Age UK defends will advisers against media criticism 2

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 26 Apr 2010

Age UK is standing by its will advice service after a complaint from a pensioner, who claimed to have been pressured into leaving a legacy to the charity, reached national newspapers.

The Daily Mail this week reported that 74-year-old Sheila Mills had taken up a free wills advice offer from Help the Aged (before the merger with Age Concern), but complained that the adviser had made repeated visits to her home and pressured her to agree to leaving a legacy of £15,000 to the charity.

However, both a police investigation and an internal investigation within the charity cleared the adviser of any wrongdoing. The will adviser says that he only ever visited Mrs Mills by prior arrangement.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK, said that the charity has had numerous conversations with Mills and is satisfied that its will advisers adhere to best practice.

"As with any if its services, Age UK will ensure its wills advice service continues to operate with the utmost integrity, and we will take any steps necessary now or in the future to uphold this. A new fundraising director has recently been appointed and will naturally be looking at strategies across the division," she said.

"All our wills advisers are experienced and are given internal and external training on an ongoing basis as a matter of course.

"For example, it is a prerequisite that advisors have previously worked in advice-giving roles in this field and there is an annual competency test assessing technical legal knowledge. Advisers are also encouraged to attend external courses and to take further qualifications, such as from the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, which Age UK pays for. These measures and others are all in place to ensure best practice across the service."

Directory: Age UK

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David Burrows
Head of Fundraising
TDA
28 Apr 2010

Age UK's response would sound more convincing to me if they said 'our advisers do not receive an individual bonus or incentive based on whether someone agrees to leave a legacy or on the value of a legacy - so there is nothing to encourage hard-sell tactics or pressurising vulnerable older people'. If they can say something like this, they should.

Equity Release companies got tarnished with claims about rogue sales people putting pressure on elderly people and they have had to work very hard to recover their reputation. We don't need the charity sector attracting this kind of bad press.

[Reply]

Carl Allen
none
none
26 Apr 2010

It would seem that the question is not of technical or legal competence or wrongdoing.

For certainly one may do wrong without breaking the law or best practice.

Thus the perception is always present of performance and targets versus neutrality and impartiality.

[Reply]

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