When attempting to sign into the National Savings and Investments website, I received an error message instructing me to speak to my attorney.
It turned out my record indicated I had granted power of attorney to another person. I certainly had not, and NS&I call handlers admit they have no evidence. I was variously told “human error, or a technical problem” must be to blame.
However, it greatly concerns me that an error such as this could pass control of my investments to an unknown third party, and that a call handler was able to arrange for the “block”, preventing me accessing my account, to be removed whilst I was on the phone. This implies a lack of checks and balances.
I now don’t have 100% confidence that my investments are safe.
SH, Devon
This is a thoroughly alarming blunder which, for a while, appeared to have given a stranger access to your account.
Luckily that turns out not to be the case. NS&I’s investigation has since established that following a systems update an incorrect marker was tagged on the account which suggested that you had a power of attorney.
However, no third party was ever connected to the account, and no fraudulent activity took place. You have now received an official apology and £75 in goodwill.
A spokesperson for NS&I said: ‘We monitor the performance of our staff to ensure that their work is of a high and accurate standard and take appropriate action if these standards are not met.’
• This article was amended on 16 September 2021. An earlier version included an initial response from NS&I, but not the result of its investigation. However, this result was provided by NS&I prior to publication, and should have been included. This has now been done.
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