You would think that banks and building societies would make life easier for those looking after their loved ones’ affairs.
After all, taking on this responsibility for someone who can no longer do it for themselves is difficult enough as it is.
But banks and building societies can make getting the best savings account difficult, tedious and time-consuming – and some are worse than others.
If someone gives you power of attorney, it means you have a legal document that allows you to organize their financial affairs when they are no longer able to do so.
Trust: If someone gives you power of attorney, it means you have a legal document that allows you to organize their financial affairs when they are no longer able to.
Every time you open a savings account with a new provider, you need to provide them with legal document details, but the way they want this information varies widely.
It has become easier to verify your power of attorney since the Office of the Public Defender (OPG) launched its online access system for those registered with it as of January 1, 2016.
In theory, you can send the savings provider an access code and they can check it online.
Interestingly, some insist that you mail them the access code or take it to a branch instead of simply submitting it online.
Nationwide only accepts it through its branches or by post, while National Savings and Investments (NS&I) says it can deliver it by post.
If your power of attorney was registered with the OPG before 2016, then you must take the original or a certified copy to one of the provider’s branches, if they have one, or send it by mail.
Major banks such as Lloyds, Halifax, Barclays, HSBC and NatWest say you can top them up online.
Your next task is to go through the usual identity checks for both yourself and the person whose money you are looking after.
Even after jumping through all these hoops, you can still run into difficulties due to poor management, as Money Mail readers have discovered.
Jenny Wylie wrote to Santander on 1 July with instructions to pay her 104-year-old uncle Robert’s fixed-rate bond into his account when it matured a month later.
Jenny has power of attorney over Robert’s account and wanted the money in his account to pay for his care home expenses, which are just under £5,000 a month.
After receiving no response to her letter with instructions, she called the bank twice in July, but on both occasions Santander was unable to put her in touch with the team that could help her, due to high call volume and human error.
It was only when I asked Santander to investigate the case that the original instructions were put into effect.
A Santander spokesperson said: “Due to human error, we did not initially activate the external funds transfer option when Ms Wylie contacted us. We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and have sent her a bouquet of flowers as an apology.”
Colin Ellison ran into trouble when his wife Christine’s bond with Cynergy Bank matured in July.
Christine is in a nursing home so Colin, who has power of attorney, wrote to the bank to say he did not want the bond renewed because the money was needed to pay for her care costs.
He provided the OPG passcode, but the bank wanted to see the original or a certified copy along with Christine’s passport, a letter from the nursing home to confirm she was there, and his wife’s bank details so the money could be sent there.
To make matters worse, he received a letter informing him that the money had been reinvested in another bond. The money is now in his wife’s bank account.
A Cynergy spokesman said: “The matter has now been resolved. Cynergy Bank has accelerated its internal review to introduce the use of online passcodes for identity verification, rather than requiring the submission of physical documents.” It also gave her £150 as a gesture of goodwill.
Not all banks allow you to open or manage your accounts with a power of attorney. For example, Access Bank and SmartSave, which offer one-year bonds with near-high interest rates, do not allow this.
