Restricting Cash Withdrawals for Elderly

travelbug63

Please can anyone advise me whether there is a Bank account that restricts cash withdrawals to your chosen limit?



My elderly mother get's very confused and doesn't seem to know how much cash is been withdrawn from her account.


I have Power of Attorney and access to her account and can see that regular sums are withdrawn but she doesn't know what she's spending it on. I want her to just use her debit card and I can let her have cash as needs be. M&S,her current bank won't allow me to limit how much she can take out, and the standard £500 per day is in place.

Willing2Learn

Sorry, I'm unable to answer your question.

But I wondered whether you have asked AgeUK the same question?

I also wondered whether you could set up two accounts for your elderly mother. One account for bills and living expenses where you look after the ATM card for her. And then another account purely for entertainment and other expenses, for which she has an ATM card.

okidoodle

What about getting her a Revolut card? They have a monthly limit and you can set it so the transactions will go to your phone, then basically top it up from her account. No need to change accounts, but she can still use a card and a cash machine without you worrying.

okidoodle

ps. Age UK are useless for information and advice, Independent Age are much better - 0800 319 6789

Anthorn

travelbug63 wrote: »

Please can anyone advise me whether there is a Bank account that restricts cash withdrawals to your chosen limit?



My elderly mother get's very confused and doesn't seem to know how much cash is been withdrawn from her account.


I have Power of Attorney and access to her account and can see that regular sums are withdrawn but she doesn't know what she's spending it on. I want her to just use her debit card and I can let her have cash as needs be. M&S,her current bank won't allow me to limit how much she can take out, and the standard £500 per day is in place.

Doesn't make sense to me: If you have Power Of Attorney and access to her bank account why is she able to withdraw cash which you don't want her to do. Just have her debit/cash card blocked and removed.

You might also like to look at providing a prepaid card on which funds can be limited when the card is loaded but consider ATM fees.

okidoodle

Anthorn wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me: If you have Power Of Attorney and access to her bank account why is she able to withdraw cash which you don't want her to do. Just have her debit/cash card blocked and removed.

That could be construed as abuse if another person (e.g a social worker or GP) believed she had mental capacity to spend her money as she wished. Even people with some dementia have the right as adults to spend their own money, even on things that may be unwise.

Anthorn

okidoodle wrote: »

That could be construed as abuse if another person (e.g a social worker or GP) believed she had mental capacity to spend her money as she wished. Even people with some dementia have the right as adults to spend their own money, even on things that may be unwise.

The OP doesn't say that and the information in your post is your own invention. What I see is "confused" and "Power Of Attorney" and "access to her account". In addition I see "her current bank ... won't allow me to limit ..." If that's the case what is the point of the power of attorney? That is why I posted that it doesn't make sense to me!

Terry_Towelling

Anthorn wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me: If you have Power Of Attorney and access to her bank account why is she able to withdraw cash which you don't want her to do. Just have her debit/cash card blocked and removed.

Unless she has 'lost capacity' you have no right (even as an attorney) to restrict the donor from making their own decisions - however unwise they may seem to you. She seems able to remember the PIN to make the withdrawals (unless she's referring to a written note with it on) and apparently has no trouble getting out to the bank, so making the case for loss of capacity (which may require the certification of a doctor) isn't going to be easy - even if you wanted to do it.

That said, she clearly has some level of cognitive impairment as she can't remember the withdrawals or spending the money. Are you completely certain that it is your mother who is making the cash withdrawals?

elsien

Part of having capacity around money would include knowing where it's going, even if someone is still physically able to access it.
(Of course she may have a bad gambling habit she doesn't want to admit to?)

Do you have concerns that mum is being taken advantage of? How much money at a time and what is there to show for it? Could she be giving money to someone else?

Anthorn

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

Unless she has 'lost capacity' you have no right (even as an attorney) to restrict the donor from making their own decisions - however unwise they may seem to you. She seems able to remember the PIN to make the withdrawals (unless she's referring to a written note with it on) and apparently has no trouble getting out to the bank, so making the case for loss of capacity (which may require the certification of a doctor) isn't going to be easy - even if you wanted to do it.

That said, she clearly has some level of cognitive impairment as she can't remember the withdrawals or spending the money. Are you completely certain that it is your mother who is making the cash withdrawals?

Are you reading the same opening post as I'm reading? What I see is "confused ..." about the withdrawals and doesn't know how much is withdrawn. If that's the case then the attorney has a duty of care to act as does the bank.

okidoodle

That's not how adult safeguarding works. Being confused does not in law equal a lack of capacity necessarily, and capacity has to be very specifically and carefully applied. That's why I suggested a revolut card so OP can actually get a notification on their phone of the spending to make sure that there is no fraud or taking large amounts out in cash and losing them, whilst giving her appropriate access to her money and sidestepping the bank's lack of helpfulness.

OP, if your mother still lives in her own home, have you checked that the cash isn't hidden in the house? When my grandmother went into a home we found approximately £5000 in small pockets of cash hidden around her house in cupboards, under floorboards etc.