looking for basic bankaccount

G_M

(and yes, I've read the sticky!)

Elderly parent has Santander 123 account. Great! 3% interest.

However we (children with POA) are increasingly concerned she is becoming unable to evaluate when/where it is appropriate to spend. And an account with £15-£20K in it is vulnerable.

I went into Santander and asked about opening a parallel basic account for her. We would keep her income/DDs in the 123, but use a Standing Order to transfer £X per week/month to a basic account for her to use to draw cash, pay Sainsburys etc.

However, it seems if she then used the new card to draw out a large cash sum, or pay a bill, using the new account, it would simply allow her to do so and go overdrawn. Great for Santander (overdraft charges) but kind of defeats the purpose!

So is there an account whereby
* if she tries to draw out more than the balance in the account, the ATM would reject AND
* has a debit card (so not a cash card) she can use in shops (sainsbugs etc) AND
* as with the ATM, if she went off to the travel agent and bought a £2000 cruise, the debit card would be rejected as over the current limit

Suggestions?

xylophone

Change the 123 to an account in the name of GM, Attorney for Mrs X- this gives you control over that account but beneficial ownership for tax etc remains with your mother.

Open a BS account with ATM card in your mother's sole name which you will credit with a regular amount from the 123 account so that she has cash for spending money.

Consider a credit card for your mother with low credit limit and arrange for it to be paid in full by DD from the 123 account?

Archi_Bald

I take it you couldn't find anything amongst the basic accounts? A bit surprising. Did you also work through the basic bank account article on the main site?

If I were you, I would be looking into something like a pre-paid card, or may be a Lloyds account with control. You'd most likely have to pay for any account/card which comes with restrictions.

mum2one

might be worth trying natwest for their basic current account, you can manage it online as well as in branch, so you could transfer across, with the account they offer a service (which is free) to stop u going overdrawn, basically the only time you wouldn't be able to use the debit card includes
pay and go at petrol pump (but you can pay inside)
on an aeroplane

with those 2 examples they dont always authorise at point of sale, so you could put £50 petrol in car whilst you only have £1 in account. xx

G_M

Thanks.

xylophone wrote: »

Change the 123 to an account in the name of GM, Attorney for Mrs X- this gives you control over that account but beneficial ownership for tax etc remains with your mother. So that would prohibit her from accessing the account? At present, as POA, I have access, but so does she.

Open a BS (building Society?)account with ATM card in your mother's sole name which you will credit with a regular amount from the 123 account so that she has cash for spending money.
Would this work in shops? Does it not need to be a debit (eg VISA) card?

Consider a credit card for your mother with low credit limit and arrange for it to be paid in full by DD from the 123 account?

Credit card is an idea, though introducing a 2nd card might just confuse her, whereas a straight substitution would be easier.

Will look at Natwest too. Cheers!

Archi_Bald

I seem to remember the Natwest basic account cards don't work at all ATMs, only with Natwest ones? That might be inconvenient / upsetting for your mum.

Very few if any savings accounts come with a proper Debit card afaik.

G_M

Archi_Bald wrote: »

I seem to remember the Natwest basic account cards don't work at all ATMs, only with Natwest ones? That might be inconvenient / upsetting for your mum.

Very few if any savings accounts come with a proper Debit card afaik.

Yes. We (Santander) discussed a savings account.

I was just surprised they could not offer a c/a card that would not allow customer to draw out more than they have.

pmduk

Don't forget that Santander's basic account only has a cash card, not a debit card

G_M

pmduk wrote: »

Don't forget that Santander's basic account only has a cash card, not a debit card

Thanks. Yes. The discussion I had was around their non-fee standard current account (with VISA debit card) to run alongside he fee-paying 123.

As you say, the basic account would not provide the facilities required either.

EarthBoy

Banks in the Lloyds Banking Group, i.e. Lloyds, TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, allow you to add "control" to your account which should stop you going overdrawn in most cases. It does cost £10 per month though.

http://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts/control.asp

NatWest and RBS do the same service for free:

http://www.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/g3/overdrafts.ashx#tabs=section4

G_M

EarthBoy wrote: »

Banks in the Lloyds Banking Group, i.e. Lloyds, TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, allow you to add "control" to your account which should stop you going overdrawn in most cases. It does cost £10 per month though.

http://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts/control.asp

NatWest and RBS do the same service for free:

http://www.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/g3/overdrafts.ashx#tabs=section4

Thanks. The Natwest select account with overdraft control looks good.

Interestingly, a manager at Santander telephone banking directly contradicted the Branch Manager I saw and claimed transactions taking the account overdrawn could be declined.

I've emailed to get written confirmation as Santander simply don't seem to know....