Raising money for Mum's care - problems with bank.

[carol4444]

I'm having problems with mum's bank. Think I will tell them to keep the damn money and ask them to send some of their staff to care for Mum as they are withholding her money and I won't be able to pay her carers. Luckily it's not urgent but it does make my blood boil. If they insist on driving licence or passport for Mum then I am stumped, Also, how can I prove that it's her account? Or am I being unreasonable?

 

[Selinacroft]

Hi Carol
Are you able to speak to your mum's abnk and request official third party access. There will be forms to fill in which mum will need to sign. If she needs to be witnessed see if one of the staff can come and do a home visit although when I organised this it was just the forms I needed to get signed (although I wa salso a customer at same bank so maybe they didn't need extra proof) Much cheaper than POA

 

[carol4444]

Hi, thanks for responding. I was sounding off as they get me so mad. I have Power if Attorney and have taken this into my local branch some years ago. The ISA account has been frozen as it has been dormant, well it wouldn't be used often as it is an ISA or savings account.

I don't have Mum's passport or driving licence, these have long since expired and disappeared. I have, today, sent Santander my own passport, my utility bills and one utility bill for Mum. I am just mad as I have already had to do this once, they make life so difficult for us. Mum is an hour away from me and life is busy enough without pandering to Santander. Sorry to sound off, I appreciate all the money laundering rules but once you have provided everything they need they should just be able to look on their records to check that everything is in order. How do I prove the account is hers I wonder?

 

[carol4444]

Cardiff Lady, my mum also had a habit of opening bank accounts, all of which I am gradually closing as her care bills increase. I can't help wondering if the staff were paid commission for every new account opened, It was obviously much easier to open than to close them? Either that or Mum just liked the extra attention she got when opening a new account.

 

[Beetroot]

I had a problem with them.

I wrote to the ceo's office in exasperation. It got resolved. The local hospice got a cheque. I have pm'd you the email address, not sure if it's still live but it may get you somewhere if they can't sort it out.

 

[Jessbow]

Our bank was a pain in the wotsit with is too. Despite POA being activated, they insisted I took mum in for something or another. I told them was innnapropraite, but they were adamant.

So in we went, Mum in a wheelchair, not a clue why she'd had to go anywhere for anything. She contributed not a word to the conversation, didn't put a pen to paper, let alone write her name (ha ha, don't think she knew her name by then!) and as we sat there thought some long protracted procedure, the puddle of wee under the wheelchair just spread and spread.......

 

[Izzy]

and as we sat there thought some long protracted procedure, the puddle of wee under the wheelchair just spread and spread.......

Oh Jessbow. I'm sorry but that really did make me smile!

 

[carol4444]

Thanks so much Beetroot and Jessbow. I'm still smiling about the puddle. Bet they'll think twice next time.

 

[Izzy]

Thanks so much Beetroot and Jessbow. I'm still smiling about the puddle. Bet they'll think twice next time.

My feelings exactly!

 

[Beetroot]

Jessbow, please tell us you didn't volunteer to clear it up!

 

[Izzy]

Jessbow, please tell us you didn't volunteer to clear it up!

 

[Jessbow]

Clear it up? no way!

We just dripped all the way along the High St, until we got t a loo where I changed her pull ups before going back to the car.

Sadly she' gone now, but I must say, every time I went in there after I was treated with the utmost co-operation

 

[Pickles53]

*********....why am I not surprised? They were the absolute worst to deal with even before I had to activate LPA and not much better afterwards. The most Byzantine processes; everything took way longer than any other bank I had to deal with. One of their counter staff suggested that mum should apply for a new passport so she would have a valid photo ID (in order to get access to an account with £30k in it that they had decided was 'dormant'). That would have been a nice waste of money as when I phoned head office it was of course not necessary.

Once I started managing her funds with POA I deliberately used up the money in ********* first so I could stop dealing with them; once you''ve sorted the current problem I'd look for an alternative.

 

[Beetroot]

They now have a specialist poa department. I got the impression they don't really understand them, but the lady there was nice and wanted to be helpful, which made a nice change. When I closed Mum's account, on which I had poa, they managed to write to my father, who died five years ago, at the sold six months ago marital home thanking him for his call to close the account. Dad's name had been off the account since a couple of weeks after he'd died.

 

[carol4444]

Think you are right Pickles. It does make me cross when it seems they do this 'dormant' thing to so many people. I wonder how many people are too frail or are unable to challenge them. It could add up to a lot of cash which is unavailable to account holders. It has raised cynical suspicions in me.

 

[carol4444]

Not good Beetroot. On the bright side, the other high street banks have been excellent. I do recall going into a bank with Mum years ago and once the word 'alzheimers' was mentioned it was as if the sirens went off and the shutters came down just like a James Bond movie. They immediately took steps to protect Mum's account and set up online banking for me. The account runs her household bills and everything has worked well for years. Some banks seem to have it sorted.

 

[canary]

Mum had multiple accounts. Most were at a high street bank and the other was with the bank you mentioned.
The local high street bank has been wonderful, there have never been any problems and they treat me like royalty
The other one wont talk to me, wont acknowledge me and I have given up. There isnt much money in it and I think I will retrieve it once mum has passed away

 

[carol4444]

Hi Canary, that's exactly what I am thinking. My brother tells me that they are even worse when it comes to probate according to all the complaint letters published in the financial section of the weekend papers. Oh well. The people blocking the money will, of course, likely have to deal with Alzheimer's themselves one day. It seems to be occurring in most families now that people live so long. I wonder if they will get cross and crotchety just like us.