Is this correct?

vwman_3

lisyloo wrote: »

Yes we help out our elderly parents.
We get them the best rate possible on their savings, get them the correct benefits and try to sort out their money to the best of our abilities.

Our intentions are merely to help out our parents.

We could do it all legally and get one of those "power of attorneys" but as you have seen from post 1 this isn't always recognised.

I realise that strictly speaking we are breaking a few rules, but we are doing it for all the right reasons..............and it's nothing to do with boosting our inheritance -we would rather our parents had the best quality of life possibly and if that means spending it all the that's OK with us.

I'm sorry if anyone find it shocking but as you can see from this thread if you try to follow all the leagl nicecities you will come across bureacracy.



By the way it is NOT fraud if you are not gaining any benefit.
I agree it is illegal but to be guilty of theft or fraud you actually have to make a gain.
There is probably some offence committed if you are trying to help someone and not gaining but it is NOT called either theft or fraud.

Oh your helping your parents out, that's okay then, so where do you draw the line.

If you had your parents best interests at heart the why go about it the way you are, sort out a power of attorney so that they and you are covered.

I'm sure if you told the CC Company what you are doing they would take a very dim view of it.

And by the way you are not breaking a few rules, it's a criminal offence

jamalfatty

You mentioned a Power of Attorney, has your son actually sent this bank a written signed statement saying he gives you permission to act on his behalf? If he hasnt then they are quite right not to act on anything you ask them to do. Although they may not start investigating anything on the account, i'm pretty sure they would have blocked the card as soon as you told them what was happening, although obviously they wouldnt tell you this.

loulou41

Even with a power of attorney which will cost loads for a piece of paper, some of the banks & building society will not accept it. I understand, they will happily accept a letter of authorisation. If only I have known that before he sets off. I did get him to sign a NW form to give me authorisation to withdraw money from a named account but I did not bank on his credit card being compromised. I am going to my local branch to see what they will accept. HSBC will accept power of attorney. I would have thought power of attorney should carry more weight as you need to have the signatures witnessed than just a signed letter.

loulou41

jamalfatty wrote: »

You mentioned a Power of Attorney, has your son actually sent this bank a written signed statement saying he gives you permission to act on his behalf? If he hasnt then they are quite right not to act on anything you ask them to do. Although they may not start investigating anything on the account, i'm pretty sure they would have blocked the card as soon as you told them what was happening, although obviously they wouldnt tell you this.

Yes, I was advised by one of the CS to go to my local N.W branch and ask them to fax the power of attorney. The idea is for CS to check whether it is original. I had to tell them to block the account toherwise they would do it. I was told if I do not do it, then my son will be accountable for any further purchases.

jamalfatty

loulou41 wrote: »

Even with a power of attorney which will cost loads for a piece of paper, some of the banks & building society will not accept it.

I am fairly certain that they cannot refuse to accept a POA as it is a legally binding document. Think whichever bank you spoke to would have been referring to a Letter of Authority which is a different kettle of fish completely and has no legal standing

loulou41

I spoke to the supervisor of Nationwide Credit card services, and she insisted that they do not accept power of attorney. I did mention, it is a legal document but she says different organisations have different rules but they will accept a letter of authority. I did feel sorry for her as she was getting a moo uthful and her hands are tied.I have written a letter to complain about this, may be it is about time they revise their rules. I am going to my local branch tomorrow to see whether that rules apply to all their accounts. I thought, I should share this experience on the forum so that members are aware of this.

jamalfatty

loulou41 wrote: »

I spoke to the supervisor of Nationwide Credit card services, and she insisted that they do not accept power of attorney.

I'd put money on her being wrong with this, think she will be getting this mixed up with an LOA

wurlitzerwilly

lisyloo wrote: »

Many thanks for the comments.
I have genuinely taken it on board and considered the posistion.

I really do doubt that anyone would prosecute me over (for example) obtaining an insurance quotation for an elderly person who is hard of hearing.

I am confident that we have always acted in their best interests and no business or person has suffered any loss as a result.

The problem is that you know that your intentions are honourable, but if a case does arise, you may have problems proving it. They may not actually prosecute you, but may well refuse to pay out on a claim, if they can prove that the policy was taken out fraudulently. There's a big difference in behaving fraudulently and actually committing prosecutable fraud. You're right in that an illegal gain has to be made to commit fraud, but the gain doesn't have to be yours. However, they'd be more likely to take you to court for conspiracy.

I'm on your side on this, and I'd probably do the same! Unless they're taking voice prints (extremely difficult to do accurately over a bandwidth restricted phone line) they' have the devil's own job proving it.


However, do not give insurance companies the slightest excuse to refuse to pay out, for they surely will. :rolleyes2

A work colleauge of my wife's was taken ill 6 months ago and had a brain op for a tumour. His wife had to quit work to look after him, so is on a small compassionate wage. They've just tried to claim some insurance benefits and the company are refusing to pay out, because they say that what he as a layman put on the form is not what his doctor is saying is wrong with him, which is in fact far worse than he thinks. The claimants are also not acting fraudulently, but there is a minor discrepancy, not even in their favour, and that's all it takes. :mad:

loulou41

jamalfatty wrote: »

I'd put money on her being wrong with this, think she will be getting this mixed up with an LOA

Been to my local N.Wide this morning. They do accept POA in their branch. She checked about POA in her system and she found out that POA does not operate on credit card. I said, how do they expect members to be aware of this since it is not printed in their credit card terms & conditions? I have put a formal complaint regarding this. Will be interesting to know the reply?

Wyndham

loulou41 wrote: »

Been to my local N.Wide this morning. They do accept POA in their branch. She checked about POA in her system and she found out that POA does not operate on credit card. I said, how do they expect members to be aware of this since it is not printed in their credit card terms & conditions? I have put a formal complaint regarding this. Will be interesting to know the reply?

I'm pretty sure that the NW Credit Card is run by a third party (not sure who, mabye MBNA?) and not Nationwide themselves. It doesn't excuse them in any way, as they are happy to use the Nationwide name when it suits them then distance themselves when it doesn't.

Let us know how you get on.