madpenguin Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 We had similar - some slimy FA called on Mr B's father - in his 80s and going a bit doolally then although we hadn't quite realised. Persuaded him into some totally unsuitable investment for anyone of his age. Luckily he was still with-it enough to worry whether he'd done the wrong thing and tell us within cooling-off period. But that was the signal to activate the PofA which he'd had the foresight to set in place. The real b*gger is when they haven't, and no longer have the capacity to make the choice. Then you have to go through all sorts of bureaucratic hoops before you can stop them dishing out their cash to any 'nice' persuasive shark who comes knocking on the door, or phones them, for that matter. Heard recently of some old dear who'd taken out four more or less identical heating/plumbing insurance deals with such very nice young men who'd phoned her for a friendly chat. It's sad but very common for some people to prey on the elderly these days from the "driveway tarmac" and "roof missing a tile" types through to large banks and Insurance companies salesmen, and of course the latest ruse, the "Microsoft engineer" calling from India about the "problem with your PC" which usually ends with demands for payment via credit card over the phone after spyware and other nasties have been installed after giving them access (A favorite where my Mum lives, luckily she has no PC or internet connection and tells them where to go!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It's sad but very common for some people to prey on the elderly these days from the "driveway tarmac" and "roof missing a tile" types through to large banks and Insurance companies salesmen, and of course the latest ruse, the "Microsoft engineer" calling from India about the "problem with your PC" which usually ends with demands for payment via credit card over the phone after spyware and other nasties have been installed after giving them access (A favorite where my Mum lives, luckily she has no PC or internet connection and tells them where to go!) These sharks who prey on the vulnerable are beneath contempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbatst2000 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Welcome to my pain! Even the telephone number did not work! Tell me about it. I eventually tracked down an unlisted number from a random website where people were complaining about how impossible it was to deal with Santander over A&L accounts. I'm sure it was deliberate obfuscation to put people off taking their money out. B*sdards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbatst2000 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I just leave £1 each in them and save all my stress and they can pay to keep it open. I'd do the same but having random UK bank accounts lying around just causes me pain when it comes to filing taxes here in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamdamosuzuki Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Ok, I'm no expert, but the wealth of anecdotals, news stories and policy changes points at one thing. Santander are forked. imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madpenguin Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Ok, I'm no expert, but the wealth of anecdotals, news stories and policy changes points at one thing. Santander are forked. imho. Many of us live in hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nationalist Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 It's sad but very common for some people to prey on the elderly these days from the "driveway tarmac" and "roof missing a tile" types through to large banks and Insurance companies salesmen, and of course the latest ruse, the "Microsoft engineer" calling from India about the "problem with your PC" which usually ends with demands for payment via credit card over the phone after spyware and other nasties have been installed after giving them access (A favorite where my Mum lives, luckily she has no PC or internet connection and tells them where to go!) I've had the "problems with your PC" call from India several times. The last time I played along, let him talk me through opening the event viewer, seeing all the red-flagged events and exclaiming in horror and saying immediate action was required. Then I asked him where he was from (Calcutta) and asked him his religion (Hindu) and had a seriously long conversation with him about whether he would be coming back as a cockroach in his next life. I told him he spoke English well and knew PCs so he had the skills to get a proper job. I asked him what his family thought of his job. I think I had him seriously worried towards the end. He kept trying to justify himself and wouldn't hang up. (Usually when they're "made" they hang up straight away.) This was at work, and the others in the office were very impressed, practically got a round of applause after 30 minutes of haranguing the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RufflesTheGuineaPig Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Banks are looking to keep smaller amount in cash than before. Ignoring the fact that cash has a cost, and they would rather you use bank cheques, actual cash is capital tied up. The few K you wanted is one thing, imagine having to allow for that across their entire branch network... it would mean 10s of millions tied up needlessly. That's before you add in the time and hassle of counting it, sorting it, storing it, tracking it. You could probably have withdrawn £600 over the counter and the other £1000 from a cash-point. Or just say loudly "I've got a friend who works at the FSA who's advised me Satanders shares will be suspended at lunchtime and all withdrawals halted so I'm getting my money out now." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Allegro Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 OTOH heard recently of some old boy with very early dementia - not at all obvious to anyone but family - who was targeted by rogue traders. They drove him to his bank where he obligingly took out £3 or 4 K in cash - apparently no questions asked -and handed it over. The bastards came back a few days later and he handed over another couple of K. Family only found out well after the event when he vaguely felt that something might be wrong and told them. Family were powerless to act since no Power of Attorney in place. Eventually the bank grudgingly agreed to limit cash to £500 a day, but still easy for scum to take advantage. The most I've ever taken out was $10,000 - max you can take into US in cash - but obviously had to give a couple of days' notice since $. Nobody asked what I wanted it for. This happened to my mother too - she doesn't have Alzheimer's but she's very trusting and has never been good with money or tradesmen etc. If you have any concerns about relations in this respect, the best thing to do is set yourself up as a 'third party' to their account , limit their cash withdrawals and check their accounts online weekly. This is the kind of thing the old fashioned bank manager would have done, nowadays it's up to the individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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