Harry Gross: Grandpa's CDs from 1989: Negotiable today?

D EAR HARRY: I recently found a number of certificates of deposit that my grandfather bought in 1989. He since has died. He had my name included as survivor-Social Security numbers weren't required back then. The CDs were issued by PSFS. I did some research and found that PSFS was acquired by Meridian, which was acquired by Mellon, which was acquired by Citizens. When I presented Citizens with a death certificate, I was told that the CDs could not be redeemed because of their age and because of the many acquisitions. That just does not make sense. I went above the teller and still got nowhere. I think I'm getting the runaround because of the interest accumulated and because the people at the bank were too lazy or too uneducated to do anything. There must be something I can do.