friends Basic state pension - help?

[slick132]

Good to hear how this was resolved and thanks for the update.

[HP Mum]

It was a huge result for friend

He was struggling financially and had no idea he would be eligible, let alone be eligible for late wife's pension too.

He ended up in receipt of almost 30k in back-pay lump sum pension.  And now can make payments that he couldn't before.

In these tough times this was/ is amazing...

 

 

[slick132]

Hi HPM,

 

Wow, that's a great result.

 

Any Site Donation would be appreciated, thanks.

[HP Mum]

I have passed this on to friend!

 

The issue he has - now - is that dwp are paying into a savings account which is his only account.  His bank closed down his current account for some unknown reason a couple years ago. So now he's getting a pension but can't use it.  

I'm now trying to help.  He can't pay for anything until he has a reinstated current account.

Does anyone have any hints on how to pressure a bank to reinstate a current account?   He can't go into the bank as he's abroad.

[Ethel Street]

Remind us, is he a permanent UK reident with a UK address? I assume so.

 

Is the savings account with a bank that also does current accounts?

 

 

Why was his current a/c closed?

[honeybee13]

If your friend is permanently abroad, the DWP may be able to pay into an account where he is. I'm not sure which countries this applies to but I know people who are receiving their State pensions in euros.

 

The International Pension Centre should be able to help.

 

https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/ipc/personal-details

 

Which bank are we talking about in the UK btw?

 

HB

[HP Mum]

He has a savings account with Barc. 

He also pays mortgage to Barc.   This has been problematic w/o a current account and he is in arrears.   He needs a current account to be able to pay his mortgage regularly every month.

He would  not want the pension paid into an overseas bank.

 

He is unlikely to return to the UK for a long time due to age, health and lockdown.

He did have a current account.  Barc closed it ages ago - long before the brexit / expat closures.  

Is there a way to enforce Barc to reinstate his old current account w/o having to go into a branch?

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by HP Mum

[Ethel Street]

Did Barc say why they closed the current account?

 

Closed "ages ago". About how long ago?

 

Where's his pension being paid at the moment? 

 

Could he open an online current account with one of banks that only operates online? I don't know exactly how they work with ID proof but if they don't have branches they can't require new customers to go into a branch.

 

He has a UK address does he? I assume so as he has a mortgage. Is he on the electoral registe there? Does he have utility bills there in his own name as proof of address?

 

I can't see how Barclays could be forced to repen a current account they closed many years ago. 

[HP Mum]

Since posting above, I just went through all my old emails to friend and by luck found the letter from Barc, dated end 2015.

 

Friend had 3 accounts:

One account had a debit balance outstanding and Barc used the 'offset' rule to transfer funds from his current account to clear the balance.   

Barc then closed the account that had had the outstanding balance.

There should  have been a credit balance in his current account of several hundred pounds.

However, Barc decided to send this credit balance to his savings account instead. 

And Barc closed his current account.

They just did it.  They didn't correspond with friend at all.

 

So since end 15 he has just had a savings account.

 

It seems pretty counter-productive of Barc to do this - as it has meant he has had issues paying his Barc mortgage ever since!

He needs a current account to be able to pay the mortgage and other bills too.

DWP needed a UK bank account for payments - so his pension is paid into the savings account.  But obviously he needs access to his pension and thus far hasn't been able to access the funds.   Quite ridiculous!

 

I don't know anything about on-line banks.   I will do some research.

Yes he has UK addresses, bills in his name etc

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by HP Mum

[honeybee13]

This may be a silly question but is it possible to pay the mortgage from the savings account?

 

Also, is the mortgage with Barclays?

 

HB

[dx100uk]

not sure about barclays but lloyds and co-op and nationwide i know you can ...so odds on i'd say yes.

[HP Mum]

Friend had barely any funds in the savings account - until DWP started paying  pension into it.   

Now he has some funds he would like to be able to use them!

 

In terms of the savings account - he can not use it to make payments - but he can call and make a transfer to an account.  So on this basis he can now call to transfer some £s to the Barc mortgage account.  But this is not ideal.  Calls are expensive and he often gets cut off.

 

I have organised a pin sentry gadget, a card attached to the savings account and a pin and all these can now be sent to him so that he can access his savings account on-line and potentially - I assume - make transfers to his mortgage account.

But he cannot use the savings card to make purchases.  He needs a current account and a debit card & pin # for that.

 

Interestingly he also needs a UK mobile #.

But he can't buy a phone and pay for its monthly data plan until he has a current account to set up the direct debit.

Bit of a catch-22.

 

 

 

[honeybee13]

Can't he do internet banking?

 

HB

[HP Mum]

I have suggested this before.     He isn't very techy. 

he mentioned that Barc required a UK mobile # to be able to contact him for security. 

His UK landline is disconnected and - for some reason - Barc don't have that landline as his security # either     He has no idea what # they have on their records and they won't disclose it for security reasons.

He could change the # on his records if he could access online banking - but until he gets A card/ gadget he can't access Barc online banking.

I have organised pin sentry gadget/card/pin - but he doesn't want me to post in case they get lost or impounded in customs.   I am waiting for someone to literally collect in person/ take back to him.  And in lockdown I am guessing that may take a while!
 

I am sure there must be an easy path?? 

 

[honeybee13]

You seem to be in the original Catch 22, HP Mum. Maybe it will go better with a new online bank.

 

How long has this person been out of the UK?

 

HB

[HP Mum]

he has been out the uk for quite a while now due to ill health and business/ family reasons.  He has assets here that need a UK bank account for payment of bills etc.

I have suggested an online bank.  I suspect he may still need a card and a UK mobile # though?

I will keep plugging away and update when I have more news...