When a loved one dies, it should be a simple case of calling and informing the creditor of their passing and wrapping up the estate. Only it isn’t. Ask anyone who has recently been through a bereavement and is responsible for managing an estate and it will invariably involve a tale of woe and sometimes even anger with regard to the lack of empathy shown by a creditor and frustration in how the death notification process is managed.
This won’t be the case for every creditor. There are many who have embraced best practice and are enjoying the benefits it brings. They are well spoken of and respected. But those with the least amount of perceived empathy, and where dozens of phone calls have been required before an issue is resolved, will be the ones talked about negatively and those views socialised.
In the public sector, there is ‘Tell Us Once’ and it works. At least more often than not. But whereas there is general consensus that every bank, utility and subscription service provider should be mandated to have a specific death notification service, at present they can do what they want. Which means the customer experience can vary enormously from one organisation to the next.
So why are some private sector organisations apparently reluctant to see death notifications as a priority as regards customer service? It may simply be that since the customer is no longer a paying customer, then they need to focus on the living and not the dead. But I don’t believe that for a moment.
I think it’s more because it is perceived as yet another cost in a long list of actions that an organisation would like to take, if money were no object. I also think it’s because, quite understandably, firms are focusing their resources on urgent areas of compliance, where the penalty for not meeting their mandated obligations are significant.
There is another reason: technology. Any programme that involves any element of IT is often kicked into the long-grass or put onto the ‘too difficult’ pile because it suggests a high cost and an even higher level of organisational disruption.
But it doesn’t have to be the case.
A simple, digitally based death notification process needs to be neither complicated nor expensive. Today there are solutions available that require nothing more than a link on a website through to a platform that is effectively ‘self-serve.’ No ‘integration’ or complicated conversations with the IT team are required.
Such solutions add a level of enhanced customer service that offers maximum flexibility for the individual managing an estate, and minimum cost (and negligible disruption) to the provider.
Not only does it therefore remove the frustration that many customers experience in notifying a third party of a death but also enhances that third-party’s reputation and brand. Far from being seen as unsympathetic and uncaring, the opposite occurs. Their reputation is elevated, and they can be assured that they’re doing the right thing by their customers, past and present.
Phil Hickson is SVP, Global Partnerships at The Estate Registry
