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Dying man's fight for a kinder deal
By Stephen Womack
Last updated at 10:10 PM on 29th May 2010
Banks and insurers need new procedures to help them deal sensitively with customers who are terminally ill. This is the view of Sarah and Jeff Burnett who have drawn up a 'charter' (see below) for financial services based on their own painful experiences.
The call follows a General Medical Council warning to doctors to be more sensitive in respecting the wishes of terminally ill patients.
Jeff, 56, who has terminal prostate and bone cancer, has struggled to sort out his financial affairs.
Campaign: Jeff Burnett, with wife Sarah, has terminal prostate and bone cancer
He has been threatened with legal action and harangued by insurance claims handlers. Yet he and Sarah have also seen the best that financial services can offer, with some companies and staff willing to go the extra mile to help.
In many cases a terminal diagnosis comes only after a long period of illness, when someone has not been able to work and when their finances may already be under stress. But there are no industry protocols for handling customers with a terminal condition.
Brian Capon, spokesman for the British Bankers' Association, says: 'There is no specific guidance for dealing with a terminal illness. Where a bank is aware of a customer's specific circumstances, they should take these into account in dealings with them.'
Jeff was diagnosed with cancer in January 2009. Doctors said that his condition was terminal, with an average life expectancy of about 12 months.
But rather than being able to enjoy their remaining time together, Jeff and Sarah, 53, have been dogged with difficulties in sorting out his financial affairs.
More than a year on they were still trying to close a credit card account with Lloyds TSB and settle a business loan from the bank.
Sarah says: 'We originally had hopes of spending time away together, but we've had so many problems with the bank that this has not been possible. There has been a constant worry about what is hanging over us.'
Jeff and Sarah, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, have been married for 29 years and have two sons, Paul, 26, and Joe, 23. Jeff ran Clean-a-Car, a car valeting business in Eastbourne.
When he told Lloyds TSB about his illness in January 2009, he was given a verbal assurance that his Lloyds credit card would be frozen for two months while he sold his business premises, releasing money to pay off the card debt.
Yet despite paying the bank more than £9,800 in March and April last year to clear the original debt, the couple were still unable to close the account.
The bank added extra charges for interest and late payment and £750 was still outstanding at the start of this month.
Lloyds has also been chasing Jeff over payments on a business loan. He took out payment protection insurance (PPI) cover with the bank to guarantee the loan and when he was diagnosed with cancer he submitted a claim to cover the monthly premiums of £191.
His claim was agreed last May, but insurer Aviva has been demanding regular proof Jeff has not made a miracle recovery. Identical-letters are received each month, saying that Aviva is 'sorry that you have not yet fully recovered'.
If there are any delays from Jeff's GP in returning paperwork, the insurance payments are not received. This pushes his account at Lloyds, which services the loan, back into the red, triggering more penalty fees.
The final straw was a letter last month from a law firm, threatening the couple with legal action if the credit card debt was not settled within 14 days.
It prompted Sarah and Jeff to complain to Lloyds TSB chief executive Eric Daniels and to ask Financial Mail to intervene on their behalf.
Lloyds admits it has bungled in its administration of their case. The bank says: 'We are sorry for the way we have handled Mr Burnett's case since he notified us of his illness. We have not handled his situation as we should have done.'
The bank says it has now cleared the credit card debt and the outstanding sum on the business loan account. It has also offered the Burnetts £250 compensation.
Aviva has also apologised for its handling of the case, which it blames on an error in the way the claim was entered in the company's systems.
'We should not have requested monthly medical certificates after we were given certification that Mr Burnett was suffering from a terminal illness,' it says. 'Aviva would like to take this opportunity to apologise.'
Future loan repayments will now be met automatically and Lloyds will properly monitor the account. Aviva has also sent Sarah and Jeff a hamper to apologise for the distress it caused them.
By Stephen Womack
Last updated at 10:10 PM on 29th May 2010
Banks and insurers need new procedures to help them deal sensitively with customers who are terminally ill. This is the view of Sarah and Jeff Burnett who have drawn up a 'charter' (see below) for financial services based on their own painful experiences.
The call follows a General Medical Council warning to doctors to be more sensitive in respecting the wishes of terminally ill patients.
Jeff, 56, who has terminal prostate and bone cancer, has struggled to sort out his financial affairs.
Campaign: Jeff Burnett, with wife Sarah, has terminal prostate and bone cancerHe has been threatened with legal action and harangued by insurance claims handlers. Yet he and Sarah have also seen the best that financial services can offer, with some companies and staff willing to go the extra mile to help.
In many cases a terminal diagnosis comes only after a long period of illness, when someone has not been able to work and when their finances may already be under stress. But there are no industry protocols for handling customers with a terminal condition.
Brian Capon, spokesman for the British Bankers' Association, says: 'There is no specific guidance for dealing with a terminal illness. Where a bank is aware of a customer's specific circumstances, they should take these into account in dealings with them.'
Jeff was diagnosed with cancer in January 2009. Doctors said that his condition was terminal, with an average life expectancy of about 12 months.
But rather than being able to enjoy their remaining time together, Jeff and Sarah, 53, have been dogged with difficulties in sorting out his financial affairs.
More than a year on they were still trying to close a credit card account with Lloyds TSB and settle a business loan from the bank.
Sarah says: 'We originally had hopes of spending time away together, but we've had so many problems with the bank that this has not been possible. There has been a constant worry about what is hanging over us.'
Jeff and Sarah, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, have been married for 29 years and have two sons, Paul, 26, and Joe, 23. Jeff ran Clean-a-Car, a car valeting business in Eastbourne.
When he told Lloyds TSB about his illness in January 2009, he was given a verbal assurance that his Lloyds credit card would be frozen for two months while he sold his business premises, releasing money to pay off the card debt.
Yet despite paying the bank more than £9,800 in March and April last year to clear the original debt, the couple were still unable to close the account.
The bank added extra charges for interest and late payment and £750 was still outstanding at the start of this month.
Lloyds has also been chasing Jeff over payments on a business loan. He took out payment protection insurance (PPI) cover with the bank to guarantee the loan and when he was diagnosed with cancer he submitted a claim to cover the monthly premiums of £191.
His claim was agreed last May, but insurer Aviva has been demanding regular proof Jeff has not made a miracle recovery. Identical-letters are received each month, saying that Aviva is 'sorry that you have not yet fully recovered'.
If there are any delays from Jeff's GP in returning paperwork, the insurance payments are not received. This pushes his account at Lloyds, which services the loan, back into the red, triggering more penalty fees.
The final straw was a letter last month from a law firm, threatening the couple with legal action if the credit card debt was not settled within 14 days.
It prompted Sarah and Jeff to complain to Lloyds TSB chief executive Eric Daniels and to ask Financial Mail to intervene on their behalf.
Lloyds admits it has bungled in its administration of their case. The bank says: 'We are sorry for the way we have handled Mr Burnett's case since he notified us of his illness. We have not handled his situation as we should have done.'
The bank says it has now cleared the credit card debt and the outstanding sum on the business loan account. It has also offered the Burnetts £250 compensation.
Aviva has also apologised for its handling of the case, which it blames on an error in the way the claim was entered in the company's systems.
'We should not have requested monthly medical certificates after we were given certification that Mr Burnett was suffering from a terminal illness,' it says. 'Aviva would like to take this opportunity to apologise.'
Future loan repayments will now be met automatically and Lloyds will properly monitor the account. Aviva has also sent Sarah and Jeff a hamper to apologise for the distress it caused them.
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