The four big High Street banks have agreed to review and, where necessary, improve the way they sell will-writing and executor services following discussions with the OFT.

Any necessary changes should be in place within six months.

It follows concerns that some consumers were appointing professional executors without fully understanding the likely costs and the alternative options.

Barclays Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS Group have agreed to meet three key principles, to ensure customers are able to make well-informed decisions:

• Consumers making a will should not be led to believe that appointing a professional executor is essential or the norm. 
• Consumers should not be encouraged to appoint a professional executor unless it is clearly in their best interests.
• Providers should be satisfied, before the will is drafted, that the consumer has the information necessary to make an informed choice. The consumer should understand the options around executor appointments and be aware of the likely basis of charging for the professional executor service. 

David Stallibrass, Director in the OFT Services and Public Markets Group, said:

"The wrong decision when appointing executors could mean a potentially expensive professional service is chosen, when a family member or friend may be quite capable of handling the task either alone or with professional support. We are pleased that each of the banks has agreed to review its selling practices and marketing literature to ensure customers are getting the information they need to make informed choices."