Pensioner hoarding cash

chesky

trailingspouse wrote: »

Banks can refuse to accept large quantities of coin.

... But I don't expect this lady has £16,000 in pound coins or 50p pieces.

trailingspouse

chesky - that's why I asked the question in post #5.

She's got £16,000 in cash! Yes, I agree, it's likely to be in notes - but I don't know for sure that it is, and neither do you. It could be a mixture of coins and notes. And if there's a lot of coin there may be a problem - which is why they need to go into the bank and talk to them.

worried_jim

Anyone can pay money into an account, fill in paying in slip with sort code and account number and job done.

DigForVictory

If Gran has a Barclays account, several branches have automated deposit booths. Naturally you wouldn't shunt the full load in all at once (hoard or no hoard, there are money laundering issues) but over a couple of days you might manage to avoid all human contact at all.

However the "has she been inadvertently overclaiming" is one issue & that son has said he's found £16K raises the question "well, just how much cash did gran hoard" as it might have been more, just son has pocketed some. Not wishing to cast aspersions on your OH OP, just these doubts can arise.

Finally, odds on some of that will be near unbankable what with age - it might be simpler to sort out by denomination & then vintage & take a handful of the seriously older notes to a dealer rather than a bank.

What an intriguing problem to have & why couldn't the dear lady have hoarded sovereigns! Blissfully less fuss...

Kim_13

Does your grandmother in law have more than one account at a bank? In order to help avoid difficulties due to bank's money laundering concerns, if she does it may be worth splitting the cash between institutions.

Banks can accept notes when their legal tender status has been withdrawn at their discretion. Old £5 notes probably aren't going to be a problem as they've only just gone, but anything older and you may find it difficult.

If you or a trusted relative is near London, it may be worth taking any withdrawn bank notes to the Bank of England for them to be exchanged, rather than searching for a bank/cashier that will accept them. This page may be useful if going down this route: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/exchanges/publiccounter.aspx

Old coins don't hold their value for all time like notes do, so a dealer is likely to be the only option for any very old coinage. Some retailers were continuing to accept the round pound for a while longer, so you may get lucky with any of those. Banks may also still accept as they've only just gone out.

REJP

If she has a current bank account, it can be paid in over the counter.
There is no law against saving money paid from DWP benefits.
However, if the lady is in receipt of benefit payments to fund her sheltered housing rent and Council Tax, and she has other savings which would take her over the limit at which she exceeds her benefits allowance, then she would have to pay extra towards her rent etc.
Have you discussed this with her? If she is mentally capable of making an informed decision about the money, then she should be involved in any action taken. If not, and you have an Enduring Power of Attorney, then you can decide what to do on her behalf for her own benefit.
It is amazing how many people keep large sums of money in the house, many do not trust banks. As noted by others who have replied to this topic, insurance companies will not pay for loss of hoarded money in the event of fire or burglary.

REJP

In my previous post I said there was no law against saving money from DWP benefits. I should have made it clear that if the savings in a bank account take a claimant over the cap on benefits, then DWP is supposed to be informed of the change of circumstances, when they would adjust the amount of benefits being paid. I have no idea what happens if it is just cash hoarded in the house and not put into an account for her.
There are of course benefits which are not capped, such as Constant Attendance allowance or Disability Living allowance.
If the lady is not receiving benefits then there is no problem paying into a bank account for her. Providing of course that the money is still legal tender, in the event it is out of date then the bank will advise on what to do about it.
I know from personal experience that it is always worth checking shoe boxes, biscuit tins, even talcum powder tins, when clearing a property, I have found money hidden in all sorts of places, coat pockets, vacuum flasks, anything that might be thought to be junk is used to hide cash. Amazing how many people hide money in the house. Especially in bin bags under mattresses!

Mojisola

REJP wrote: »

In my previous post I said there was no law against saving money from DWP benefits.

I should have made it clear that if the savings in a bank account take a claimant over the cap on benefits, then DWP is supposed to be informed of the change of circumstances, when they would adjust the amount of benefits being paid.

I have no idea what happens if it is just cash hoarded in the house and not put into an account for her.

Having savings over the limits affects means tested benefits!

It doesn't matter whether the savings are in a bank account or kept as cash.

Ms_Chocaholic

My dear mum was insistent that she withdraw her whole pension every week, regardless of whether she needed to use it. She used to pop round to our house and put £7-£8k through the letterbox for us to take to the bank for her. I wonder if this is how the OP has accumulated all the cash.

jackyann

When I first worked as a district nurse, in the 70s, it was fairly common to find older people with hoards of money - a generation who dealt mostly in cash, mistrustful of banks etc.
I did once find an old fashioned bottom mattress literally stuffed with notes (before the modern 'mattress toppers', it was common to have a firm mattress underneath, and a feather one on top).
Although less common now, I suspect most banks come across this every so often.