in Telford and they asked me if my husband had perhaps closed it.
I replied it was unlikely because he passed away 25 years ago. The young lady serving me began typing away on her computer but all of a sudden looked puzzled and told me that according to their records, I was dead. She went a bit pale, either because she was embarrassed at such a mistake or she thought she was seeing a ghost.’
After investigating the bank discovered that a customer with a similar name and of the same age had died. However, in error the wrong account had been closed and the £3000 had been paid out to the family of the deceased customer. The customer has been told that she will be getting back her money along with some compensation.
She stated: ‘Abbey have told me they have reclaimed my savings and have pledged to give me some compensation as a result of all the fuss caused. But I’m 77 and a widow, so it doesn’t do my health any good when I’m told my £3,000 has disappeared because I’m dead. It has taken a lot of time, effort and money, what with phone bills and bus fares to Abbey and my local library to process all the paperwork.’
Tom Smith
3rd July 2007
Hips win vote
May 17, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) has survived a last-ditch postponement attempt following a vote in the House of Commons.
Hips are due to become a mandatory part of the home-selling process from June 1st but opposition MPs, as well as a number of industry figures, oppose the packs in their current form.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague, speaking during a debate in the Commons, described Hips as a “looming fiasco” and a “mistake”.
Tory Spokesman Michael Gove said that the introduction of Hips was “folly” and warned that the housing market will suffer as a result.
“They [Hips] will do nothing to take the strain out of home-buying and only add cost and complexity to the housing market,” he said.
“Ministers have botched this process from beginning to end. They have ploughed on regardless of the potential damage that they are doing to the housing market at an acutely delicate time.”
Hips are designed to reduce the number of home-selling transactions which collapse at the last minute, rid the process of gazumping and encourage homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient.
However, those who oppose their introduction say that they offer few benefits to consumers and, with each Hip costing between £400 and £600, add to the cost of selling a home.
Despite their victory in the House of Commons, by a majority of 72, Hips still face a potentially fatal vote in the House of Lords next week, as well as a legal challenge from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
