Exposed: Banks that prey on the bereaved

Bereaved families are being preyed upon by banks and unregulated probate firms which charge thousands of pounds to execute the estate of their loved ones.

Money Mail and consumer group Which? have separately investigated the often-murky world of will-writing and probate services - the legal process of handling the affairs of the deceased.

They found shocking evidence of:

- High street banks charging almost twice as much as solicitors for probate services
- Grieving relatives subjected to 'hard-sell' tactics
- Banks automatically appointing themselves as executors of wills
- Unregulated firms left free to give poor advice
- Bereaved families prevented from shopping around for better deals.

Executing or administering the estates of the deceased is a lucrative business for banks, solicitors and specialist probate and will-writing firms, with estimates saying it is worth more than half a billion pounds a year. When someone dies, executors must deal with the financial details such as the sale of assets, paying bills and distribution of the estate among the beneficiaries.

Families can often do this themselves, with the whole process costing no more than a few hundred pounds. But banks are exploiting the fears of customers and appointing themselves as executors.

Consumer group Which? sent eight undercover researchers to make 42 visits or calls to solicitors, specialist will-writers and banks around the UK posing as divorcees wanting to write a Will. They found that banks will charge on average £10,830 for executing a typical £270,000 estate - around double the £4,759 charged by will-writers and £5,199 by solicitors.

Barclays is the most expensive of the High Street giants, with an average charge of £13,395.

From the Daily Mail on 16 June 2010.