Poor customer service
This review relates to Killik’s Tax & Trustee Services division.
My late father-in-law had appointed Killik as one of three executors to his estate. When he died in early 2022 I took on the role of liaison with Killik.
We (the family) dealt with the sale of the house, the contents, utilities, property maintenance and security, insurances, etc. Killik dealt with the finances, taxes, probate and administration of the estate.
What followed was two years of delays, errors and poor customer service. Examples:
• A month after my father-in-law’s death, neither of his pension providers had received notification from Killik. One pension payment then had to be refunded
• The probate was submitted later than expected. I identified two errors in the draft application, which Killik had to correct before submission
• Several months later I received an email from our Killik advisor referring to the two beneficiaries of the estate. He had not realised, because he had not properly read the (3 page) will, that there were actually seven beneficiaries
• The same email referred by name to another client. Information had been copied and pasted without removing his name
• Killik failed to submit my father-in-law’s income tax return on time, resulting in a £100 fine from HMRC (later waived). Killik’s explanation was that they had ‘serious resource issues’ and so decided to delay work on this, in the belief that HMRC are inclined to be more lenient with deceased estates. They admitted to me that ‘this may not seem ideal’
• Most seriously, Killik sent several letters containing highly confidential information, including the estate accounts, to beneficiaries at the wrong addresses. Compounding this error, the letters were sent by first-class post rather than special delivery. The beneficiaries had to try to retrieve the letters, but one letter is still unaccounted for.
Throughout this saga Killik continually failed to keep us advised of progress. I frequently had to call or email to find out what was going on. In the first three months (spring 2022), for example, I called Killik more than 20 times, sometimes with no answer. During that period they called me twice.
I took these complaints up with Killik’s Tax & Trustee Services Director earlier this year, when the process was finally complete. She apologised for the fiasco with the letters, but dismissed everything else as of no consequence. She concluded that their Advisor ‘hasn’t acted unprofessionally or inefficiently’. I beg to differ.
If Killik had had the courtesy (and, frankly, the common sense) to apologise properly I would have let the matter drop. But they didn’t – hence this review.
I would certainly not use Killik Tax & Trustee Services again.
PS: In contrast to the above, during this time I dealt with many organisations who were helpful and efficient. These included: British Gas, SSE, Plusnet, Sky, EE, Thames Water, the county council, Halifax, Axa Healthcare, DVLA, NRS Healthcare, the local solicitors who handled the house sale and even HMRC. All except Killik, in fact!