Bank cuts couple off after declaring both dead
A MIDLAND couple were stunned after their own bank declared both of them dead.
Ben Gibson, 63, was rather shocked to be told by staff his wife Gill, 65, had died when he called about a card problem.
He then returned home later that month to find Mrs Gibson looking at letters of condolence... for his own death.
Mr Gibson, a caterer, from Stratfordupon-Avon, said: “The guy on the phone said, ‘Excuse me sir, but your wife has deceased’.
“I said, no she’s in the front room, do you want to speak to her?
“I’m furious about it. I dread to think how much time I’ve spent on this. We’ve had to rebuild our entire financial life and that’s not easy.”
Mrs Gibson, a teaching assistant, went to the bank on August 15 to replace her card after it didn’t work when she was shopping.
Mr Gibson’s own card also stopped working just a week later, so he ordered a replacement. But, while his arrived after a few days, his wife’s still hadn’t appeared. He then called the bank to be told his wife had passed away.
Despite staff chatting with Mrs Gibson and agreeing she was alive, the account remained frozen and the grandparents were forced to to go through a bank bereavement team before they could get at their cash.
More problems then followed when Mr Gibson returned home to find his wife looking over letters on September 24.
The post, addressed to the executors of Mr Gibson’s estate from the DVLA and his car insurers, explained the bank had stopped payments to them... because he was dead.
The couple have since had to reopen numerous accounts. The bank explained to him that an external agency had declared Mrs Gibson dead, but no reasons were offered for his own apparent demise, he said.
Mrs Gibson added: “This whole thing has been a total nightmare. I would like to know who can inflict this on anyone – my mental health is in tatters.”
The couple were paid £500 compensation by Halifax, part of the Lloyds Banking Group.
A spokesman said: “We’re really sorry for the upsetting experience Mr and Mrs Gibson had and we are urgently investigating how this happened. We have removed the block from their account and made a payment in recognition of their experience.”