Virgin Money lacked empathy over my wife’s sudden death
My wife died suddenly of a heart attack three months ago. I was unaware she had a Virgin Money credit card until a statement arrived the following month. I immediately wrote to the bank with a copy of her death certificate and asked it to freeze all transactions and provide a final settlement figure.
After receiving no response, I phoned and, after negotiating layers of complex interactive voice recognition processes and a lengthy wait, I eventually got through to the bereavement team.
It confirmed the account had been frozen and gave me an email address to send another copy of the death certificate.
Subsequently, I received a further statement and a letter from Virgin Money, saying my wife was now two months in arrears and interest and a default charge had been applied.
I emailed the bereavement service on the address I’d been given, only to get an auto-response that the mailbox is no longer monitored and to use a web form to notify the bank of a bereavement.
Last month, I was sent a letter asking me to send the death certificate and proof I’m an executor, which I had already done twice. The lack of empathy on helping me settle my late wife’s estate is now causing me great distress.
RD, Crossford, Fife
The pain of having to battle an immutable corporation after such a loss is unimaginable, and Virgin Money’s incompetence is concerning.
Two days after I weighed in, you were told that the erroneous charges had been removed and were informed of the balance. The bank acknowledged that, due to a series of errors, your original letter notifying it of your wife’s death had not been actioned, then the bereavement team failed to refund the erroneous charges and update the account status when you rang.
It also admitted that its
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