‘I closed a Co-op Financial institution account – but it would not send me the final 14p’
Geoff Crosthwaite, who has energy of lawyer for his mother-in-law, queried a 14p “commission” charge on her Co-operative Bank account, but failed to get any answers 
Photo: Christopher Jones
I have the registered lasting power of attorney authority for the property and monetary affairs of my mom-in-law. I get this function extremely seriously and a single of the requirements required is that I account for all monies to the last penny.
Due to her growing frailty, my mother-in-law is now a resident in a care home. She is self-funding and I need to transfer funds from her cost savings to cover the fees. To facilitate this I made the decision to shut her Co-operative Financial institution accounts and attended its branch five months ago. I was instructed to create to the bank to shut the accounts, did this and also asked for any interest remaining to be sent by cheque created payable to my mother-in-law.
In response I received statements of account but no indication of closure and no cheque. I mentioned that the statement for the account showed a payment of 14p “commission”. I queried this with the financial institution.
GC, Glos
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The greater stability was paid but there was nevertheless an problem in excess of this much smaller sized volume.
You had been suspicious of the phrase “commission” referring to 14p. This, the Co-operative Financial institution wrote to you following you pressed it, was described as “an inner term relating to a method-generated debit or credit on the account”. It explained the 14p was an interest payment in relation to the balance of the account and this need to have been forwarded.
You say this explanation doesn’t hold water. You asked that if it was saying the 14p should have been sent, the bank need to send it now. You desired suitable written confirmation that the account was closed. You are carrying out this administration free of charge and tying up this loose finish was proving time-consuming and frustrating.
There was no response to your request for a closing cheque of 14p right up until six weeks later on, when you had been asked to verify that you needed a cheque – in spite of the fact that you had presently accomplished so. Two later on letters weren’t replied to. You even wrote to a senior particular person mentioning that you would technique me if you hadn’t heard something in five weeks’ time. This person left a number of days after your letter and you never ever heard back. So, with the 14p even now proving elusive and your suspicions still not content, you wrote to me.
I established that the 14p did relate to accrued interest credited following the total balance had been withdrawn. An adjustment had to be made to carry the balance to nil, which is why it was proven as a debit, albeit with out it possessing been paid. Along with the silly semantics calling it “commission”, it is little wonder you queried what was going on. Ridiculously, the 14p had triggered this palaver since the financial institution had failed time and once again to issue it.
At last, but only with my involvement, this was carried out. Co-op Bank apologises for not responding to most of your requests. It has sent £50 in recognition of the inconvenience induced, which consists of the 14p. You have put £10 of this into your mother‑in-law’s account.
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