A friend of mine has just had an awful experience. Her Mum is very ill, and sensibly went to make a Will. Unfortunately she went to a high street bank.
Without explaining the situation, the bank put themselves as executors and trustees on the Will. The salesman didn't explain the likely costs.
My friend has just contacted the bank, and sought a quotation. The salesman refused to give details of costs of dealing with the estate. They said they were just a facilitator. They said they didn't know if VAT was included in the fees that they wouldn't disclose.
Eventually the salesman revealed that it would cost a % of the estate, plus a figure for each beneficiary, plus additional money for cash handling.
Apparently a bank needs to charge additional fees for handling money!
So in a typical estate, this would cost £4500! Solicitors would charge as little as £1000 - £1500 for this work.
How do the banks get away with this?
By consumer solicitor and Stephensons’ Partner Andrew Leakey
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