Protection for elderly mother

ih8stress

Lloyds bank apparently have 'financial abuse support' :

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/customer-support/financial-abuse-support.asp

and their financial abuse support guide mentioned in it, with some organisations you could contact:

https://www.lloydsbank.com/assets/media/pdfs/help_and_guidance/customer_support/uk-finance-its-your-money-guide.pdf

Obviously it is tricky as it is really your Mum that needs to complain/apply by the sound of it.

As @Elsien points out the third-party access is necessary for you to do things BUT it means that your Mum is deemed as having the mental capacity to then be able to cancel this (with or without pressure from the neighbour).

Short-term, could you quickly get hold of a card for yourself and be able to move some of the money out?

Have you looked into getting a Credit Report to see if there is/has been anything else created in your Mum's name. Cifas is also another one to check out.

Also, what about Financial/Banking Ombudsman etc.

Just trying to throw out as many ideas as I can here but you definitely need to get this taken seriously somehow TODAY.

We can all offer advice but at the end of the day it is immediate action that is needed to prevent the neighbour being able to do anything. I can't believe that the bank allows them to accompany your Mum anyway. My bank has a warning about something similar.

Oh, and what about a general complaint (no personal details obviously) on their Twitter/Facebook pages etc. as I've heard that this can sometimes lead to quicker responses (not necessarily about banking).

Sorry for the long post. Good luck

Primrose

I,m wondering whether a complaint to the financial regulator would be worth considering if the bank are failing to take your complaint seriously.

Alternatively a complaint to one of the financial "agony aunts" In one of the serious papers like the Telegraph might get the bank sharpening up their act. This often starts throw up red alerts when the press start taking an interest in such matters for fear of the bad publicity which might be generated.

ih8stress

I keep racking my brains for solutions for you -

now it is the school holidays could you have your Mum stay with you until you can get some safeguards in place - on the premise that she would be helping YOU out etc.

Could you 'copy' your neighbour and take your Mum to the bank and withdraw as much as possible (even if you have to do it every day), to then put elsewhere in your Mum's name where it cannot be withdrawn instantly or you get the card and pin details.

Even if your Mum is seen to be giving the money willingly - there IS a crime here if she is being coerced into it in the first place.

What do the bank think that an elderly woman is spending thousands of pounds on!

Have you heard anything back from Social Services yet? You need to log the transactions every day and keep them or the Police informed if need be