Letting us know about a bereavement

Letting us know about a bereavement

Losing someone is hard enough. This guide walks you through how to notify us, so we can take care of the account and give you one less thing to worry about.

We're here to help

We understand this is a difficult time and we're here to support you every step of the way. Please don't worry if you don't have everything to hand straight away, we'll work with you at your own pace and answer any questions you may have.

Step 1 — Registering the death

If you haven't already done so, you'll need to register the death within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and within 8 days in Scotland. You can do this at any register office, just bring the medical certificate signed by a doctor, and if possible, proof of the deceased's address and identification.

You can find more information at gov.uk/when-someone-dies. This also includes details of the government's Tell Us Once service, which lets you report a death once and have that information passed securely to multiple government departments.

The Death Notification Service is a free service that allows you to notify a number of banks, building societies and other organisations at the same time. You can find out more at deathnotificationservice.co.uk.

Step 2 — Let us know

Once you're ready, please get in touch to notify us of the bereavement. You can do this by:

As soon as we hear from you, we will stop all messages and communications to the account straight away. You have enough to deal with, we don't want correspondence adding to that.

Step 3 — What we'll need from you

To allow us to update the account, we'll need the following:

Please don't worry if probate hasn't been granted yet or if there is no will, just send us what you have and we'll guide you through the rest.

You can send these to us by:

What if I don't have a death certificate yet?

We understand it's not always possible to provide one straight away. In that case, we can accept a Coroner's Fact of Death or Interim Certificate.

What happens next

Once we've received the documents, we'll review everything and be in touch with the next steps. We'll handle as much as we can on our end and make the process as straightforward as possible for you.

You're not alone

If you need anything at all, we're here.

If you have it to hand, please include the loan account number when you get in touch.