My dad FH passed away in July, and, since then, I have been trying to cancel his car insurance with Sainsbury’s Bank. I wrote to explain the situation, but it didn’t act on the letter or scan his interim death certificate.

When I managed to speak to someone, in mid-September, it promised to cancel the policy and contact the underwriter to see if a refund could be backdated. But, instead of cancelling, I received a new one with his name amended to include “executor of” in the middle.

But, not to worry, the covering letter, addressed to Mr Executor Of, was pleased to confirm there would be no additional cost. Apart from the name change, all the personal details of this new policyholder were identical to my late dad’s.

I still haven’t been able to cancel the policy. My dad’s premium was £1,920, so it is costing more than £5 a day, and we don’t even have the car any more

WP, Eastleigh, Hampshire

I am always stunned that no one – if it is still a person and not an AI bot – involved in this kind of administrative task stops to scan a letter and think: ‘Hang on a minute … That can’t be right.’

After I contacted Sainsbury’s Bank, it contacted you to “say how sorry we are for your experience during this difficult time … It fell short of the usual high standards that our customers rightly expect, and our careline team is fully reviewing the case to make sure it does not happen again.”

Your dad’s policy has finally been cancelled and you have been refunded £1,111. The company also gave you £200 compensation.

I am always sorry to receive letters such as this, as sorting out a deceased loved one’s financial affairs is hard enough in the first place. If a person who died was living in England, Scotland or Wales, most branches of the government can be notified through an online form called Tell Us Once, but, at a time when customer service appears to be at rock bottom, companies can be harder to penetrate.

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