Vulnerable elderly neighbour being taken advantage of by homeopath “friend”

[tetherabumfit]

My elderly (80s) neighbour is going through a really tough time at the moment. Her partner is terminally ill in hospital. Her health is not great, and last week she was scammed of thousands by someone calling purporting to be from her bank.
Ive been helping her sort out the mess left by the scammer, and she will get her money back. What worries me most is the psychological impact of being scammed. I think she’s been in shock since it happened (they stole tens of thousands), and she is very paranoid and shaken up.
I’ve suggested it might be a good idea for her to see her GP as her anxiety levels are through the roof, but she has someone who she describes as a good friend, a woman in her late 60s, who describes herself as a fully qualified homeopath. She swears by her, and this friend has been round twice with some of her potions “for the stress”.
What concerns me is the fact that she has spent about £400 on these “remedies” and apparently “friend” is bringing her more next week. I think the woman is an utter snake oil merchant, and taking advantage of my neighbour. Even though it’s not a relative who’s charging her extortionate amounts for who knows what, it feels like elder abuse. My neighbour has no children or close relatives, and is quite isolated since she can no longer drive.
Is this just a case of if she has capacity then it’s up to her what she does with her money, or is there any way of reporting this as a vulnerable person?
This friend does not like me - I think she’s realised I think she’s an unprincipled grifter.

Did your neighbour tell you what the 'potions' are?

I would tell the neighbour straight - she is being scammed again. Poor woman.

@dick27 She just described them as wonderful homeopathic remedies. I haven’t seen them.

@WingnutSOS This is my fear. She has a history of taking advice from this woman (who has no medical qualifications), even taking her advice over that of her doctor.

£400 for ‘potions’! That’s really sad and awful to think of someone taking advantage of her like that. I imagine she can’t get that money back if she’s already purchased the homeopathic stuff, but I think you should certainly try to persuade her out of spending any more on it. It’s tricky because you don’t want to necessarily tell her it’s a rip-off, as then she might feel devastated for having wasted her money, and betrayed by her ‘friend’. So I think the best thing you can do is try to steer her to a GP for something more pharmaceutical or at least a health check. Or you could suggest something more natural but much cheaper from the chemist – I used to use Rescue Remedy, and I felt it worked (even though it might have been a placebo effect or maybe just the alcohol in it!).

I have a feeling you could report her as vulnerable/in need of support to adult social care at your council.

What a vile person to take £400 for useless fake treatments from a clearly vulnerable women in a very stressful situation. If she was actually a friend and she believed the potions to be helpful, you’d give them for free if you were in any way thinking of the other person. Maybe that’s a way you could approach it with your neighbour? Would a friend use this situation to make money?

Maybe you could feign an interest in the "remedies" for a "sports injury" and ask your neighbour if you can meet the "friend" for advice next time they call round.

@MrsMoastyToastyUnfortunately the friend already knows I’m sceptical (huge understatement!) about homeopathy. I was sickened how she turned up on my neighbours doorstep and basically extorted money from her.

This is a good idea. Maybe also contact trading standards at your local council.

@SilenceInside Sadly my neighbour seems to think this woman is some type of healing angel, she won’t hear a word against her or homeopathy.

This is not what people on here would do. But it's the way it would be dealt with where I come from...

To find out where she lives, go round and advise her that things will get very fucking unpleasant if she doesn't immediately fuck off away from this elderly lady. That people are watching her.