Mentally unstable relative

Vagabond3

I have a close relative who is mentally unstable. When he is in the depths of depression he goes on extreme spending sprees, racking up large debts on credit cards.

He will not agree to handing over his cards to me. Is there any way I can alert credit card authorities to his illness - so they can set a cap on his spending and prevent him creating these debts?

Also, is there a way I can 'freeze' his PIN so he does not withdraw large amounts of money from ATM cashpoints and waste it?

I'm trying to protect him in the long term so that he won't get himself into deep financial trouble again.

zzzLazyDaisy

No. These organisations cannot discuss your relatives affairs with you, owing to the Data Protection Act.

It may be possible to involve the Court of Protection if your relative is sectioned under the mental health act and/or his medical advisers agree that he is no longer capable of managing his own affairs, but that is an expensive and extreme step to take.

Jemma-T

If he/she is aware of what they're doing it's none of your business.

If they are so ill they don't know what they're doing then you should speak to their CP nurse, doctor or someone who's helped in the past. If there is no nurse etc then are they really that unwell? If they were, would they not of popped up on someone's radar?

chattychappy

Depending how close the relative is, I think I might just take a few "practical" steps. Eg if I could get access, I'd stick a card into a card reader and put in the wrong number a few times to lock it. (If that works, I suppose it does.)

Of course it could make things worse... your judgement.

Oh incidentally.... yes it's true without the relevant legal steps, companies can't discuss your relative's affairs with you. But you could alert them... they MIGHT act on the information.

CocoPopsLover

power of attorney

zzzLazyDaisy

You can only get a POA if the person concerned agrees to appoint you. From the OP, that seems unlikely.

The only way to forceably take over someones financial affairs without their consent is to involve the Court of Protection - which is difficult to do, and rightly so.

CocoPopsLover

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

You can only get a POA if the person concerned agrees to appoint you. From the OP, that seems unlikely.

The only way to forceably take over someones financial affairs without their consent is to involve the Court of Protection - which is difficult to do, and rightly so.

valid point!

Jemma-T

And mind, it's not like the person concerned is planning to kill anyone so getting an ear from the authorites may be difficult.

It's only a bit of spending which many here do and can't help themselves too, so if we were all to be locked up they'd need to bring ASDA in to the prison service to build new [STRIKE]stores[/STRIKE] prisons.

Leave them alone unless it's causing other people a real problem.

zzzLazyDaisy

To be fair OP wasn't planning on having the relative locked up - just blocking the credit cards so they couldn't spend.

But that is the point really - presumably if the relative is suffering fromsuch extreme mental swings they will be under medical care (and if not, OP should be more concerned about that, than their spending). If the medical advisers do not feel that the relative is ill enough to be in hospital, then taking away their right to manage their own financial affairs against their will is a gross invasion of privacy, no matter how good the intention.

If it were possible for a well meaning relative to interfere in this way, it would also be possible for greedy people to cause really serious financial problems for vulnerable relatives. For example, say my son thinks I go on too many holidays and he is worried that I might fritter his inheritance away - should he be able to stop me doing this? Even if, in his opinion, I am a bit mentally unstable at times? Of course not!

Mrs_Ryan

hmmm - this sounds like bi-polar disorder (manic depression) thats one of the major symptoms of it - I've seen it loads of times. And its not just a case of spending a little bit of cash - often when the person is having a real low spending can be extreme as they have no notion of what they are spending - Im talking potentially thousands of pounds here. I have seen countless cases of this - they usually used to call me in to help when I was on the wards as my background was in banking and finance before I went into mental health nursing.
Bi-polar - if thats what it is - can be quite difficult sometimes - when the person is on an 'up' they can appear well so it doesnt necessarily warrant a sectioning or whatever until something really bad happens.
It is possible to put some kind of 'block' on the account so you cant withdraw cash from machines - I had a Barclaycard with this on. However, please bear in mind that this wont stop them from going into shops and spending whatever they like.
Its difficult to know what to suggest here - perhaps speak to their CPN and ask them to have a word? Or could they possibly speak to your relative and ask if the relative would be prepared to work with the CPN to kepe the finances under control, then the realtive could authorise them to act on their behalf and then you could liaise with the CPN to work things out?
Hope you can get something sorted!

Vagabond3

That's very helpful Mrs Ryan. I believe you've hit the nail on the head.

He has had psychiatric treatment on and off for the past 30 years. No doctor has mentioned bipolar disorder at any stage, but his behaviour seems to tally with the symptoms as outlined on the MIND website.

He had been relatively stable recently but has now spent hundreds if not thousands on new guitars and ornaments which he is cramming into a room in my mother's house.

He does not believe he has any mental problems and refuses to go to a GP.

I'm hoping he's going to come out of this phase of apparent bipolar soon - and trying to limit the damage while it lasts.