Bank reneges on interest promise I read with interest the problems RM of Bedfordshire had with Nationwide while dealing with his mother's estate. My mother had a one-year, fixed-rate Reward Bond account with Santander for £35,000 due to mature on May 1 2013. This paid gross interest with a bonus reward. Following her death last September, I was told by our local Santander branch that the bond could run to maturity. However, in January we received a letter from the Santander Bereavement Centre saying the account must be closed. Forms were filled in and a cheque for £35,193 was received on February 9. For the period May 1 2012 to February 8 2013 interest of £193 was paid, after tax. My point is that Santander did not allow the bond to run to maturity and therefore avoided the 1.75pc reward. The letter you refer to confronted the issue of providers honouring, or otherwise, original interest, net of tax, throughout probate administration. You had been told your late mother's bond could run to maturity. However, a change of tack was then conveyed in a letter sent after probate was completed. Its receipt came as a shock to you. I had been writing mainly about Isas in the earlier article and in fact Nationwide's policy on this changed as a direct result of my researches. Your late mother's account was not an Isa and in fact Santander said that, until February 2013, its policy for deceased customers" bonds held outside Isas differed from the policy for those within Isas. It said that when it was informed of your mother's death its bonds could not be maintained in the deceased's name and would be closed as part of the probate process. This, Santander said, is reflected in the bond's terms and conditions. Why the branch told you otherwise is therefore a mystery. But in February 2013 there was a policy change so that from now on, if the account were held in a single name, it could either be closed when the account-holder died or continue until maturity. As you say in such matters the terms and conditions are not always clear, and the branch staff not always certain of the bank's policy. After reviewing the circumstances of your complaint and in the light of the fact its policy changed shortly after the account was closed, Santander has agreed to pay the interest as well as the reward bonus that would have been received on your mother's bond if it had been held to maturity. This comes to £745 and will be split between the various beneficiaries. A gift hamper is also being sent to you.