Help as an attorney, please

Rambosmum

Where in the country is this? This will determine the level of support you can expect from SS. (does she has SS services, e.g. carers?)

In the immediate term you need to cancel her bank cards and get new ones delivered to you. Alternatively you can ask for a withdrawal cap of say £50 to put on her account- be aware though that this cap is usually per day and does not apply to cash back or debit card transactions.

Please please use the terms 'financial abuse' when talking with SS- this may get things moving quicker. You can also call the police (101), explain that you feel your mum doesn't have capacity re fiannces and you have LPA but that she still has access to her account and you feel that someone has been taking money from her - they can put in a 'police welfare notice' to SS if nothing else and this could get things moving.

cavework

Oh blimey.. so you do not live with Mum but have control of her finances, yet large sums of money are being withdrawn on a weekly basis by either her or the people living with her..
You really now have to take action.. you have taken responsibility for Mums financial affairs.
You should be able to talk directly to her bank .. I have POA for my Mum , who lives with us and always deal with the bank on her behalf.
You should check all DD's covering her household and personal bills then put a limit on the weekly cash withdrawl made on her debit card.
Why on earth is she using a credit card? or did you mean debit card for shopping?
Then find out how much your brother and the family are contributing.
What benefits does your Mum receive?

Mav6215

FBaby wrote: »

So what is the arrangement? Does your brother and SIL pay your mum anything towards the accommodation and bills if she pays them all?

£100 a month is paid into one of her savings accounts by my brother and, as far as I know, he buys what is needed for Sunday dinner.

My brother is unapproachable.

My wife and I moved into my parents' a few years ago (my brother already lived there and he wasn't married back then) when her osteoarthritis started getting bad to help out. Soon after my dad became ill and my wife and I took care of both of them. A month after my dad passed away my wife and I had to move out due to the abusive treatment we were getting from my brother - I am afraid my wife will always come first but it was still a difficult decision.

The discussions regarding PoA started before my dad died but were put on hold while we cared for him. I encouraged my mother to discuss the PoA fully with friends she had known for over 60 years before going ahead with it to be certain she was making the right choices for her self.

Edit: I really do appreciate the replies here. It's not easy to discuss especially having gone through it several time with the SS.

I'll try and answer your questions but, obviously, I don't want to give too much personal detail in a public forum.

We are in the South East.

I see the point of cancelling cards but, on the other hand, my mother doesn't really do much and I am scared that taking more responsibility from her will have an even bigger impact on her mental health - where to draw the line. She needs to feel she has some control otherwise what's the point for her. Well, that's what plays on my mind.

The only benefit she has is Attendance Allowance. She is lucky to have a private pension and a good pension from my father's former employer.

Primrose

I really feel for you. This is a difficult situation with other family members involved who may or may not be suspect but your prime duty as POA for your mother is to operate in her best interest especially if there is a possibilitynof financial abuse and she has memory difficulties.

I would echo what somebody else has said and involve the
Police with social services. If potential fraud may be involved yiu need to cover yourself quickly. Ask for a police case number so that everything is recorded. I would consider changing her bank, moving most of her money elsewhere citing getting a better rate of interest and possibly set up a second account in it without an overdraft faciility into which a set monthly amount is fed every month for domestic expenses. If all the agencies involved are not giving you sufficient support as a last resort i suggest you get your local MP involved. My experience is that once they start making enquiries official bodies start sitting up and start taking issues more seriously.

gfplux

If there is the possibility of fraud you should be careful that you are not implicated as you, on the surface are in "control" of your mothers finances.

Mav6215

Sorry for the delay in replying but I wanted to wait until I had further contact with SS.

A lady from SS visited today and spoke to my mother as well as myself and my wife. We discussed all our issues and then left the lady to have a chat with mum on her own. She felt that my mother does not have financial capacity and will be confirming that in a letter which I can show the banks so that restrictions to access can be put in place.

The police may yet be involved but we will have further discussions in due course.

At least I now have some support in dealing with this very difficult and delicate situation.

Mav6215

I thought I'd post an update as I would like further advice, please.

The police (Public Protection Unit) were called in to investigate the missing cash withdrawals and, although all the evidence points to one person (all the cash withdrawals coincided with when he took my mother to the bank), the officer said that no further action could be taken as she was deemed to have capacity at the times she withdrew the cash. I am most unhappy about this especially as I contacted her GP then Social Services some 7/8 months ago. At least everyone involved is now aware of what has been happening and it shouldn't happen again.

This leads to my next question...

Now that her GP has signed a letter confirming my mother's lack of capacity which I have taken to all the financial institutions she has accounts with as expected all her accounts have been frozen with the only access by myself. I am trying to find the best way to give my mother some independence in accessing her own money. Both Social Services and the OPG agree that a Cash Card where I could load it with enough to meet any immediate needs for personal items and get some cash (£20/£30) to keep in her purse on a weekly basis - this is an amount my mother has said she would like - would be a good idea.

Her local Barclays, who she has banked with for over 60 years, said she could have a Cash Card account set to signature only which seemed ideal especially as she would recognise both Barclays and VISA logos. But I have now been told that as she has an LPA that card is not available (it would be if she had an EPA). So does anyone know of the best way I can allow my mother some independence while still protecting her from any further abuse of her good nature?

Thanks.

Gingernutty

Once lack of capacity is proven and the LPA is invoked, there is no way your mother can retain any control.

It's all up to you.

All you can do now is, perhaps, withdraw cash and give it to her to spend.

But your brother is still living with her so that's a risky option.

The prepaid credit card idea seems like a good one.

Savvy_Sue

I do not know if this would work, but I have a Caxton FX card for spending abroad. They have just changed it so that you can load / withdraw in various currencies. And you can have a primary and a secondary cardholder.

Take a look here and choose the Currency Cards option at the top of the screen.

You can load £10 minimum, and you can check what's left on the card. So if you uploaded £50, for example, and checked each week what's left on it. You can also use it like a credit or debit card to pay for things, but it won't let you overspend.

Only thing is I don't know if they have a signature option - would she be able to manage a PIN or is that impossible?

Mav6215

A couple of months ago I had looked at CashPlus as there was an offer through MSE whereby the initial card fee would be returned and no transaction charges including ATM withdrawals but last time I checked that offer had expired. I don't really want to incur any charges on my mother's behalf.

Nationwide do a VISA cash card so will ring them tomorrow and see what they can do to help.