ESTATE LATE ACCOUNT HELD UP BY FNB DECEASED ESTATES

I am the appointed Executrix in an EState of a Family member who passed away last year.

Once I was appointed as the Executrix I attended to FNB to open the Estate Late Account. It was opened on 6 October 2022 after I personally went into the bank and submitted all the certified copies of all the necessary documentation to the bank. Once the Estate Late Account was opened, I asked FNB how long it would take for them to transfer the money from the deceased’s personal FNB account to the Deceased Estate Account. The banker confirmed 7-21 days.

I have sent Sonia numerous emails with no response whatsoever. This Estate is being delayed by FNB.

After a month, I went into the bank again only to be informed that FNB had changed its turn around time to up to 3 months.

In early January I called FNB again to follow up. The operator told me that I had not responded to an email on 25 November 2022 requesting me to provide FNB with a copy of my smart ID. (This despite me attending to FNB myself to open the Estate Late Account, wherein they accepted my ID book with no hassle. No mention was ever made that I would have to bring the smart ID. No further documentation was requested and the Estate Late Account was opened without any hassle.) I found this email in my spam, and responded immediately to the Fiduciary administrator.

Needless to say, I still have not received any further response in this regard from FNB. I have followed up with a total of approximately 10 emails to FNB, including emails to the Fiduciary Administrator and their team leaders. I contacted FNB Deceased Estates again on Friday and they confirmed, I have escalated this matter telephonically approximately 16 times?

This seems absolutely unacceptable. If there was a problem with the initial documentation they would never have opened the Late Estate Bank Account. All we need is for them to transfer the funds from the deceased personal bank account ( also FNB accounts) to the Estate Late Account.

FNB is holding this whole estate up and the heirs and beneficiaries are starting to get very unsettled.

I have tried on numerous occassions to call the fiduciary manager who’s name I have, and after many occassions of sitting on the line at the call centre for over 30 minutes, I was told she is busy and cannot talk to me. I was told on all occassions the matter would be escalated.

I have honestly tried everything in my capacity but litigation to get some sort of a response from FNB. The Master is awaiting the liquidation and distribution account and I cannot prepare this document without the final figures in the Estate Late Account.

I’m so disappointed to have to report this issue on a site like this, however it seems the proper channels I have followed for the last 4 months have proven to be inefficient to say the least.

I await an urgent response from FNB