To not want carers to have my Mum's bank card?

[TheTwinklyLemur]

My Mum has recently had to get carers due to her declining health, both physically and mentally. One of the things they do is to go shopping for her, or which they have asked for her bank card and PIN number. I really don't feel comfortable with this. Can't I just give them cash from her account, which I have access to?

My mum once needed some cash and asked her carer to get some for her. She was incredibly apologetic but said she wasn't allowed-and I had to do a 40 mile dash. I would talk to the company about it if I were you.

When I worked with adults with LD we did have access to their debit cards so we could do their shopping with them.

It does happen.

Company was very strict about receipts though.

The carers agency I use does not allow the carers to use their clients' cards; strictly cash only.

The carer of a friends mother stole from her, using her bank card. She was convicted of theft, but a major issue in her trial was whether or not the mother had given permission to the carer to take the money. So no, don’t let her have the card.

I know the guys who run Sibstar, which was set up to help families support their (generally) aging parents with banking/finance. They won backing on Dragons Den and it does look really good. I think you could set up a card with limits on how and where and how much money is spent, and pre-load it with the amount you're comfortable with. www.sibstar.co.uk

Why not? It can be refunded within minutes.

Absolutely this.
Cant believe someone suggested it.

No need for a card of any kind, preloaded or whatever. Cash and receipts only.

Why not? It can be refunded within minutes.

Because some family members wouldn’t pay you back or wouldn’t do so immediately and you’re out of pocket until they do.

There's also the issue that minimum wage paid carers wouldn't have the personal funds available to pay for shopping in advance...

I would report this to the agency.

NB: "should have" not "will have".

That's the issue. There are a lot of cowboy firms offering care services out there.

No, no, no, no, no. Dodgy AF. Report to the agency.

Nobody should have your Mum's card and PIN unless they have power of attourney. Even if your Mum has formally authorised a delegate on her account, the delegate would usually have their own access arrangements.

You need to report this to the agency because this carer could be doing this to other vulnerable people. It is completely inappropriate. If the carer needs to do shopping then you leave them a cash float which you top up at regular intervals and ask for receipts for all spending. Alternatively a pre-loaded card, but again receipts for everything.

PS I would not expect carers to pay in advance and then claim back - it's unfair. Most carers are unlikely to be in a financial position to do this for multiple clients as it's not well-paid work (it should be, but that's a different conversation). If shopping is needed then funds should be provided up-front for it.

Most shops are quicker with card though. Some of the queues for cash only is long.
when I have lost my bank card and couldn’t use the self checkouts it was torture.
I hope they get paid more for having to waste time paying cash.

Any carer suggesting or agreeing to this needs to be carefully monitored as it suggests a lack of Safeguarding knowledge as a minimum

this.my dd has a prepayment card, as the carers are not allowed to have use of a bank card for her.

No way should you hand over your mum's card and pin number. If things go wrong, the bank and the police won't do anything.

It's sad that people steal from others, and that elderly people are often exploited by paid carers as well as family members.
It's well known that this happens.
It makes sense to minimise the risk by having some basic safeguards in place. This includes NOT giving people access to someone's bank card and PIN, but instead using a carer's card, separate pre-paid card or cash (and insisting on receipts), as most other posters have already suggested. Doing this removes the temptation to steal and protects the carers from being accused of stealing.
It's sad that carers are so badly paid and treated, considering the importance/ value of the work they do, and that there are lots of badly-run, unregulated care agencies who obviously don't invest in decent staff training.

It should never happen and any reputable care company will be fully aware of that. When you are issued with a card, as part of the T&Cs, you agree not to disclose your PIN to anyone. You then sign the agreement. If you breach that agreement, you would find it very hard to get any help should money go missing. Even when you have financial POA for someone else, their bank will issue you with a card and separate pin, so the bank knows who was responsible for which transaction. The cards also are clearly marked POA. The idea of a care provider being able to keep a PIN "safe" is laughable. A lot of them are absolutely chaotic and have a high turnover of staff.

I don’t think the suggestion to use their own money is a go-er tbh. Carers earn an absolute pittance and can hardly afford to be waiting for money back from the family of every single person they provide care to. They might not even have by money in their own account, or the service users shopping might take them overdrawn and incur charges, etc. This is a worse suggestion than the initial request for the card and pin.

All bank T&Cs prohibit you sharing your PIN. Once you have done that, you lose their protections.

Surely in the wonderful free-market world, someone, somewhere with floppy hair and a TikTok account is setting up "CarerCard" for just these uses ?

A Different suggestion, but can’t the carers tell you what’s needed and you organise a delivery (supermarket, Amazon, whatever) to arrive while they are there to pack away?

My adult brother lives in supported living, and he has told me that his carers also ask him for his bankcard to go shopping for him.

He gives it to them.

I thought it didn't sound right at all.

But he is not well enough to go to the atm and get cash out. I don't live anywhere near him. And he needs to pay for medicine at the chemists. Which his carer does for him

So I'm not sure what is best to do

This sounds like a perfect solution. A pre loaded card you can just put a limited amount of cash on the card.