George Monbiot’s awful treatment by Vodafone when dealing with “sadmin” after his mother’s death is sadly all too common ((The ‘sadmin’ after my mother’s death was hard enough – then I encountered Vodafone, 28 July). At Cruse Bereavement Support, bereaved people regularly tell us of multiple phone calls, inconsiderate staff and poor processes when they are dealing with banks, utilities or tech companies.
The problem goes beyond any one company, so we have tried to engage with the government and industry regulators, only to be told last year that “regulators have not identified this area as one with significant concerns” and that “we do not currently think that cross-regulator action is required in relation to death notification administration”.
This is not good enough. Without intervention from the regulators, more bereaved people will have to put up with poor treatment. We call on regulators to work with industry, charities and bereaved people to agree common standards and processes to ensure that all bereaved people receive empathetic help when dealing with their loved one’s financial affairs.
Steven Wibberley
Chief executive, Cruse Bereavement Support
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
