Bewildered

[Butterfly58]

Hi my stepfather has been in a nursing home for 2 months. I sent off all the documents for a finance assessment, the assessment team contacted me to say his savings account passbook needed to have interest put on, they said they were returning the passbook for me to update. Three weeks later it turned up,the address was wrong and it was only due to the postman knowing my name that it found it’s way to me.Inside was a stamped addressed return envelope and cover letter but no passbook,l phoned them to alert them to situation, they insisted they sent it and have said my stepfather will be charged full amount but will be refunded once matter has reached satisfactory conclusion, l went to the bank today to ask for the details of this account,they would not deal with me as I have no power of attorney, surely it is not right to charge my stepfather full care costs when they have lost his passbook, l wouldn’t mind but it only had about 3 hundred pounds in it and in total he only has fourteen thousand in all. My stepfather owns his house but his wife resides there.

Can anyone advise please.

 

[Amethyst59]

@Butterfly58, the situation you and your stepfather are in, is appalling. I am sorry that I have no concrete advice for you, but if another member with more knowledge has not advised you within a few hours, can I suggest that you ring the helpline? You must be feeling so frustrated, and it is such a stupid situation when the amount of money in question is so low. Your stepfather is so close to the point when he won’t be self funding at all.

National Dementia Helpline
0300 222 11 22
Our helpline advisers are here for you.
Helpline opening hours:
Monday to Wednesday 9am – 8pm
Thursday and Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm

 

[Pacucho]

Another suggestion to consider is making an official complaint using their procedures, which you should be able to find on their website. It may be this is the only way they will begin to listen !
Hope this helps,

Paco

 

[canary]

Is your dad able to sign his name if you ask him to?
We had a financial assessment recently and I couldnt find OHs Building Society passbook either, so I wrote a letter on word documents, printed it off and OH signed it, then sent it to the Building Society. There were no problems with OHs Building Society and they were very efficient sending a new passbook (all interest recorded) within a few days.

 

[Shedrech]

hello @Butterfly58
and welcome to TP
might be worth asking the LA whether they took a photocopy/scan of the passbook (I know when I worked in insurance we routinely kept a copy of documents sent in) and if so maybe point out to them that the interest on such a small sum is itself going to be a very small sum
and actually, if no-one has POA, you're not sure what the position of the bank will be when you ask for the passbook to be updated - you could point that out to the LA too
I'd be tempted to ask for proof of posting (they would if things were the other way round), and point out that the letter was incorrectly addressed so you have proof of at least one mistake on their part
maybe also ask what exactly they intend to do should you be unable to do anything about this £300 plus interest, as you wonder what the legal situation is should they take all your dad's savings when he has a right to keep whatever amount the lower threshold is (£14250 I believe, at the moment) - and ask for answers in writing from the manager
who knows, may make them think again
is there any chance of POAs being done, it will take a few months to process but would stop anything like this being a problem in the future (I hesitate to suggest Deputyship given the low level of your dad's finances, but it may be worth organising this in case the LA decide to instead)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ing-power-of-attorney-a-guide-web-version#A10
https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy

 

[Butterfly58]

Many thanks Shedrech for replying to my post, I did ask the LA for details of the account so I could attempt to get the interest made up on account but they would not tell me they said they did not have it, I know I wrote the details on the form I had to fill in which went with the said passbook.
I have been to the bank but had no luck they would not entertain me without POA. l have now contacted a solicitor who has assessed my father and is now about to send the forms of to the office of public guardian.
I know this can take up to ten weeks, I just hope the LA will defer payment until this can be sorted out.

 

[Butterfly58]

Is your dad able to sign his name if you ask him to?
We had a financial assessment recently and I couldnt find OHs Building Society passbook either, so I wrote a letter on word documents, printed it off and OH signed it, then sent it to the Building Society. There were no problems with OHs Building Society and they were very efficient sending a new passbook (all interest recorded) within a few days.

 

[Butterfly58]

Hello canary many thanks for replying to my post, l am afraid my stepfather cannot sign his name.I have now managed to have a mental capacity assessment carried out with a solicitor and doctor, they have said I can go ahead and get POA, I am worried that the LA will charge my stepfather the full rate until I get it all sorted, they have not sent me a bill as yet.

 

[Butterfly58]

Another suggestion to consider is making an official complaint using their procedures, which you should be able to find on their website. It may be this is the only way they will begin to listen !
Hope this helps,

Paco

Hello Paco l should indeed complain officially, but I know this will get me nowhere. I asked for the details of the account which I wrote on the assessment form, they refused to provide me with the information, said they have no details as the passbook has been lost in post.
Many thanks for your reply, nice to know someone out there cares.

 

[Butterfly58]

Is your dad able to sign his name if you ask him to?
We had a financial assessment recently and I couldnt find OHs Building Society passbook either, so I wrote a letter on word documents, printed it off and OH signed it, then sent it to the Building Society. There were no problems with OHs Building Society and they were very efficient sending a new passbook (all interest recorded) within a few days.

 

[Butterfly58]

Thank you for your suggestion, unfortunately my stepfather cannot sign his name.I have now applied for a POA.

 

[Butterfly58]

I have now had a telephone call from the LA to say my stepfathers pass book has been located, I am now able to go to the bank to get the interest added, does anyone know if I can do this without POA.

 

[Butterfly58]

I have now had a telephone call from the LA to say my stepfathers pass book has been located, I am now able to go to the bank to get the interest added, does anyone know if I can do this without POA.