Richard's Good News Story of the Week concerns sorting out a bill following a bereavement.
"Mrs A from Laindon reached out to me recently for some help following the sad passing of her sister a few months ago.
To deal with her sister’s financial affairs, Mrs A and her brother went to the house to start the process. Mrs A’s sister lived in a Council-owned property so naturally they knew where to start with winding up the tenancy.
Despite numerous attempts to find out a timeline from the Council, Mrs A and her brother were still no closer to knowing when the Council wanted the tenancy to conclude and when to pass the keys back. This makes it especially difficult as there’s a lot of things to worry about following someone’s passing, so extra unnecessary stress is clearly not helpful.
After some time had passed, the Council sent a letter instead to the property requesting the keys returned a week later – on the day of the funeral. Fortunately, after a phonecall, the Council agreed to extend by a day so Mrs A could return the keys after the funeral had happened.
Then, nearly three months later, Mrs A’s brother received a letter from the Council requesting rent to be paid on a property his late sister no longer lived in. This was strange because they’d done everything by the book and on top of that, Mrs A was her sister’s executor, not their brother.
Mrs A called the Council to explain the situation and hit an immediate brick wall with the Council not having the correct information, so they would not speak with Mrs A. Mrs A called again and was told her case is urgent and someone will be in touch.
Sadly, that did not happen. So Mrs A decided to contact me for some help and assistance. Losing a loved one is a traumatic time, and having to deal with a situation like this just adds extra pressure onto the family.
I contacted the Council and within a day, they contacted Mrs A to resolve the situation. It was clear that the account needed correcting, clearing and any debt to be wiped as it was accrued incorrectly. Naturally, Mrs A was very grateful as if it hadn’t been sorted it could have even delayed probate and caused further problems.
I hope now the family are at peace following the passing of Mrs A’s sister. Mistakes do happen, it’s only human nature, but I expect the Council to review this situation and to learn from this. It’s unacceptable and should not happen, especially at such a difficult time.
If you or a loved one is facing a similar situation, or something is just not right or perhaps stuck in the system and needs a nudge, then please let me know. My team and I are here to help, and whilst we don’t win them all, we certainly give it our all. Drop me a message through my website and I’ll be in touch: https://www.richardholden.org.uk/contact."
