Power of Attorney and Online Savings

jalo_3

I've recently completed an exercise to find savings accounts for an elderly relative which I can operate fully online under Power of Attorney. Others in the same position may find the following information useful.

The following financial institutions transferred an existing account or allowed me to open a new one without any bother:

Coventry
Post Office
Santander
Sainsbury's

RBS have also been excellent in arranging online access to the relevant current account.

Do NOT use ING - they refused to accept the fully certified Power of Attorney document that the companies listed above accepted without question!

Linton

I can add NatWest and LLoyds.

Nat West front office branch staff were a bit confused but once things were sorted out I have been able to access the POA accounts directly from my own NatWest login.

Lloyds knew exactly how to handle POAs but their online system doesnt seem to support the concept of accounts being accessible from soneone else's login so I have their permission to log in using the account owner's id/password.

barak

Linton wrote: »

I can add NatWest and LLoyds.

Lloyds knew exactly how to handle POAs but their online system doesnt seem to support the concept of accounts being accessible from soneone else's login so I have their permission to log in using the account owner's id/password.

I hope you and the account-holder have that permission in writing as it would appear to be a breach of security!

alanq

Not often one reads the phrase "without any bother" with respect to Santander!

I have just applied for POA for my mother so I will be very interested in any reported good and bad experiences with various financial institutions.

le_loup

HSBC, NS&I great!

mike88

Yorkshire, Barclays, Barnsley, Birmingham Midshires can also be added to the list. Avoid Cahoot (Santander) no problem opening an account but a bureaucratic nightmare (due to poorly trained staff) to close.

alanq

mike88 wrote: »

Yorkshire,...

Yorkshire Bank or Yorkshire Building Society?

mike88

alanq wrote: »

Yorkshire Bank or Yorkshire Building Society?

Building Society. All pre-suppose that there is a Court of Protection REGISTERED Power of Attorney in existence.

Biggles

mike88 wrote: »

Building Society. All pre-suppose that there is a Court of Protection REGISTERED Power of Attorney in existence.

Or an Enduring Power of Attorney, registered or unregistered.

But bear in mind, should the worst happen, that Yorkshire BS are very mean with enforcing their T&Cs.

My mother died less than a year after taking out a Regular Saver and I found that YBS were one of a very tiny minority in penalising accounts where the holder complied with all the terms up until the date of death. She had accounts with several other banks/BSs and I found that, without exception, they did not penalise the account-holder in these circumstances. Bonuses were paid, and fixed-rate and notice periods were not enforced.

But YBS withheld the bonus (the major part of the interest) because she had failed to comply with the T&Cs by dying too soon.

mike88

Biggles wrote: »

Or an Enduring Power of Attorney, registered or unregistered.

But bear in mind, should the worst happen, that Yorkshire BS are very mean with enforcing their T&Cs.

My mother died less than a year after taking out a Regular Saver and I found that YBS were one of a very tiny minority in penalising accounts where the holder complied with all the terms up until the date of death. She had accounts with several other banks/BSs and I found that, without exception, they did not penalise the account-holder in these circumstances. Bonuses were paid, and fixed-rate and notice periods were not enforced.

But YBS withheld the bonus (the major part of the interest) because she had failed to comply with the T&Cs by dying too soon.

No penalty in my case or with sister company Barnsley. Only problem was with Santander who refused to close the account as there was 4 years left on the term even though the account holder had died. What a shower! That was not the only problem. Eventually - after much hassle - it was sorted but I would never deal with that Company again. Their staff are very poorly trained.

Biggles

mike88 wrote: »

No penalty in my case or with sister company Barnsley.

I took it all the way to head office but to no avail.

The FSCS were the best, though. After IceSave went under, the FSCS insisted on paying out the full rate for the whole of her fixed-term 12-month savings account until its termination date, even though that was three months after she had died! If only she'd known, she'd have been sooo chuffed!