Urgent help pls. How can elderly housebound man withdraw cash from bank?

archieboy

I know that title sounds peculiar but I wanted to try to explain my problem in the Title.

A very close elderly friend of mine has quickly become housebound and is now running out of ready cash. I managed to set up direct debits for all his usual monthly outgoing bills by phoning the companies concerned from his house and him speaking briefly to the companies saying he was happy for me to speak for him. (He doesn't like speaking on the phone.) Yesterday I called into his bank to ask their advice. They of course said giving me signing power would be the best but he would have to visit the bank to set up. I explained that he cannot get into the bank. I asked if a member of staff could call at his home but they said no, they could not do that. She then suggested that I use my friends debit card to withdraw cash for him as she said it was up to my friend what they did with their card and pin number. I don't mind doing this for him and I know he'd be happy to give me the debit card but am worried that I could get into trouble or that someone may think I am stealing from his account. I know he would never accuse me but if anything happened perhaps relatives would. They live hundreds of miles away and rarely visit so can't help.

Another way I thought of was for him to write a cheque out to me which I could deposit in my bank account and then withdraw the cash to give him. There is a problem with this idea though as he has a type of Parkinsons and his writing is almost illegible now so his signature on the cheques would be different from that the bank has on record, so may not be honoured. He does not have internet banking to transfer money to me, in fact doesn't have a computer.

Can anyone please offer advice? If anyone thinks this would be better under another section of the forum, please move and advise, as I didn't know whether to put here or under the banking and savings area.

elsien

I am extremely surprised that they have told you to use his card and PIN number, as this would invalidate his protection should the card be defrauded or cloned. That is certainly not the way to go.
Rather than speaking to the branch, who seem to be making it up as they go along, could you speak to someone further up the ladder in customer services?
Has he thought about getting a power of attorney done - he's likely to hit more obstacles in the future, so a bit of forward planning, however hard it is for him to want to think about, wouldn't be a bad idea.
You could also contact age concern, as they might have come across similar situations.
Edit- could he get to the bank at all as a one off using a wheelchair and wheelchair taxi, or would that be impossible for him?

tanith

This may seem like a daft question but if he's housebound what does he need cash for?

archieboy

elsien wrote: »

I am extremely surprised that they have told you to use his card and PIN number, as this would invalidate his protection should the card be defrauded or cloned. That is certainly not the way to go.
Rather than speaking to the branch, who seem to be making it up as they go along, could you speak to someone further up the ladder in customer services?
Has he thought about getting a power of attorney done - he's likely to hit more obstacles in the future, so a bit of forward planning, however hard it is for him to want to think about, wouldn't be a bad idea.
You could also contact age concern, as they might have come across similar situations.

Thanks for your reply. It was power of attorney the bank said would be the best way to go but that was when they said he'd need to come into the branch to set this up and that is impossible.

I will contact Age Concern for their advice as well as trying to contact someone higher up in the bank.

archieboy

tanith wrote: »

This may seem like a daft question but if he's housebound what does he need cash for?

He needs to pay friends for the groceries they get for him. Pay the man who looks after his garden and similar outgoings.

GwylimT

Banks can issue separate cards, for example if someone is disabled and unable to use the bank without assistance a second card can be issued for a third party to be used, this is enables the account holder to be covered in cases of fraud as well, where as giving someone else your card can lead to a bank refusing a fraud claim payment.

elsien

He can get a solicitor to come to his house to do the power of attorney. Doesn't come cheap though.

Savvy_Sue

Power of attorney will take a while to set up. Quickest way would be for him to sign a cheque as best he can, I'm not convinced anyone ever looks at signatures.

He no more needs to visit the bank to set up PofA than to go to the moon, btw. It doesn't NEED a solicitor, although one might be helpful, and they are more likely to visit at home.

Savvy_Sue

tanith wrote: »

This may seem like a daft question but if he's housebound what does he need cash for?

Well, if the OP is getting shopping in, or there are cleaners / carers coming in, they may want to be paid.

archieboy

GwylimT wrote: »

Banks can issue separate cards, for example if someone is disabled and unable to use the bank without assistance a second card can be issued for a third party to be used, this is enables the account holder to be covered in cases of fraud as well, where as giving someone else your card can lead to a bank refusing a fraud claim payment.

That sounds a good solution but can it be done without the account holder visiting the bank to agree to it? I can't imagine the bank issueing a card on his account in my name, just on my say so, otherwise all sorts of crooks would be doing this. Do you know how we would go about it?

ibizafan_2

I do the shopping for an 89 year old friend who is more or less housebound now. When she runs short of cash, she gets me to write a cheque to myself which she only signs, and I've had no problem at the bank when paying it in. They wouldn't know what her signature was like anyway. I do make sure that it is clearly recorded on the cheque stubs what the money is for as I don't want her nephews to think I am up to any kind of scam! It is protection for me as she suffers from poor memory and would instantly forget that she has signed the cheque. It seems the easiest way to keep her topped up with ready cash.