Ever wonder why banks slug you with exorbitant fees? I’ll tell you why. It's to pay for the cost of their wastefulness caused by their mind boggling bureaucracy, incompetence and frankly, stupidity.
Following the recent death of my husband, I started the onerous task of cancelling bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license etc. As a result I’ve encountered some wonderfully sympathetic and caring people. Believe it or not, public servants being at the top of the list. I am eternally grateful to those people who have made my task as easy as they can.
But, then I came to the point of dealing with Westpac Bank. Simple task I thought. Cancel my late husband's Westpac Visa Card and his old cheque account (which he hasn’t used for years). I started with the card. I wrote a detailed letter to the bank. I explained the position and included a copy of a certified Death Certificate and the card statement. All they had to do was cancel the card and credit the annual renewal fee which had just hit the account. I had cancelled the only two direct debits that had been billed to the card. I requested confirmation on completion so I could update the Estate File. All very straight forward you would think.
About two weeks later, I received a letter advising me the card had been cancelled. I was also asked to clear the balance of $89.99 to avoid a late payment fee. What balance!! Yes, it was the annual fee of $90.00 minus a 1cent credit that was already on the account. Muttering my displeasure I decided to phone rather than write another letter. After an age hanging on the line I was connected to a human being.
So the nightmare begins.
I explained the story only to be told she couldn’t help. I needed to speak with someone in credit. I was transferred to credit. Wait for another 15 minutes. I explained the story again only to be told credit couldn’t help. I needed to speak to someone in Estates Management. I was transferred to Estates Management. Explained the story for a third time only to be told the person who took my call couldn’t process a credit as they were only helping out with calls. They didn’t have the authority. At this point I become very annoyed.
Deep breath start again.
I made it abundantly clear that the card holder was deceased. They could no longer use the card. The card had been cancelled so therefore the annual renewal fee should have also been cancelled. I mentioned I even made reference to that in my original letter!!! The young lady I was dealing with was very sympathetic and apologised for not being in a position to help me. She took my number and organised for someone to call me back.
About 30 minutes later a very helpful young lady did phone me back. Once again, I explained the situation. I was asked to send yet another Death Certificate. I faxed this as requested. I have since received a confirmation letter that the card has been cancelled and the balance is zero. Tick off the list file away.
To my total astonishment I received another letter from Westpac yesterday. This one included a covering letter along with six attachments (various forms and instructions) on what's required to manage my late husband's estate. What has really driven me over edge is this wording from the covering letter.
“To ensure we protect the accounts held solely on the name of (husbands name inserted here), we have today loaded a restriction status on these account(s) prohibiting any unauthorised withdrawals before the Estate is finalised.
After reviewing our records, we advise that (husbands name inserted here) held a Visa Card xxxx xxxx xxxx with us. This account has a credit balance of $0.01CR. This amount will be forwarded to you once the estate is finalised.”
I’m gobsmacked. Six attachment to receive $0.01 that I don’t want. For heavens sake it isn’t even legal tender apart from on electronic transactions. The seem to have completely missed the cheque account.
I haven’t attempted to cancel the cheque account. Given my experience with cancelling a simple credit card I can only imagine what I’ll have to go through to get this sorted. I am so thankful that neither my late husband nor myself managed our major banking through Westpac. Or had any other dealings with them.
Finalising an estate is stressful and emotional. It takes forever and is one endless round of form filling. Thankfully my solicitor has carried most of the burden. As for me, I’m fast losing the will to live dealing with Westpac.
