Santander security check for Elderly parent

Tom68

Dear All,

our mum is 83 and although living very independently an LPA being put in place is not appropriate at the moment. Following a brain operation 18 months ago she has become too trusting and nice!

Following a bank phone fraud where she lost a large amount of money we investigated alternatives to invoking the LPA.

A year ago Santander were prepared to put in place a measure where if she tried to transfer /withdraw etc more than say £500 then Santander would then ring an appointed sibling to check this is okay.

We now tried to put this in place but Santander say they no longer do this service.

Does anyone know if all banks now follow this rule? Or think of anything else, she is quite brand loyal and would take some persuasion to change anyway..

With thanks
Tom

Sea_Shell

Sounds like a PoA is completely appropriate at this time!!! They don't have to have lost competence for it to be registered.

onwards&upwards

Is LPA inappropriate because mum no longer has the capacity to make that decision?

If so, you need to look at applying to the court of protection to become her deputy.

Lots of useful information here: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/deputy-dementia

xylophone

LPA being put in place is not appropriate at the moment.

we investigated alternatives to invoking the LPA.

Is an LPA in place or not?

If it is, given your description of your mother's condition, it is time to invoke it?

Zanderman

Tom68 wrote: »

our mum is 83 and although living very independently an LPA being put in place is not appropriate at the moment. Following a brain operation 18 months ago she has become too trusting and nice!

Those two sentences are contradictory.

If she is too trusting now then now is exactly the time for implementing the LPA.

The LPA is the answer to the problems you're having.

Tom68

Yes thank you for your replies. Without getting into how appropriate the LPA is does anyone know if it is just Santander who have stopped a the option of a family member from endorsing large withdrawals??

DCFC79

Tom68 wrote: »

Yes thank you for your replies. Without getting into how appropriate the LPA is does anyone know if it is just Santander who have stopped a the option of a family member from endorsing large withdrawals??

Not sure bur ask the banks tomorrow.

SnowTiger

Tom68 wrote: »

Yes thank you for your replies. Without getting into how appropriate the LPA is does anyone know if it is just Santander who have stopped a the option of a family member from endorsing large withdrawals??

I'd be surprised if (m)any banks want to get involved in this sort of thing.

They'd be on the hook if the process failed; and they'd be on the hook if your Mother couldn't make a genuine transaction because they couldn't get hold of a family member to okay it.

Why not open another account for her that has overdraft control and keep £500 pocket money in it for her to spend?

elsien

How does mum feel about her children scrutinising her spending in this way? Is it what she wants to happen, as if she does then depending on how the power of attorney has been set up, if she has capacity she can agree for you to take over some aspects of her finances with her consent.
If she lacks capacity then that's why the LPA is there.
But if she has capacity and says no, then that's her decision and you can't override it regardless of bank rules.
I suspect the reason they are saying no is that they can't lawfully prevent your mother doing what she likes with her money while she is able to make those decisions. Even if she wishes and agreed to the measures, if she has capacity she can choose to override them at any time.

And to the other poster, it's a little infantilising to talk of adults having pocket money. The point about fraudsters is that it can happen to any of us.

Zanderman

elsien wrote: »

...................
I suspect the reason they are saying no is that they can't lawfully prevent your mother doing what she likes with her money while she is able to make those decisions. Even if she wishes and agreed to the measures, if she has capacity she can choose to override them at any time. ..............

OP doesn't suggest the bank is saying no to LPA. Just vaguely states LPA is not appropriate (without giving a reason). No suggestion the banks have even made made aware it's an option.

We activated LPA for my mum when she went into care - she still had capacity, she still wrote cheques, but we had LPA powers too.

The banks never asked if she gave permission - they did ask whether she still had capacity, (to which we said yes) but not whether she gave permission. The LPA IS (once signed and registered) permission. That's the point of it.

elsien

I wasn't referring to the LPA in that last paragraph, I'm aware of how it works. I was referring to the bank's previous and now withdrawn suggestion of a £500 limit without family approval with no clear legal basis and which the OP is now hoping to find elsewhere.