Bank Account

[Boney53]

Hi, I'm a first-time poster.

My father was diagnosed with dementia over three years ago, and is in a secure ward of an army care home. His army pension goes direct to the home to pay for his care.
He has a current account and a credit card with one bank. I don't need or want access to his account, but I want to ensure that his account is safe, that there is no fraudulent activity, that certain s/os, like his mobile phone, are cancelled if possible, and certain s/os, like his life insurance, are continued. I should have done this previously, but have been more concerned with his personal care than the financial side of things.
How can I do this without risking the account being frozen, which I assume would also freeze the important s/os? I'm sure this must have cropped up with other forum users. Any information would be useful.

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @Boney53 you are welcome here and I hope you find the forum to be a friendly and supportive place.

Members with experience of the system may be along later to give the benefit of their experience, however, if you want to discuss the overall position with the experts on the Helpline in the meantime, the details are
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

Live on-line advice is available in the UK if you follow this link https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/national-dementia-helpline/live-online-advice

Good luck with everything, dementia is tough enough without such stresses.

 

[Beate]

You need Lasting Power of attorney, plain and simple. If your father cannot give it as he has lost mental capacity, your only other option is deputyship, which is costly and onerous.

 

[Lynmax]

If you have LPA for finance, then contact his bank to ask what their process is regarding registering it with them. My mum is with Santander and we were able to get full access to all her accounts and have bank cards without mum being affected. She still has her own bank card and cheque book but we can move her money around and check the direct debits etc. She has been scammed a couple of times so we can cancel any new direct debits and also keep the balance in her current account very low so if she does hand over her bank details, she will not lose too much money. Mum actually has no idea that we have registered the LPA.

 

[Boney53]

Thanks for the replies so far. I (or rather my father) didn't organize Lasting Power of Allorney, which is why I haven't contacted the bank directly so far. Looks as if I might have to just hope that there's no fraudulent activity on the account, and leave the s/os as they are. Fortunately, they're not too much.
Any other suggestions would be welcome, though. And I'll try the National Dementia Helpline in the meantime.

 

[Lynmax]

Without power of attorney, the bank will not discuss anything relating to your fathers account. this makes it difficult to monitor his direct debits and spending.

 

[Susan11]

Without power of attorney, the bank will not discuss anything relating to your fathers account. this makes it difficult to monitor his direct debits and spending.

I was told by a bank employee to register for online access as my Dad with his name , set up a password and then you can do everything online.
I do have POA though .

 

[canary]

If you cant get POA, then the only other option is to apply for Court of Protection deputyship.
It can take several moths to get, so dont wait for a crisis.

 

[Lynmax]

I was told by a bank employee to register for online access as my Dad with his name , set up a password and then you can do everything online.
I do have POA though .

We were able to register for online banking in our own names, as the attorneys. We did not need to use mums name, in fact the bank manager told us that it was illegal to register in someone else's name. But I doubt the bank would know!

 

[Shedrech]

hi @Boney53
here's a link to the Gov site re becoming a Deputy
https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/apply-deputy

I believe that if an application is in process, the OPG can grant authority to access the person's current account to make necessary arrangements - but check this with them directly

 

[TheBearsMummy]

Where does his post go? If he is in a secure unit are they opening his bank statements?

 

[Boney53]

Re. deputyship...that's really only necessary if I wanted to use my father's account for him. Apart from checking for fraudulent activity and possibly cancelling a standing order no longer useful, I don't wish to do that. And as regards his bank statements, he elected to do his banking online prior to his dementia, so he doesn't receive printed statements. I think I'm going to have to either (a) leave things as they are and hope for the best, or (b) risk contacting the bank and hope they don't freeze the essential standing orders. Thanks everyone.