HALIFAX will give windfalls to heirs of dead members of Birmingham Midshires, and young and elderly accountholders, if it wins its bid to buy the society.

The equitable distribution of bonuses is in stark contrast to Halifax's harsh treatment of many of its 7.6m members.

The bank deprived tens of thousands of heirs of their rightful inheritance when it converted last June. It also refused payouts to members under-18 and to the elderly and infirm whose names did not appear first on the account.

In a tacit admission that its own windfall distribution may have been inadequate, Gary Marsh, head of corporate affairs at Halifax, said: "With the benefit of hindsight, we recognise there are lessons to be learnt from the conversion process."

Halifax's backing of the Birmingham Midshires' payout has angered readers such as Valerie Humphreys who support The Sunday Times Fair Shares For Heirs campaign.

Humphreys's husband was a member of Halifax for more than 20 years with substantial savings. When he died suddenly, Humphreys assumed she would receive the maximum allocation of 1,181 shares.

Instead she was paid the minimum bonus of 200 shares. "It makes me sick. If they have the money to buy another building society, they can afford to pay us our windfall," she said.

Alan Polkinghorne is also furious that Halifax supports the fair treatment of the 1.1m members of Birmingham Midshires while refusing to offer redress to the heirs of loyal Halifax customers. He missed out on his inheritance after the death of his father, a Halifax member for more than 30 years.

He said: "If Halifax recognises it made a mistake, it is about time it put it right."

Halifax made the surprise bid for Birmingham Midshires last week, which at £780m is up to £175m more than the existing offer from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Under the terms of its agreement with RBS, Birmingham Midshires is not allowed to talk to other bidders. It can, however, consider the terms of the bid and has a fiduciary duty to act in members' best interests.

The increased offer price adds about £150 to an estimated average windfall of £600 and is a better reflection of the society's current value.

RBS has consistently refused to up its bid and is expected to pull out of the deal and lodge a demand for compensation. "