A BRIT OAP was refused access to his own bank account and was “treated like a criminal” before being turned away from a Halifax branch.

David Drew, 90, was left outraged after he was told he couldn’t see the local branch manager.

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The retired shipping and cruise line worker feared he would not be able to pay his £5,600 monthly fees for his care home in Southampton, Hants.

Mr Drew has two savings accounts with the bank which have remained untouched for 30 years and left him with a substantial sum of money.

Having emptied his other accounts at other banks including Barclays, to pay for his place at Oak Lodge Care Home, he eventually had to dip into these savings.

Without having had any issues anywhere else, Mr Drew was shocked to learn he could not access his Halifax funds due to his passport and driving licence being out of date.

Speaking after the ordeal, he said: “It’s security gone mad.
“I’ve worked for 48 years of my life and I feel like I’ve done my bit.

“But now I feel like I’m being treated like a criminal when I haven’t done anything wrong.

“I don’t get out too much as I’ve not been very well and I don’t see the need in having to update my passport when I’m never going to use it again.

“The whole thing has been very stressful.”

Attending with a carer, he asked to see a manager but was told there were none available.

Despite being assured they would call him back, they did not pick up the phone for days – leaving him stressed.

He continued: “It was nearly two weeks, and I didn’t hear anything, I think it’s really poor and I’ve been disappointed by their whole attitude.

“I’d have liked them to be a bit more understanding and to help me.

“I offered them the opportunity to phone the care home to get my identification verified but they just didn’t seem interested.

“I think I can just about make my payment for next month but then I don’t know where the money is going to come from.”

Halifax has now admitted they “didn’t get this right” and since moved his savings into his current account and agreed to pay him compensation for his troubles.

The bank even apologised to the pensioner

A spokesperson said: “We’re sorry we didn’t get this right when he first contacted us and will be making a payment in recognition of this.”

What should you do if your account is closed?

It’s important to try to find out if there are any problems that might have triggered the closure.

For example, it might be that crooks have stolen your identity and applied for loans in your name.

Start by running a free credit check through a service like moneysavingexpert.com’s Credit Club, Credit Karma or Clearscore.

It’s best to try all three if you’re concerned in order to cover the three main credit agencies that keep records of your financial dealings.

The reports should help you spot if there are any accounts that you don’t recognise.

If you’re worried that your account might have been flagged as suspicious, you can also apply to two fraud-fighting organisations — Cifas and National Hunter – to find out what information they hold on you.

When you write, say that you would like to make a “subject access request”.

If you’re not happy with the way your bank has treated you, make a complaint.

After eight weeks, if the bank doesn’t respond or if you’re not satisfied, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for free.

If the FOS agrees that you’ve been treated unfairly and you can prove that you have lost out financially as a result, you might be able to get compensation.

A GREAT-gran who sold an original Marilyn Monroe dress for £25 to pay bills was shocked to learn it’s now worth £200,000.

Pam Harrison won the show-stopping sequinned corset when she was 15 after her mum entered her into a newspaper competition.

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The green-and-black garment had been worn by the US star in 1956 romcom Bus Stop.

Marilyn even wrote to Pam to congratulate her.

But she sold the outfit for £25 in 1962, months before Marilyn died of an overdose at 36.

Pam, now 83, of Birmingham, recently discovered it was valued at £200,000 by an auction house in LA.

She said: “I could have made a fortune, but it wasn’t to be. I’ve had a happier life than Marilyn ever had. I’ve no regrets.”

Marilyn played saloon singer Chérie in Bus Stop and promo posters featured her in the dress.

Pam looked so good in it that she was approached to be a model — but her parents turned down the offer.

Four years later she and late husband Norman needed cash to keep their children fed and warm.

Pam added: “I said, ‘Let’s see if the dress can help’.

“The buyers had a shop and asked if could I lend them a telegram from Marilyn for the window.

“All I would’ve liked was for them to have returned the telegram.”

FANS have spotted a closing down sale at a local shoe shop – yet another outlet to shut up shop in the “ghost town”.

The Shoezone branch in Burgess Hill, West Sussex – one of 330 nationwide – was pictured with large “Closing Down Soon” banners.

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The pictures were posted on the local Facebook page Burgess Hill Uncovered.

The caption read: “Shoe Zone are not renewing their lease at Market Place Shopping Centre, therefore the store will be closing in the near future. Sorry to hear this for the staff.

“How long do you think it’ll take the agent to fill the unit (if at all!) and what would you like to see come into the centre in its place?”

The post was met with a flurry of 162 comments, with many locals complaining about the number of recent closures in the area.

One wrote: “What a surprise, another one going… just keeps getting worse and worse…”

Another added: “It’s shocking the town is ruined.”

A third commented: “Everything is going to closed in burgess hill it looks like a ghost town.”

One commenter simply pasted the lyrics of the Queen song Another One Bites The Dust.

Others noted that there will be a scarcity of shoe shops in the area following the closure, which is set to take place in March.

One wrote: “Nowhere now in BH to buy a pair of shoes.”

Another said: “That’s really sad… And there isn’t one nearby either…. Probably Crawley will be the nearest one now.”

The news comes following a series of Shoezone closures over the last two years.

The high street chain closed 13 branches last year – including another in Sussex.

This year, it has closed its Watford branch and announced several other closures – including in Stoke-on-Trent and Inverness, Scotland.

High streets across the UK have suffered from decline over the past decade.

Since 2018, 6,000 retail outlets have brought down the shutters, according to the British Retail Consortium.

The trade association’s chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE blamed the closures on “crippling” business rates and the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.

SHOPPERS are racing to Home Bargains to grab “amazing” slippers for kids selling for a dirt-cheap price.

A thrifty buyer shared her steal deal with a bargain-hunting Facebook group, claiming the identical clos are sold for £10 on the internet.

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Home Bargain is selling kids’ clog slippers with fur lining for just £3.

Savvy parents are clearing the shelves of the retailer to buy pairs of the footwar for their tods after spotting the bargain deal.

Posting a picture of the proud discovery on the popular Facebook page Extreme Couponing and Bargains, the savvy customer wrote: “Selling just for £3 at Home Bargains.

“Identical to the ones that sell for £10 online.”

The post wracked up hundreds of likes and comments with many group members tagging pals to talk about the superb deal.

One user said: “I need to get these amazing pairs as soon as possible.”

While another said: “How cute are these.”

A third wrote: “Going tomorrow first thing in the morning to grab these.”

Do bear in mind that when prices are reduced by this much it’s usually in order for stores to clear excess stock, so availability will vary from store to store.

It’s always best to phone ahead to your local shop to check what they have available to avoid disappointment.

You can find your nearest Home Bargains store using the locator tool on the website.

It always pays to compare prices so you know you’re getting the best deal.

Prices can also vary day to day and by what deals are on at the time, plus remember you might pay for delivery if you’re ordering online.

You can compare prices on platforms like Google Shopping.

How to save money at Home Bargains

Knowing when to pick up products is one way to save money at Home Bargains.

Visiting your local branch at the right time of day, week and year can help you pick up bargains from as little as 69p.

We spoke to Tom Church, a shopping expert who reveals the best times to visit the store to bag a bargain.

Also join any shopper bargain Facebook groups such as Extreme Couponing and Bargains, as people love to share the news when they have bagged a cheap deal.

Be sure to look out for seasonal stock too, like most retailers, Home Bargains shashes its prices after big public holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

CRIMINAL prosecutions for failing to pay the BBC licence fee could be scrapped by Labour.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is understood to be “concerned” by the disproportionate number of women being punished.

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And there is agreement between Ms Nandy and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood that taxpayers should not have to fork out for the “administrative burden”.

Almost 1,000 Brits are prosecuted every week for ignoring the £169.50 annual fee.

Seventy per cent are women.

They are more likely to be poorly paid, coping with single families or taking charge of household bills — and also more likely to be at home when investigators call.

But last night an insider said prosecutions will continue until at least 2027, when the BBC’s Royal Charter is due for renewal.

Ministers will then meet Beeb bosses to “explore options” for new funding models.

These are set to include decriminalisation.

Last year half a million people stopped paying as they opted for US-based subscription services instead.

At the same time former Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer branded criminal prosecutions “morally indefensible in modern times”.

A TV Licensing spokesman said: “We have a duty to enforce the law.

“But we have made considerable efforts to help people get licensed and offer help and support.

“Our focus on collecting the licence fee fairly and efficiently.”

A MUNDANE ceramic mug left inside a loft for 20 years has been sold at an auction for a whopping £13,500 because of one unique detail.

The 87-year-old souvenir cup was designed by British artist Eric Ravilious for Wedgwood to mark the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.

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It is said to be a rare example because of its unique yellow and green detailing which had sat undisturbed in a box in the vendor’s loft since the late 1990s.

Adapted from a previous version intended to mark King Edward VIII taking the throne before his abdication, the design features celebratory fireworks and the royal coat of arms.

The mug was given an estimate of £800 when it went under the hammer at Gildings Auctioneers in Market Harborough, Leics earlier this week.

But it smashed its estimate and sold to a private buyer for £13,500 – more than 16 times its guide price.

Gildings director Will Gilding said: “We’re thrilled to achieve this astonishing result for this very special mug which although highly collectable, is still intrinsically just a mundane household item.

“We were unable to find any other examples of this particular colourway, which also has a slightly differently shaped rim to the other mugs in the sale, so this one may well be unique.

“As a result, we knew it had the potential to soar far beyond its guide price.

“But for the hammer to go down at £13,500 is truly remarkable and just goes to show the magic that can happen when two determined collectors identify a must-have treasure.”

The cup was from a collection of five of Ravilious’s 1937 Wedgwood coronation mugs – and was kept inside an attic for 20 years.

Three of the mugs in more commonly seen but still sought-after turquoise, blue and pink-based colourways sold for £270, £360 and £2,700 respectively.

Another blue version made for the planned coronation of Edward VIII fetched £480.

Born in 1903, Eric Ravilious was a highly regarded Sussex-based painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver.

He is best known for his modernist watercolour interpretations of English landscapes and World War II scenes, some of which are displayed in the Imperial War Museum in London.

In December 1939 Ravilious became an official World War Two war artist with the rank of Honorary Captain in the Royal Marines.

On September 2, 1942, he joined one of three aircraft dispatched on a search and rescue mission for a plane that had failed to return to RAF Kaldadarnes in Iceland.

The aircraft he boarded also failed to return, and he and the four-man crew were recorded as lost in action four days later, making him the first of three British war artists to die in active service during World War Two.

Will added: “This vanishingly rare example of a striking design by a renowned artist who suffered a tragic wartime death was sold in very good condition given its age and ceramic nature.

“Such is the power of its scarcity, and the demand for works by Ravilious, this high quality but relatively inexpensive souvenir has taken on a previously unimagined value several decades later.

“When I brought the gavel down, I think everyone in the room felt like we needed a cup of tea to calm us all down – not least the buyer – but in a slightly more affordable mug.”