My husband is 87 years old and is in a private nursing home with acute dementia. I registered a power of attorney (POA) in October last year.
I have requested that the money in my husband’s account be transferred to my account so that I can pay his maintenance fees.
My husband was a manager at Barclays Bank so I sent the POA link to the branch where he has his personal account.
Rejected: Barclays refuses to transfer a man’s pension to his wife’s account even though she has a power of attorney
But the company insists that I send original documents, which is not necessary. I sent proof of identity and other required information.
I’m in my 80s and should stay inside because of Covid. I had no problems with his state pension. Why is Barclays proving so difficult?
EB, Northwood, Middlesex.
Tony Hazell replies: I’m so sick of it that Barclays keeps popping up in my mailbag when it comes to grief or power of attorney (also known as permanent power of attorney or LPA).
As you say in your letter, it is now possible to generate a unique access code from the guardian’s office via the gov.uk website.
This code allows banks and other organizations to view an LPA to verify that it is valid, view a summary, and verify who the lawyers are.
This applies to all LPAs registered in England and Wales since September 1st, 2019. This means that you don’t have to take your documents to a branch office.
But it appears that your knowledge of the system was much better than that of the Barclays office you were dealing with.
Even if the staff in the training had not been informed or fell asleep in that particular section, the log on the website states that someone unable to visit a store will make alternative arrangements.
A Barclays spokesperson apologized and has now worked with you to ensure that you are fully registered as a Power of Attorney on your husband and can now transfer the money as you wish. But this shouldn’t have taken six months.
Barclays confirmed that the government liaison for employees to report an LPA was always there, but the employees were unaware. The spokesperson has assured you that he will deal with the training. They also received a basket as a gesture of goodwill.
You have YOUR word
Every week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some of the best from our article on How We Love Subscription Services.
A few years ago we had a serious financial crisis in our family.
We took out the bank statements and canceled all of our subscriptions to magazines and everything else. In situations like this, rethink your priorities.
EH, Nottingham.
Subscription companies can run their businesses from a kitchen counter and save huge amounts of overhead. The death knocks for the high street stores ring loud and clear.
OT, Oldham.
I love subscription boxes, they are a pleasure to look forward to once a month.
Bake-off boxes and gin subscriptions are the best. However, some companies will only send you tiny samples and are not that good.
RB, Midlands.
Nothing seems to come at a fixed price anymore. It’s all “just £ xx a month” from cards to delivery services.
However, I am sure that many of these direct payments will increase significantly once the first is completed
SD, Bradford.
It amazes me how lazy people are. Who in their right mind would pay for a subscription to grocery or alcohol? Just go to your local grocery store and buy some beer and veggies.
WB, London.
I signed up for a weekly grocery package thinking it was worth trying. The first few weeks were great and the service saved me from going out during the lockdown.
It didn’t take long for items to be replaced, however, and I canceled soon afterwards.
DB, email.
Scammers have tied me up with “free” samples
I applied for free samples from a company on the Internet. I was asked to provide my debit card details to cover postage. I haven’t received any items, but my Lloyds Bank account has been charged.
The company says I ordered two cups of detox pills and signed up for a regular travel package. That would be ridiculous if I wasn’t dialyzed daily to remove toxins from my body.
When I tried to get the money back, Lloyds decided to believe the scammers.
CD, Newcastle-under-Lyme, staff.
Tony Hazell replies: It’s so frustrating when your bank chooses a seedy internet company rather than a client they’ve known for decades.
You had taken £ 9.99 and £ 99.95 off your card. When you tried to get the money back, the Lloyds company provided “evidence” that you had actually signed up for detox pills and signed up for what is known as a “monthly auto-ship program”. Note the American spelling.
The argument seems to be that this couldn’t have been fraudulent since you provided your card details. But surely the essence of a scam is that it gets people to reveal financial details.
Lloyds initially refunded your money but, given these claims, reversed that decision and refunded the money.
When I made Lloyds aware of your health issues, it was pirouetted and returned your money as a gesture of goodwill.
There is a lesson here for all of us. Allegedly free offers on the internet are dangerous because the company usually intends to collect your financial information and sign you up for a subscription through the fine print.
These companies are sailing in gray seas: technically, their activities are not illegal, but they are immoral.
Many try to take your money under false pretenses. Otherwise, why should they hide key terms in the fine print instead of making them easy to understand?
To the point
I had medical tests done at The Doctor’s Laboratory in October before any fertility treatment was given, and I was promised a detailed bill.
We have received a bill for £ 706 since then but no breakdown. I was also billed for a test that I didn’t have.
MJ, by email.
The Doctor’s Laboratory said there had been administrative oversight and promised to send a detailed invoice immediately.
You did not receive it. I made repeated inquiries and the company insisted it had been sent. I haven’t heard from you and I feel like you’ve given up now.
***.
Robert Dyas refuses to give me a refund for phones I ordered from the retailer in September.
I paid £ 119.99 for the handsets but when I used them I could barely hear the person I was talking to. Robert Dyas insists I haven’t paid for the order but my account shows I have it.
BR, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.
The customer service clearly fell short of expectations and Robert Dyas accepts this.
The retailer apologized and refunded you in full and added £ 50 as a goodwill gesture.
***.
I ordered six cupcakes from Only Eggless for a friend as an Easter present, but they never arrived.
I’ve called the pastry shop in Wembley, North West London, five times to request my £ 20 refund, but I’m still waiting for my money.
ML, Essex.
The cake company approved your refund within hours of contacting me and you should receive your money within the next two weeks.
***.
TV licensing keeps sending letters threatening me with visits from law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies.
But I renewed my license by check in July and pointed it out several times.
RM, Shropshire.
TV Licensing insists that there is no record of your payment. It has contacted you for more information to follow up.
The shoe doesn’t fit … so where is my refund?
I ordered two pairs of shoes from Schuh in December, but they sent me the wrong item. So I returned this and got a refund.
I ordered another pair and received the wrong item again. But after returning these, I’m still trying to get the refund.
On my third try, I finally got the right item.
Schuh says I have to take that up [payments provider] Klarna. But Klarna keeps referring me to the customer service department. Klarna says the refund was processed on December 16th, but my bank confirms that there was no refund.
I feel in a circle. This only includes £ 24 but the principle has overtaken the amount of the refund.
EK, Benfleet, Essex.
Tony Hazell replies: Disputes over small amounts can be the most frustrating.
Klarna says the refund was made on December 15th, but your bank could not find it with the reference number provided.
Klarna has now processed the refund again.
A spokesperson said, “We can see that the refund process did not go as smoothly as we hoped. So as a token of goodwill we have issued a second refund of £ 24 and an additional £ 30 to compensate the customer for the inconvenience caused. ‘
- We love to hear from our loyal readers. Therefore, please ask us to write to us by e-mail if possible during this challenging time, as we do not collect letters sent to our postal address as regularly as usual. You can write to: asktony @ dailymail.co.uk or, if you prefer, Tony, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT – please include your phone number, mailing address and a separate note to the offensive organization that gives you permission to speak to Tony Hazell. We regret that we cannot reply to individual letters. Please do not send original documents as we cannot accept any responsibility for them. The Daily Mail assumes no legal responsibility for the answers given.
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