Can I open an internet-based savings account for my 83 year-old mother-in-law?

FlyingWolf

Hi,

Just trawling through the various comparison webistes to find a top-paying savings account for my mother-in-law. She does not have access to the internet or have an email address.

Does anyone know if she would be able to open an account in her own name (providing ID as req'd) but use either my (or my wife's) email address to open the account??

She doesn't intend making any capital withdrawls, and she has her own separate bank account from which she could transfer £££ to open the account AND receive interest via BACS.

At the moment, the A&L eSaver and Kauthing Edge savings accounts are coming out tops, but both are internet based. All the non-internet/telephone 'high street' accounts seem to pay poor rates of interest.

Any help appreciated.

FW

debbie42

You could always set her up a specific google mail account if you wanted it to be separate, but there's nothing to stop her nominating one of your email accounts for communications purposes.

She may need internet access to manage the accounts, though? Unless she can use your pc, of course. I'm not sure how you'd stand legally if it was you doing it for her, knowing her passwords etc.

BallandChain

Personally this sounds very dodgy. If the elderly lady has no internet knowledge whatsoever why would she want an internet account? FlyingWolf, I am seriously concerned about your motives and I hope the mother-in-law sees right through you.

PasturesNew

She'd be better off having a nice pass book and getting out to a local branch. She's 83, she will want to know where her money is and that she could get her hands on it if she wanted. She won't want to be bothering you every week or so when she checks "in case".

debbie42

It seems unfair to doubt someone's motives in such a way, without knowing the full details.

I helped my Mum to open an account a while back (she's mid seventies), and, although at the time she didn't have internet access she now has a whiz bang laptop and is an avid "silver surfer". Don't underestimate the capacity for change and learning in people just based on their age.

Primrose

If your mother in law wants the benefit of higher interest rates via an internet account, it would probably be better if you did this on her behalf officially with a Power of Attorney. However, now the old system of P of A has been overtaken by the new one, the cost of fees for having it drawn up would probably negate the benefit of any extra interest she received. As your m-i-l doesn't need to withdraw any of the capital, the other option to investigate would be some of the 6 month, One Year or Two Years Savings Bonds with various building societies, as these often offer better rates than ordinary savings accounts and you receive a "paper" letter confirming your investments. I believe Saga have recently come up with some new Fixed Term Bond offers.

Chester_Draws

I agree with Debbie, its offensive to cast a slur on the motives without knowledge, and to state "I hope the mother-in-law sees right through you" is bordering on the obscene.
FW motives could be to get the best rate possible for his M-I-L because of his care and concerns for her to be able to enjoy her finances.

Primrose

Just checked. Saga's current One Year Bond is offering 6.4%.

FlyingWolf

Debbie and Pastures, many thanks for your helpful responses. My motives are entirely honourable - I'm just trying to secure the best savings rate possible. I'm lucky enough to be financially savvy in terms of obtianing the best credit cards, interest rates, offset mortgages etc. Other people are less so, including my M-i-L, and I just want to help out where I can. It was she who in fact approached me when her current investment account matured.

Ball and Chain - Stephen R Covey (you probably haven't heard of him) once said "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". You would do well to take heed of that advice - or just get out more.

FW

Biggles

I think, both to cover yourself and protect her (and those who may inherit from her), you should be completely open with the banks and ask the question of them.

They're perfectly able to allow you access to the account if she authorises it, and to send her emails c/o yourself if they wish, but all paper correspondence and ID would have to be with her (they will all have some kind of paperwork IIRC?).

debbie42

PasturesNew wrote: »

She'd be better off having a nice pass book and getting out to a local branch. She's 83, she will want to know where her money is and that she could get her hands on it if she wanted.

I find this comment patronising in the extreme. I do appreciate that some may like "a nice pass book": some young people would, too. How can you necessarily know what someone will want purely based on their age? Would you have made the same remark if the person concerned was 20 or 50, or what?

I'd hate to think that my grandma (who is 99) would be talked down to or pigeon-holed in such a manner.