Readers have given strong support to The Observer's call for the finance industry to clean up its dealings with people trying to exercise power of attorney on behalf of vulnerable relatives.
Last week Brian Williams wrote about the frustration of trying to register the PoA with his elderly mother's banks and then accessing their services. He is clearly not alone in facing such problems. Observer readers — including solicitors — have filled the Cash email queue, recounting similar stories and offering advice.
Jane Thomas, whose father suffers from Alzheimer's, has had "nothing but a nightmare with HSBC". She says: "All fine when I used his details and card, but now [it's] all gone wrong following the secure card arrival, [which] wouldn't work [and is] now all cancelled. My dad is getting daily calls from a foreign call centre, none of which he can comprehend, and I'm wasting hours on the phone getting no sense, only to go to the branch for the same."
It took four months for Frank Johnson to register a PoA with HSBC, where his father has an account. He writes: "In January my father was taken into care and I immediately had to sort out his finances. The local council took less than 10 minutes. To redirect his post at the Post Office took about 10 minutes. The Pensions Service was sorted by return of post (about three working days). The Inland Revenue were happy to believe I had power of attorney, without seeing the document. But HSBC took about four months, which included numerous fruitless phone calls, and many bank branch visits to talk to staff. When I was eventually registered, I was not issued a card or cheque book and the branch staff didn't have any advice on how I was supposed to access the account."
Alan Williams, who has PoA for his mother, who has dementia, is caught in postal hell with HSBC subsidiary First Direct. "I and my sister have lasting power of attorney over her affairs and First Direct recognise this, but we are not permitted to have debit cards, they will not let us have online or telephone access, and any instructions from us have to be in writing. Effectively we can't operate my mother's account. The result is we have to open a new account somewhere else and add ourselves as attorneys for that, and of course all this is difficult to do as my mother's condition deteriorates."
Helen Nicholls, who has lodged a PoA in favour of her two children and two substitute attorneys, has struggled to get Nationwide building society to accept the substitutes in any documentation. "Further, each time any form of bank or investment statement is mailed to me, the address starts with my name, then PoA and my children's names in the second line. Try as I might, Nationwide will not remove the PoA line, which I regard as confidential. I lodged an official complaint with Nationwide and have now referred it to the FSA. By contrast, my mother had a PoA in my favour with her Spanish bank. They couldn't have been more helpful and fluent in English with a complete understanding of a PoA."
But not Spanish banks in the UK it seems. One reader registered a PoA relatively easily at Lloyds TSB and Cheltenham & Gloucester, and the Halifax even had a dedicated member of staff in branch to handle things which he thought "helped no end". Unfortunately Santander was a different story.
"First they required me and both my fellow attorneys (my brother and sister) to fill in a very long application form which virtually replicated the PoA application. When I took it into the local Santander branch I was told 'we just need your mother's signature and then it's all set'. Neither the assistant nor the branch manager could seem to grasp that the reason for the PoA was that my mother cannot handle her affairs and certainly cannot sign documents. The only solution I could come up with was to take the form away and to return it signed with a signature that matched my mother's most recent signature.
"My mother's investment bond at Santander matures next month and I will withdraw this money and pay it into one of the more competent banks. I know this is going to be stressful – more signatures needed from my mother no doubt, even though she no longer knows who I am."
Solicitors are not immune to these problems either. Joanna Addison is a member of Solicitors for the Elderly and acts as attorney or deputy for a number of clients. She says: "I know exactly what I am doing but still find it extremely frustrating trying to deal with the banks who simply don't have a clue and couldn't care less. Lord only knows how much worse it must be for some of my clients who are not used to dealing with the problem."
Sofia Tayton, an associate with Lodders Solicitors, agrees: "The problems I experience with banks and building societies are terrible. The banks do not seem to show any consistency, with each one requiring different ID and sight of different documents, and not having anyone in a branch that you can speak to about these issues.
"It is so frustrating to deal with these things over the telephone, when you can never speak to the same person twice and end up having to explain who you are and why you're calling over and over again. I'm a professional who knows the jargon. I can only imagine how horrible an experience it is for people who are trying to take care of a relative who is ill or dying."
Readers' advice: what you can do
■ "I only give Santander three chances to get it right now and then I complain to the FSA. Hopefully when they have had to pay me compensation several times they will begin to get the message." Joanna Addison
■ "I set up a power of attorney account with the Cooperative Bank. This took a little time but the Coop allows you to ring directly to the branch. They also have a dedicated legal team who handle the setting up of power of attorney. They wrote to me shortly after I had visited the branch. In their letter was a direct phone line number which I rung a couple of times and found the team both understanding and helpful." Frank Johnson
■ "I have PoA for my 90-year-old aunt, who banks with Clydesdale Bank which has been more than helpful. I have a cash card in my name with PoA on it for her account and I manage all her financial affairs online. I live 80 miles away and I transfer money online to her home help's account so she gives cash to my aunt as and when she needs it." Anne Keddie
■ "When my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour we organised all the paperwork for Power of Attorney while she was still able to answer the family doctor's questions. I also added my mother's name to one of my bank accounts and we didn't use the PoA at all. We simply activated her online banking with her approval, retained her cash card and ran her affairs like that. She was able to sign her name almost to the end and understand what we were doing, so we were lucky in that respect, and I kept records of all transactions and kept everyone up to date. We never activated the PoA and managed better without it." Helen Armstrong
■ "Yorkshire Bank has been very helpful, and allowed me to transfer direct debits from my father's to my mother's account and, once they also had my brother's signature, have let me manage the account through the internet. However, as I live in Kent I can't pay anything into Yorkshire Bank until I visit my Mum, and as her local branch isn't open on Saturday I have to visit her during the week. But I am always treated sympathetically. My experience with Yorkshire Bank shows that it is possible for a bank to be sympathetic to the needs of their customers." Ann Bodimeade
■ "I suddenly had to register or activate both parents' PoAs (84 and 79 years old with sudden dementia or capacity issues), while bringing up two toddlers and working part time. I simply didn't have the time to run round banks on an endless goose chase. I quickly realised the easiest option was online banking. I registered a facility for my parents' accounts and ensured new benefits were paid to my account and I then dealt with all bills myself, transferring cash to myself electronically as needed. I'd recommend everyone does it that way." Allison
