Who takes control of bank account?

[Bakerygirl]

My elderly father has a neighbour who is in hospital waiting for a care home space. She won’t be returning to her rented flat. She has no family or relatives. She has early signs of dementia. Who takes over the bank account? She needs certain direct debits cancelled such as car insurance (car has been sold), gas/electric etc. she can’t remember her PIN number or any of the security details so we are stuck. I don’t want her to be paying for things she no longer needs. So who can I contact to deal with this.

There should be someone at the bank you can discuss this with.

If she still has capacity then she could appoint a friend or a professional attorney. If you or your father are people she trusts then you could support her with this. Providing she provides permission for her bank, utilities provider etc to speak with you on her behalf, you should be able to help her close down any accounts. If you’re unsure of her level of capacity and she’s being admitted into care with signs of dementia then social services will likely carry out a capacity assessment to confirm her ability to make informed decisions about finances, and a professional attorney can be appointed for her if she isn’t considered to have capacity. This person will then manage her finances and arrangements.

In all honesty, if she’s going to be going into a care home then the money being spent on these bills is fairly irrelevant. She will have a financial assessment. If she’s going to has below £14k she will be funded by the LA, if between £14 and £23k will be partially funding and over that fully self funding.
Once a decision has been made about her future, finances can be sorted.

Talk to Adult Social Services.