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Elderly parents
Original poster

Using POA with Santander

17 replies

Spudulike3 · 30/06/2023 14:39

Does anyone have any experience with using a financial lasting power of attorney with Santander?

I ask as my dad has advanced Alzheimer's but still wants to check and operate his Santander bank account. Unfortunately due to the Alzheimer's and also dodgy phone reception at their house he keeps getting locked out of his account which upsets him a lot and then my mum has to take him to the branch which is stressful.

I hold financial POA for him but have not really used it for banking as he likes to do things for himself and can get agitated if he thinks that things are being taken out of his control. I'd like to get Santander to register the POA for him so I can hopefully sort out any locking out events without him having to be present or involved. However, my question is, if I apply to use the POA with Santander, will they contact him? I imagine for security reasons they might but unfortunately this would just agitate him. Does anyone have any experience of the process with Santander so I can know what to expect?

I'm absolutely not trying to be deceitful but I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because either way he'll get upset.

Any experiences / advice gratefully received.

OP posts:
allofthelove · 30/06/2023 16:59

We registered our POA for my MIL with HSBC , she has capacity at the moment to access her accounts .

We have been given a debit card for her account to be used as and when , and telephone banking . We can't access internet banking as she s still got access . However we can ring up and set up accounts and make enquiries on her behalf . She knows all of this . However we were asked when we registered whether she had mental capacity and if you so no they won't get any notification of you having access .

allofthelove · 30/06/2023 17:00

We had to make an appointment with the bank to register the POA. This takes a couple of weeks as it needs to go through the legal department

Original poster
Spudulike3 · 03/07/2023 18:59

Thanks - useful info!

OP posts:
AnnaMagnani · 03/07/2023 19:17

I've got one for my DM with Lloyds, it was really easy and they have been v helpful.

Had to make an appointment, show some ID and the POA, they went away and did a lot of photocopying and that was it.

In a few days got online banking access to her account and a debit card - which annoyingly had to be sent to her address, would your mum be able to intercept any post?

MereDintofPandiculation · 03/07/2023 19:52

I managed to get correspondence to my address. Had to throw a strop though. Rationale - I was dealing with finance because he was too stressed, but that’s completely negated if they then write to him.

Daffidale · 03/07/2023 20:13

I have POA with Santander. You need to go into a branch with the POA (original or certified copy) and your own ID (1x address and 1x photo). I can’t recall if I made and appointment or just went in. I think for Santander I just walked in with the paperwork.

you will get access through phone and internet banking.

I don’t know if they’ll inform your dad. I don’t think so. You could discuss it with them if you’re concerned. If you’re able to talk to your Dad and have him agree to you “helping him” with his banking that would be best but obv difficult if he resists any help with things like that.

Frankley · 03/07/2023 20:39

Relative did not need to go into a Natwest branch to action a POA for his aunt. He was able to action it all online, which was very convenient. He now has access to her account .

Hgak · 03/07/2023 21:01

My mum is with Santander and I have POA for her. It could not have been easier. I got an access code from the POA site and then registered it with Santander online. No need to go there or take any paperwork.

I also have a Santander account and mum's accounts appeared in my app almost immediately. I was sent an additional debit card but hers still works and she still uses it. She can also still access her accounts via the app or website although she no longer does which was the point at which I registered.

MereDintofPandiculation · 04/07/2023 08:40

Access codes are relatively recent and seem to have made things a lot easier. It’s more difficult for those of us dealing withe a PoA set up 10 years or more ago

curlyLJ · 06/07/2023 23:33

I recently registered a POA with Santander and did it all online. It took about half an hour. I log into the POA account (or whatever it's called) on the gov website and you get a code you can share with banks etc - an individual code can be generated for each organisation - and they can view it without you having to take the original copy into a branch.
Once you fill out all the other info and upload photos of your ID, like passport page etc, submit it and it's done.
It was all really easy and within days I had access to my mum's internet banking.

Original poster
Spudulike3 · 07/07/2023 07:17

Thanks everyone - some really useful info. Love to all of you out there looking after people.

OP posts:
funnelfan · 07/07/2023 17:44

Sorry to be late to the thread but I’ve also activated mums POA with Santander and it was very straightforward. I went into branch with a certified copy and my ID. I have my own debit card for her account and access to everything through the app so do online banking for her. I also get sent monthly statements to my home address.

user898191891 · 12/07/2023 23:32

I'd be a bit careful here. If he has ticked the "only when I lose capacity" box on the POA then when you register it Santander will assume he's lost capacity and block his access to his account including blocking his card and chequebook, which sounds like it isn't what you want.

(They will send you a card and give you access).

This happened to us and it took me several weeks and numerous phone calls to get it reversed so that mum had a working card and chequebook again. It took over a week for Santander to even tell me the reason why they had blocked mum's access.

If he's ticked the other box (I think it's labelled "immediate effect") then disregard this post.

Original poster
Spudulike3 · 14/07/2023 17:54

Good point and you're right it is not what we want. Thanks for the advice

OP posts:
countrygirl99 · 15/07/2023 06:14

Frankley · 03/07/2023 20:39

Relative did not need to go into a Natwest branch to action a POA for his aunt. He was able to action it all online, which was very convenient. He now has access to her account .

DH had exactly the opposite with NatWest. Not only did they insist he needed 2 in branch appointments but they lost the documents twice despite having scanned them. Fine once it was all sorted and he pays bills using Internet banking.

MereDintofPandiculation · 15/07/2023 09:45

One advantage of Nat West is it has a dedicated phone line for elderly customers.

BabylonianChild · 15/07/2023 18:07

Does he use the app on an iPhone?

If so it could just use FaceID to login so shouldn’t ever be an issue getting locked out, at least not in my experience of living somehwere with very poor mobile reception and the Santander app on my iPhone.

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