What happens when we are notified about the death of a customer?

Sole Budgetcard, Chargecard and Personal Reserve
 

When we receive notification of your loss we will freeze the balance and calculate a settlement figure from the date of death.

Joint Budgetcard
 

When we have formal confirmation of your loss, we will automatically transfer the account into the sole name of the surviving person. The account number won't need to be changed. We can delay this transfer to reduce any distress if you prefer, please let us know if this is your wish.

Any debit balance held on an M&S card or Personal Reserve will normally be paid from the estate.

All cards, including those held by additional card holders will be cancelled on notification of our customer passing away. If you need to discuss this, please don’t hesitate to contact our bereavement support team who will be happy to talk this through with you. We will also freeze interest.

If an additional cardholder wishes to apply for a credit card in their own name, we'll be happy to help guide them through the process.

Any debit balance held on an M&S card will normally be paid from the estate.

When we have formal confirmation of your loss we will cancel any active M&S Club Rewards policy. If travel insurance was held as part of the policy anyone else covered on the policy will need to arrange a new M&S Travel Insurance policy or one with another provider.

When we have formal confirmation of your loss we will freeze the loan and calculate a settlement figure from the date of death. If the person who passed away held M&S Payment Protection Insurance on the loan we will arrange for a claim to be submitted. If the deceased held M&S Payment Protection Insurance in their name, we will arrange for a claim to be submitted.

Any debit balance held on a loan account will normally be paid from the estate.

Any accrued loyalty points up to the date of death can be transferred, upon request, to another M&S account.

Any existing loyalty vouchers can still be redeemed before their expiry date.

If the person who passed away had M&S Insurance products, we will make the necessary arrangements to contact our insurance partners to advise them of your loss on your behalf. You will then be contacted directly by our insurance partner(s), who will discuss the next steps with you. They will manage any closures, changes and refunds, where required. You may be asked to clarify insurance policy numbers and further details in some instances.

Home insurance
 

If a home insurance policy has been in place in joint names, there will be an option to transfer the policy to the sole policy holder, if you wish to do so.

Car insurance
 

If the deceased was a named driver on a car insurance policy, the deceased's name can simply be removed from the policy. Where the deceased was the main policy holder, the policy will be cancelled and the new owner of the vehicle will need to take out insurance in their own name. Any named driver on the deceased's policy will no longer be insured to drive the vehicle.

Pet insurance
 

Pet insurance policies can be transferred to the joint policy holder's name. Where it has been in a sole name the policy will be cancelled and no further payments will be collected.

Travel insurance
 

Travel insurance policies can be transferred to the joint policy holder's name. Where it has been in a sole name the policy will be cancelled and no further payments will be collected.

When we have formal confirmation of your loss we will confirm details of the savings and investments held in the account(s) (holdings) and your available options. Once we have received the necessary paperwork and completed any identity verification checks we will be able to close the account(s).

Unit trust non-ISA (joint holding)
 

We will transfer the joint unit trust holding(s) to the surviving account holder(s). If a third party requests a value of the holding(s) as at the date of death, we will require the surviving account holder(s) permission.

Unit trust non-ISA (options)

• Transfer the units to a unit trust non-ISA in the name of one or more beneficiaries
• Sell the units and reinvest the proceeds into an ISA using a personal ISA allowance
• Sell the units and have the proceeds paid to the executor(s), beneficiary/beneficiaries or a solicitor

Unit trust stocks and shares ISA (options)
 

Transfer the units to a unit trust non-ISA in the name of one or more beneficiaries. Sell the units and reinvest the proceeds into an ISA using:

• An Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allowance
• A personal ISA allowance (The ISA itself cannot be transferred to another person's name.)
• Sell the units and have the proceeds paid to the executor(s), beneficiary/beneficiaries or a solicitor

Cash ISAs and Fixed Rate Savings

• Close the account(s) and reinvest the proceeds into an ISA using:
      An Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allowance
      A personal ISA allowance (The ISA itself cannot be transferred to another person’s name.)     
• Close the account(s) and have the proceeds paid to the executor(s), beneficiary/beneficiaries or a solicitor

Interest will accrue daily and be credited to the account annually.

If the Fixed Rate Savings option remains open on the maturity date, the funds will roll into another Fixed Rate Savings option for the same term. For a Fixed Rate Savings Cash ISA option, the funds will roll into a variable rate ISA. The early withdrawal charge will be waived when the Fixed Rate Savings option is closed.

Additional permitted subscription (APS)
 

From 6 April 2015 the surviving spouse/civil partner of an ISA account holder can claim an additional allowance, equal to the accumulated value of the ISA at the date of death. This is known as an 'Additional Permitted Subscription' (APS) and is only available to a spouse/civil partner of an ISA account holder who died on or after 3 December 2014. The APS allowance will not affect the spouse/civil partner's annual ISA allowance. The spouse/civil partner can transfer the APS allowance to another provider, but only once.

Before we can provide the spouse/civil partner with a calculation of the APS allowance, the death must be registered.

Everyday Savings Account
 

When we have formal confirmation of your loss we will freeze the account(s) and no withdrawals will be permitted. Once we have received the necessary documentation and completed any identity verification checks we can release the funds held within the M&S Bank savings product(s).

Interest will continue to accrue until the funds are released.

Interest payments
 

From 6 April 2016 interest will be paid gross on savings accounts; this means we will no longer automatically deduct 20% tax. As tax may still be owed, please contact HMRC for further information.