Today I stayed at home to sort out the final bits and bobs. Going through the bags from the Hospice, and then off to the bank to close the joint account. A pretty heavy day, except for what happened at the Lloyds TSB branch we had our account at. Now, having had so much trouble with everything else, on account that there was no will, it was refreshing to be treated like a human being, "You are her partner, Mr Bell, after all".
Shame that the same courteous and polite manner couldn't have been extended from Barclays:
Dear Mr BellJ A Page Deceased
Please find enclosed a cheque, made payable to you being the closing balance(s) of the account(s).
A closing statement will be sent under seperate cover, which you can expect to receive within the next 10 days.
If you need to contact us regarding this letter or require any further information please telephone us on the above number.
Yours sincerely
So, despite all those nice adverts and caring image, they can't extend themselves to a simple, "We're sorry to hear..." or, "Accept our deepest condolences...", you know, a caring thought wouldn't have gone amiss. I mean, even British Gas managed to say how sorry they were at the news!
So, I'm writing back, advising them that I'll never have a good word to say about Barclays after this, and maybe they might rethink their deceased customer policy. I've found a couple of friends who have accounts with Barclays, so that's 2 more customers Barclays have lost. As for the Lloyds TSB, I walked out of the branch feeling much better than when I walked in. I was even considering moving banks, but I'll rethink after this.
