NS&I Cashes £240,000 Cheque But Rejects Power of Attorney: A Troubling Experience
A concerned reader recently reached out to NS&I regarding the opening of Income Bonds on behalf of his 97-year-old father, who currently resides in a care home. The reader intended to invest the proceeds from the sale of his father’s house in NS&I Guaranteed Income Bonds in order to cover his care home fees.
Upon contacting NS&I, the reader was informed that an application form would be sent. The conversation also involved discussing the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) and the possibility of sending a copy of the document, duly signed and witnessed.
However, when a letter arrived a few days later, the promised forms were nowhere to be found. This necessitated an additional call to NS&I, where the reader was informed that the forms could be printed off from the website. The confusion persisted when it was discovered that the forms required a Power of Attorney document, which has replaced the EPA. This document needed to be signed on each page by a solicitor or the beneficiary. Unfortunately, due to his father’s age and visual impairment, he could only provide his signature and would be unable to fulfill the document’s precise wording requirements on multiple pages.
Reluctantly, the reader sent the original EPA document on July 24th, with a request for its prompt return. However, NS&I failed to acknowledge the receipt or progress of the application. When a follow-up call was made, NS&I informed the reader that they had not opened the application letter yet.
To add to this frustration, it was later discovered that NS&I had withdrawn £240,000 from the father’s bank account on July 26th – the day after receiving the application. When the helpline was contacted again, the reader was informed that NS&I couldn’t locate the application and the adviser had no information regarding the rejection of the Power of Attorney. Naturally, the reader sought external assistance to address this issue.
In order to clarify the situation, This Is Money contacted NS&I for an explanation regarding the application for Guaranteed Income Bonds. NS&I admitted that they had indeed sent a letter to the reader on July 27th, indicating an issue with the Power of Attorney. However, the letter failed to provide any details about the specific problem with the document. The reader made several calls to the NS&I call center but received conflicting information. It was revealed, upon further review, that a part of the Power of Attorney document was missing, which initially caused NS&I to reject it. After careful consideration, NS&I decided to accept the document with the reader acting as the attorney on his father’s behalf. NS&I could have been more transparent about the issue and the necessary steps to rectify it.
The reader expressed immense worry and distress, as he had never before been responsible for such a large sum of money and was concerned for his father’s financial well-being. The fact that NS&I cashed the £240,000 cheque while claiming that the application couldn’t proceed due to the issue with the EPA only added to the confusion.
As of the time of contact, NS&I had held the reader’s father’s money for three weeks, during which the reader expected it to be gaining interest. NS&I acknowledged their shortcomings in providing satisfactory service to the reader and issued an apology payment of £150. They have also backdated the investment in Guaranteed Income Bonds to July 27th, ensuring there is no loss of interest. The Income Bonds account has now been opened, and the sale will be backdated to the same date.
In conclusion, it is essential that financial institutions like NS&I provide clear and consistent information to their clients. Improved communication would have prevented unnecessary confusion and rectified the issue in a timely manner.
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