Pictured above: Sofia Tayton
The elderly should turn to their solicitor if bank red tape
makes their life difficult, according to an expert.
Sofia Tayton, an associate in the private client department in
the Stratford upon Avon office of Lodders Solicitors, was
commenting on claims that banks were often in disarray in
responding properly to Lasting Power of Attorney obligations.
However she urged clients to stick with LPAs which specify who
can step in to help with health and welfare and financial and legal
issues and how it is best achieved, where a person's mental
faculties become impaired.
Mrs Tayton said: "Our position would always be that while the
system isn't perfect people should take professional advice to make
sure that any documents they have in place are as good as they can
be.
"Not having an LPA available when one is needed makes things
even more complicated."
Her comments follow allegations that the banks all too often
fail to accept power of attorney instructions or deal with
pensioners' affairs sensitively, leading, for example, to bounced
care or nursing home debits, causing great distress to the
resident.
Forms and letters are not replied to and telephone callers are
passed endlessly from department to department.
Some won't allow a lawyer to operate the person's account over
the internet, while others still require the elderly account holder
to notify them of certain transactions, such as a change of
address.
Indeed, it can result in so-called nonsense letters where the
bank was informed that a customer had had a stroke and was
incapacitated, but nevertheless sent out a letter asking the
individual to come into the branch to sort the problems out.
Mrs Tayton said: "Elderly people can get confused and upset when
things go wrong.
"Banks need to balance a duty of care with a common sense
approach to regulation."
For more information about Lodders, please visit their website
here: www.lodders.co.uk