Mother keeps having money stolen

2

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  • pollypenny
    pollypenny Posts: 29,393 Forumite
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    Your mother could just make you an authorised signatory on her account. No problem with tax or breaking bank's T & C.

    That's what my dad and i did, so I looked after his money.
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  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    pollypenny wrote: »
    Your mother could just make you an authorised signatory on her account. No problem with tax or breaking bank's T & C.

    That's what my dad and i did, so I looked after his money.

    I've got this so that I can sign cheques for my parents. Does it also let you use their card and pin? I thought telling anyone your pin was against T&C.
  • pineapple
    pineapple Posts: 6,931 Forumite
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    edited 22 March 2012 at 12:51AM
    alanq wrote: »
    Why use her bank card? Before I got an LPA for my mother I paid her bills with my bank card and she gave me cash or wrote a cheque to repay me.
    I suspect a lot of us do though. My father trusted me with his card - he would only have been able to repay me with cash if I had gone out with his card and got the cash for him! So bit of a catch 22... And it was a great effort for him to write out cheques as his hands were so shakey. His mind was active though so he was quite able to check his transactions and I always brought back the shopping receipts etc for him. He would never have agreed to an LPA.
    Going back to the OP, could you persuade your mum to have a small safe/cash box with a combination lock that only you know? With the arrangement that if she needs a large amount you come across and 'release' it. So while not having it immediately to hand she has the psychological boost of knowing she has it in the house.
    She could keep a separate £50 'float' in her purse.
    It could well be a carer though difficult to prove. You would have to be on hand to set a trap by leaving some money in an obvious place before the visit and checking afterwards.
  • alanq
    alanq Posts: 4,216 Forumite
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    Mojisola wrote: »
    I've got this so that I can sign cheques for my parents. Does it also let you use their card and pin? I thought telling anyone your pin was against T&C.

    As far a I know cards and PINs should never to be shared. Joint account holders, including attorneys and donors, are each given their own cards and PINs.
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    pineapple wrote: »
    You would have to be on hand to set a trap by leaving some money in an obvious place before the visit and checking afterwards.

    She did lay a trap with somw small notes, nothing went amiss.

    The lockable cabinet should be sufficient to avoid opportunistic thieves if not professional ones with a crowbar. Wether she uses it or not is something else. That reminds me I will have to get another key made in case she loses it.

    The irony is that there is no need for large amounts of money, Cousin can nip into till at any time 100 yds down the road. He comes in every day. Every time I ask what does she need it for, she goes beserk, must be operating a money laundering operation somewhere :)
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    Your mother could just make you an authorised signatory on her account. No problem with tax or breaking bank's T & C.

    That's what my dad and i did, so I looked after his money.

    I will suggest this when she gets better, too much for her to think about at the moment.
  • Biggles
    Biggles Posts: 8,209 Forumite
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    pineapple wrote: »
    You would have to be on hand to set a trap by leaving some money in an obvious place before the visit and checking afterwards.
    A pretty dodgy tactic in these circumstances. My Mum would have spotted it later (having forgotten why it was put there), hidden it away somewhere (and forgotten having done that), then she and I would have accused the next visitor of having nicked it!
    ;-)
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 13,186 Forumite
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    cepheus wrote: »
    That reminds me I will have to get another key made in case she loses it.

    If she is like mine, get 3 spare keys made, my mum never went out [walking problems], but insisted on front door key being "handy". The key of course kept getting "stolen". along with cash & tea bags

    All of which turned up somewhere later

    I had to put spare keys in a cupboard my mum could not reach to stop them being "stolen"

    It got so bad I nearly had to have a Direct debit with key cutting company, honestly if were not so sad it would be funny
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  • WhiteHorse
    WhiteHorse Posts: 2,492 Forumite
    The webcam idea is a good one. You could also get a cheap cashbox, fill it with wads of cut up papper and a few coins, and then leave it where carers will see it (not too obvious, mind). Then you will know for sure.
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  • devildog
    devildog Posts: 1,222 Forumite
    alanq wrote: »
    As far a I know cards and PINs should never to be shared. Joint account holders, including attorneys and donors, are each given their own cards and PINs.

    I have been given a card and pin for an account I am an authorised signatory on but equally I can go online without this and have access to their account through logging on with my account(both have accounts with same bank)
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