Switching Banks

[lankeela]

i have an elderly friend who is on a pension. She wants to switch banks to Barclays - she is currently with Nationwide but is convinced they are not paying her direct debits and worried she will get sued - think she has the beginnings of dementia. Will Barclays accept her as a customer - is switching going to be easy for her (does not have a computer). I have offered to go to Barclays with her as she is very paranoid about her money being taken. What information would she need to provide to open another account? Any help gratefully received.

[Guilbert53]

To keep it simple why not just check if the direct debts have gone out and if they have just tell her/ show her.

This will save all the hassle of switching.

p,s, nobody is going to sue her if she misses a DD though I realise if she is a bit paranoid she may think this.

[woofgang]

Problem is, from experience of patients with similar worries, switching may not solve the problem and she will feel the need to switch again and so on. Has she got someone who could take on a financial power of attorney for her?

[EDDIE51]

If she did switch she would just think the same about Barclays. I agree she is showing signs of dementia, but unfortunately it will only get worse. Can you just get statements and show her the payments going out? Someone may have to get 'Power of Attorney ' and handle her banking for her. I had to do it for an elderly and very confused relative.

[woofgang]

EDDIE!!!!!! I am gobsmacked!!!!!! we agree!!!!!!

[lankeela]

She doesn't have any family other than an 'estranged' son - I really don't want to take it on because I can see where this is going - I am also of the opinion that whoever she switches to she won't be happy. Trying to get her to visit her doctor but its not easy convincing her of anything and she is very forgetful. Thanks for answering - think the doctors is the first port of call and ask for their advice.

[gingejbee]

....and, according to all the customer satisfaction surveys and Which?, Nationwide is a much better bet than Barclays! (although I've never had any problems in all the years I've banked with Barclays).

[ToraToraTora]

personally I'd try and persuade her to stay put and then set about understanding why she thinks the DDs are not being paid. For a start banks do not pay DDs they have to be requested from the target so worth looking at the places the DDs are for and if they are not requesting them consistently. Also check is there evidence they are bouncing? Does she always have funds to cover? Get a list of DDs and go through the statements. The dates also vary, to accommodate weekends and bank holidays etc, so maybe they are on different days from month to month and that is what she is concerned about. Also, she wont get sued for missing a DD, they'll do a lot of chasing before it comes to that.

[woofgang]

TTT if alzheimers is the issue that just won't help.....

[Jackdaw33]

Good advice from TTT. All my DDs and SOs are dated for the 8th of the month, which is when my pension is paid in. Should this date fall on a weekend or Bank Holiday then payments are taken the next working day.

[woofgang]

problem is, if alzheimers is the problem then the affected person can sometimes espouse irrational beliefs....you can't reason them out of the belief or prove to them that they are wrong.

[lankeela]

Thanks all, have spoken to her doctors surgery and they are going to get the doctor to write to invite her for a 'health check' so they can see what the situation is. Just got to get her to go and see if I can go with her.

[Peter Pedant]

read your final entry ;anx
agree it is not a bank problem but likely a health problem

and IF she is vulnerable, I would be careful about facilitating anything.

and your fren' - she may be like the average ABer - when she is blaarting about her bank - she just wants to blaart and not really institute change at all. Just to have a good old whine - and then do the same the next day .....yap and whine and do nothing and the next day
( sort of like those endless Ab Brexit threads - nothing occurs but the whining goes on)

[Peter Pedant]

I dont think I have had a DD missed - ever

[TonyV]

Lank is it possible / do you want to / will she let you go through her bank statements and reassure her that DD's are being paid?

[lankeela]

Took her into Nationwide where they reassured her they were still paying DDs, printed off a list of her DDs and latest statement proving everything was being paid. This seemed to satisfy her - then the next day she rang me to say she needed me to help her change banks as Nationwide were no longer paying DDs! Upshot is now I have made an appointment for her to see her doctor and will go with her to see where we go from here (provided I can convince her to come with me). Thanks for advice, I think I knew all along it was the dementia and not the bank!

[TonyV]

Don't know if it's possible for you to speak with doctor, prior to appointment, to give them "heads up", rather than go into detail in front of your friend, which personally I would find very difficult, and tell your friend it's simply a normal health checkup and go from there.