Which savings accounts accept Power of Attorney?

celica

I want to open a couple of savings accounts (<£35K in each) with decent interest rates for my mother for whom I have Power of Attorney. The first two accounts I tried have turned me away (Kaupthing Edge and A&L esaver account don’t accept applications based on PoA). Rather than me waste a lot more time trawling through numerous other sites or phoning branches, has anyone had any success opening a ‘best buy’ account for a relative using PoA?

Powerful_Pierre

I had Power of Attorney for my mother which on her solicitor's advice I did not register with the court of protection. This ultimately proved to be good advice but because it was not registered I was not able to open any new accounts for my mother. All I could do was work with the organisations in which she already had savings/investments which was OK but not as good as I would have wished for. Looking at it another way if you did not have to invoke the POA then existing investments/savings would have remained much as they are as you would have been less likely to intervene.

tawse57

Halifax and Nationwide seem clued up on this, especially HBOS. LloydsTSB are too but their IRs are, IMPO, not that good.

You need to make an appointment and go into each branch to speak to their 'expert' on this. HBOS have a member in each branch who deals with POA and Probate of Willis. I found the HBOS person I spoke to be very understanding, clued-up and considerate.

Lloyds will deal with it in branch initially but they have a specialised department to whom all the paperwork is sent and then they deal with it and you with them.

You are aware of having to keep detailed accounts, receipts aren't you?

Biggles

A few that do:-
NS&I, Kent Reliance BS, Nottingham BS, Northern Rock, Whiteaway Laidlaw, Anglo Irish Bank, IceSave, Yorkshire BS.

Biggles

Powerful_Pierre wrote: »

I had Power of Attorney for my mother which on her solicitor's advice I did not register with the court of protection. This ultimately proved to be good advice but because it was not registered I was not able to open any new accounts for my mother. All I could do was work with the organisations in which she already had savings/investments which was OK but not as good as I would have wished for. Looking at it another way if you did not have to invoke the POA then existing investments/savings would have remained much as they are as you would have been less likely to intervene.

If it is an Enduring Power of Attorney that you obtained before 1 Oct 07, there is no need to register it with the Office of the Public Guardian unless the donor loses (or is beginning to lose) mental capacity.

All banks will let you operate her accounts on production of the original (or a copy certified by your solicitor) and most will let you open a new account.

If it is a Lasting Power of Attorney, then it can't be used at all until it is registered.

Why do you say it 'proved to be good advice'?

Powerful_Pierre

It was an Enduring Power of Attorney drawn up in 1995. I had no problems operating her existing accounts or opening other accounts with her existing providers but I seemed to hit a wall when attempting to open a new account with a new provider - because the EPOA was not registered. The solicitor advised me not to register it because it made everything so much more complicated than it need be and incurred costs needlessly. I had absolutely no problem operating it at all other than with the Woolwich who were particularly fussy but this was good for my mother's protection. In fact it was so easy I was concerned how it could easily be abused.

merlinthehappypig

I had no problems whatsover with Northern Rock a few weeks ago, even on-line.

PBA

Is your mother able to physically sign an application form? If she is then you can get accounts opened using her signature, just don't mention the PoA when you're applying. If she can't sign then you need to get it registered with the court before opening any new accounts.

Biggles

PBA wrote: »

If she can't sign then you need to get it registered with the court before opening any new accounts.

No, you don't need to get it registered unless she has lost mental capacity. There are some firms that don't accept PoA, and getting it registered won't make any difference in those cases.

PP obviously ran up against one or two staff members who didn't understand the system; this happens. Sometimes you have to demonstrate that you know how a PoA works better than they do. Though, bearing in mind how long it has existed, it may be that his experiences were some years ago, when the PoA was less well understood.

PBA

Biggles wrote: »

No, you don't need to get it registered unless she has lost mental capacity.

True, but the donor would still need to sign for any new account until they had lost capacity.

Biggles

PBA wrote: »

True, but the donor would still need to sign for any new account until they had lost capacity.

No, the whole point of the EPA is that it gives the Attorney that power without registration. I used one for a couple of years before getting it registered; with the exception of the few banks that will have nothing to do with PoA at all, it was accepted without any problems.

That's the beauty of them (though, as mentioned by PP, I was also concerned that maybe it was so easy they could be abused). Loss of capacity is not relevant except that, when that happens, you must then register the EPA. You can use them, registered or not, for perfectly fit people who are unable to carry out their affairs for any reason, eg hospitalised, travelling abroad etc.

The LPA is different in that it must be registered before it can be used. But, again, there is no reason why it shouldn't be registered and used as soon as it is signed, irrespective of whether the donor has lost mental capacity.