Internet Banking -vs - Third Party Access

kernowayr

My elderly parents live quite some distance away from me and have banked with the same bank/branch for the last 40 years or so and both them and me are known personally to the branch staff. I also have a bank account with that bank (held at a local branch to me) and already have online access to my funds via internet banking.

As my parents are becoming somewhat frail physically and are largely housebound now I obviously want to protect them from exploitation by all and sundry and have already discovered 3 examples where my input beforehand would have protected them better.

With their consent I registered them both for internet banking access as well with this particular bank and, for the past 2 years or so, have been successfully managing their finances for them via this method. In practice, this is limited to checking that their periodic credits from pension payments etc. come in at the right time, that their bills are paid on time at the correct rate or whatever, and that the balance in their cheque account does not exceed a figure I have agreed with them (or drop below a lower figure which would then incur monthly charges). As their savings a/c's are linked to the cheque account this arrangement has, by default, given me access to those funds as well and, when circumstances permit, I "top" up the various accounds when funds are available from current account to maximise interest etc. for them or whatever.

Whilst dealing with some bills for them recently I received a "this transaction is under review" message from the Bank and this was followed up by a call to my parents asking about the recent history of the account (which, of course, put on the spot like that they could not comment on and so not only was the transaction they were querying about specifically "cancelled" but the online access to all their accounts was suspended.

Both my father and myself have separately spoken to the branch on the telephone requesting that online access is restored so that I can continue to manage his affairs as before but the bank has refused (on security grounds) and now want a formal legalised Power of Attorney document in my favour created by a Solicitor at dad's cost (& presumably registered with Court of Protection - which incurs further charges I believe) their alternative solutions being (1) telephone banking - required a 6-digit code of my parents' choosing or (2) ask me to travel to the branch where the accounts are held (losing about 3 days' wages or annual leave) in order to prove my identity whilst they "interview" both parents (who have to come with me) about giving me 3rd party access formally if agreed. I would then have to go into my local branch of the bank (or any branch of my choosing) with identity each and every time thereafter in order to move funds around as before which, as I am sure you will appreciate, is somewhat cumbersome.

Question is - how do other people manage getting around these "spot checks" the Bank feel obliged to carry out from time to time - it's the first time we've encountered one so were clearly not prepared and could not respond appropriately and are now being discriminated against "just in case" I do something with my folks' funds they are not happy about. I could understand the Banks' position more if a complaint had been made by the account holders about me having such access (it hasn't) or, indeed, if large sums of money had gone missing (they haven't - if anything my folks' money is working better for them than when it was when I "took over" and is, in fact, accumulating as a result of my actions. All withdrawals have to pass through the current account anyway as it is a linked account and would therefore, surely, be traceable in an audit if it came down to it. I have offered to provide indemnity for loss to the Bank but they don't seem to want that from me either so I am in the process of opening up a new account in joint names of myself and my father with another bank, with a view to that account being used as their main account with the savings following suit once it is established and working normally - don't see I/we have much choice if I have any chance of keeping tabs on what money they have and what is available at any given time. Would love to hear other people's views and suggestions for perhaps an alternative solution. I am no criminal but being made to feel like one for no reason.

gizmo111

I think you have found the solution yourself - if your parents are agreeable why can't you become named on their accounts with current bank - you wil lthen be able to have internet access as a named person on account.

kernowayr

gizmo111 wrote: »

I think you have found the solution yourself - if your parents are agreeable why can't you become named on their accounts with current bank - you wil lthen be able to have internet access as a named person on account.

My understanding from speaking to the Bank is that third party access would only allow me to make "over the counter" transactions at any branch and still not give me internet access in my own right. Also, I would have to make a special trip home and a min. of 3 days leave (or unpaid leave) from work to do that - getting both my folks to the branch at the same time with their varying mobility and health issues at the moment is a big challenge too logistically as they can't use public transport so if I went by air to sort this out I would also have to hire a car to get from the airport to them, take them to the bank, then back home and eventually back to the airport to fly home. What's that all going to cost me?

opinions4u

It would be cheaper to arrange POA now, rather than trying to do it later when their minds may not be quite as good as they are now.

kernowayr

Also, one of their savings accounts is "internet only" - so how are we supposed to pay in/withdraw from that account now when the need arises if they haven't got internet access any more (or a computer, which they've never had to date btw).

gizmo111

I didn't mean 3rd party access - I meant become a joint account holder with them.

Consumerist

A joint account can be opened with more than two names on the account. Some banks allow this but others do not. Perhaps you, or your parents, could make enquiries.

kernowayr

Surprised that manager of current bank has not offered us this solution then (in the circumstances).

Consumerist

Bank staff are, in my experience, generally ill-informed.

What bank are we talking about here?

Edit
Having done a bit more research, I have come to the conclusion that, in your circumstances, you might want to consider taking out a Lasting Power of Attorney so that you are legally able to look after your parents' affairs.

It seems that most personal joint accounts assume only two names on the account but they can be at different addresses. So the only alternative to the LPA that I can think of would be to set up two new joint accounts, one with your father and another with your mother and then transfer their incomes to these two accounts. This seems a bit messy but you may prefer it to the LPA route.