Absolutely no customer service at all!
Trying to activate a Power of Attorney for an elderly relative has been an absolute nightmare. Caught abroad in the Covid-19 problems I asked for the Society to use the Office of the Public Guardian site to verify that I do indeed have a Power of Attorney in place and should therefore be able to access money for care Home fees etc. They were unwilling to do this. The OPG tell me that an email marked urgent would guarantee a response in 48 hours but they, Kent Reliance, seem unable or unwilling to do anything to help. They cannot even tell me whether they have actually asked for this information!
I will be flying into the UK to deal with this matter in person but apparently I cannot make an appointment at any branch, or the Head Office to see anyone to ensure that my relatives money can be released. I was told that "there are no appointments and branches are only open for essential business, like for people needing to get cash". Clearly moving money out of an investment account to a bank so that Care Home fees can be paid is not essential!
This situation is now causing enormous stress. They have admitted that they have registered a complaint and told me their Complaints team would be in touch within three working days. This is now eight working days ago and despite repeated phone calls I have heard absolutely nothing from them. I really have no idea how to get a response from them that means anything. Repeated assurances that the Complaints team will be in touch mean nothing and because a complaint has been raised no-one else will deal with this.
I can no longer see any alternative than to refer the matter to the relevant Ombudsman.
Reviewed on: 15th July 2020
