Page 51TSB: The bank that
said ‘NO’ to my frail
86-year-old mother
I took my 86-year-old mother to a tSB
branch to open an account because she
has been told she can no longer receive
her state pension via the Post office.
We took a birth certificate and several
documents, including home insurance,
showing her address.
She has mobility issues so making the
visit was not easy. My father had been a
customer of tSB for 50 years at the same
address so he also attended with his
passport to identify my mother.
the man we saw seemed to have
no further capabilities than inputting
my mother’s address and birth details
and then telling her that her ID
was insufficient.
I e x pl a i ne d t h at Mu m do e s not
drive and has not been abroad for years
so does not have a passpo rt. He
did not pick up the phone to
ask for advice nor exercise
any discretion.
I feel my mother is being
discriminated against because
of her age. She does not already
have a bank account.
Dr A. G., Liverpool.
I f u l ly a p p r e c i a t e y o u r
fr u s t r a t i o n. H e l p i n g e l d e r l y
relatives with mobility problems
is a task faced by many of
us in middle age. When things
do not go to plan it can be
exceedingly frustrating.
The problem appears to stem
from the fact that you were a
walk-in customer.
TSB says that if you had phoned
to make an appointment, it would
have provided you with a list of
acceptable documents, such as a
state pension letter. The list is
available on its website.
you are extremely unhappy
about the lack of flexibility or
help offered.
you tell me you don’t see ‘the
rational difference’ between a
letter from the Department for
Work and Pensions telling your
mum to get a bank account,
which has her address on it, and a
pension notification letter. She
had her birth certificate and was
sitting with her husband.
However, that’s not the way
banks operate now. While it may
seem absurd to you and me,
financial regulations force banks
to subject elderly people to the
type of scrutiny they would show
a suspected money-laundering
drug dealer. TSB says it has now
provided a list of acceptable ID.
Incidentally, the person you met
in the branch has been with TSB
for more than 30 years so has
plenty of experience in customer-
facing roles.
My WIfe was taken ill while
on holiday in Portugal last
May. I made a claim on our
N a t i o nw i d e b a n k a c c o u n t
travel insurance.
Initially I was told the claim
was being dealt with, but then
received a letter asking for more
information, which we had
already provided.
So we sent photocopies of
documents as we had already
p rov i d e d t h e o r i g i n a l s t o
Uk Insurance, the companywhich provides the cover for
Nationwide. I am still waiting to
be paid.
B. S., Essex.
you made the claim on June 10
last year and your wife sent all
the documentation, including
bills for medical treatment, to
uK Insurance. It lost or, to be
charitable, mislaid them.
It became aware of your claim
on July 26 after you have chased
it up. At that point, uK Insurance
asked for original receipts and
medical reports to confirm the
your wife’s illness. She sent pho-
tocopies because, as you say, she
had already sent the originals.
uK Insurance subsequently
found the originals but these
included some receipts from
before the incident which, I’m
told, confused the issue. Appar-
ently some were for further
medication which suggested an
infection or shortness of breath.
Nationwide and uK Insurance
accept they could have settled
the matter sooner. They will be
paying £470.51 to settle the claim
plus £200 compensation.
A Nationwide spokesman says:
‘We apologise for the delays.
While we didn’t have all the
information requested, she had
provided enough for us to make a
pragmatic decision.’Ask Tony
Money Mail’s
letters page tackles
all your financial
headachessTrAighT To
The poinT
MoneyMail 51
you hAve
your sAy
Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020^Here are some of your letters and
emails about our story last week
on how holidays booked onlinecan turn into a nightmare.
I Look on comparison sites for the best
deals, then I ring the hotel direct. I tell
them what I have found and then I ask
what they can offer me. Sometimes it can
be a cheaper deal as you don’t pay(^) booking fees.
L. L., London.
yoU get what you pay for. If you want to
have an ultra-cheap holiday, you may find
yourself in a dive with no on-site help. A
tour operator charges more, but one of its
reps is usually there to help.
J. S., Fort William.
I’ve been very impressed with one major
booking site mentioned in your article. I
also don’t think you should always blame
the site when something goes wrong. It
can only do so much, and then it is up to
the traveller to sort themselves out.
C. B., London.
÷ WRITE to Tony Hazell at Ask Tony, Money Mail,
Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT
or email [email protected] — please
include your daytime phone number, postal
address and a separate note addressed to the
offending organisation giving them permission to
talk to Tony Hazell. We regret we cannot reply to
individual letters. Please do not send original
documents as we cannot take responsibility for
them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by
the Daily Mail for answers given.
Illustration:
AND
y WARD
My PHoNe wasn’t connecting to my wi-fi.
When I called virgin Media, it transferred me
to its Gadget Rescue team. they fixed the
problem, but I ended up being charged £25.67
and was told I would have to make six further
£5 monthly payments. Why is virgin charging
me for basic customer service?
S. M., Manchester.
you were transferred to the Gadget Rescue
team because you said your mobile was with a
different provider. your broadband was with
Virgin Media, so you shouldn’t have had to pay
anything. Virgin has apologised, refunded you
the £25.67, cancelled the scheduled £5 payments
and added £25 as a goodwill gesture.
My HoLIDAy to Sri Lanka was cancelled last
year on account of the bombings. We tried to
claim the £10,980 back from our credit card
provider, Marks & Spencer, last month but we
were told we filled in the wrong forms.
B. H., by email.
M&S says it spoke to you in January to confirm
it would help you claim your money back using a
process called chargeback. This can take up to
60 days. A spokesman says it will contact you
to answer any questions you might have.
My WIfe returned £400 of unwanted jewellery
to Gemporia, the online jewellery retailer,
by post. When it arrived, Gemporia said
the package had been tampered with and the
jewellery was missing. I made a claim to Royal
Mail but it refused to cover our loss.
A. A., Wiltshire.
IT’S important to ensure valuable items are
covered in the post in case they are lost or stolen.
Royal Mail has looked at your case again but has
not offered a refund. use its Special Delivery
services for jewellery as this offers tracking and
compensation if things go wrong.