Dementia suffered Olive Lynch was left struggling to pay her hospital charges after Barclays closed her checking account as a result of she lives away from the UK.
The 82-year-old nonetheless has no entry to her cash over a month after discovering her checking account had been shut. Olive, a British citizen who lives in Barbados, was utterly blindsided by the choice, stories The Mirror.
She reportedly obtained no letters from the financial institution over the previous two years. Though, Barclays claimed it had tried to succeed in out to Olive.
Her daughter Fiona Lynch Griffith is now involved about how lengthy it would take the funds – round £20,000 – to be launched again to Olive. She instructed the Mirror: “I simply cannot see how a financial institution can shut an aged, susceptible particular person’s account with out letting them know.”
Fiona says Olive’s reminiscence and cognitive abilities started to say no final yr, and he or she was formally identified with vascular dementia in Could. Two months later Fiona grew to become her energy of lawyer two months later, and determined to instantly search recommendation from a Barclays department in central London.
Nevertheless, regardless of Fiona visiting the financial institution quite a few instances, she was nonetheless being instructed to attend weeks for the funds to be launched. Fiona defined: “I began this course of on July 4. My mum’s acquired an enormous hospital invoice to pay and it has been a nightmare.
“We simply wanted to know when the cash is coming – I did not suppose it was unreasonable for them to inform me that.”
Olive retired in 1993 and moved to Barbados together with her husband Nigel in August the next yr. After querying why her mum and pop’s joint account was closed, Fiona was instructed that it was as a result of their handle was exterior of the UK
On its web site Barclays states that, for an account to stay open, thhey have to “reside within the UK and all of the addresses we’ve got for you additionally have to be within the UK”. It provides: “You don’t have to do something if considered one of your addresses is exterior the UK and we haven’t contacted you.
“If this modifications, we’ll offer you as a lot discover as we are able to if it is advisable take any motion. We’ll additionally make closing your accounts so simple as attainable.”
The financial institution states anybody with an account that’s closed declare their stability plus any curiosity they could have earned since. This may be completed on-line, by way of put up or visiting a department, it says.
It says UK Crown staff and their spouses are exempt, as are individuals whose energy of attorneys, accountant or attorneys have an handle for the account exterior the UK and people overseas on a short lived foundation for six months or much less, who can be transferring again to the UK.
Whereas Fiona does not dispute the reasoning behind her mum’s account closure, she believes that the financial institution wants to speak extra with these affected, and supply them with discover effectively prematurely. She mentioned: “My mum continues to be a British citizen – her pension is paid into that account which she has had for 40 years, possibly extra.
“Lots of people are saying that individuals within the EU who had a Barclays checking account that had been closed got six months discover to switch the cash, however clearly there’s a difficulty within the West Indies. I do know of three different people who that is taking place to – considered one of whom needed to fly to the UK to type out her cash as she did not have a consultant to assist her.
“Barclays has gone as far as guilty the postal system in Barbados, however my dad and mom have not obtained any letters from them in years, from statements to something notifying them of closure. I have been to their residence myself and seen that there is been no correspondence since 2021.”
Barclays nonetheless says it wrote to Olive and Nigel in November final yr, then twice once more to offer advance notices. It stays unclear nonetheless why these weren’t delivered.
After visiting the financial institution’s department in London final month, Fiona mentioned she was instructed that her energy of lawyer (POA) paperwork had simply been obtained, and wanted to be processed. Just a few days later, on July 8, she was instructed the POA had been recognised by the financial institution, and was given the stability of her mum and pop’s joint account.
On July 19, Fiona was then instructed to fill in a web-based kind to retrieve the funds. A decision was then mentioned to take as much as 15 working days.
She obtained a letter acknowledhing the declare on July 26. Barclays then requested licensed ID and documentation from Fiona’s dad and mom, however she defined that this was almost unimaginable as a result of they’re housebound.
After being requested whether or not the cash might be deposited into her account as a result of she had licensed documentation, Fiona was instructed that this might take as much as 12 weeks. After the Mirror contacted Barclays, this was lowered to 3 to 5 working days.
She mentioned: “My mum has picked up conversations I am having with my father and he or she’s extraordinarily distressed by all of this. We’ve got to maintain assuring her that the cash is coming quickly but it surely’s a fear. There are clearly different individuals on this place too, which is regarding. At no level has Barclays notified my mum that they had been going to do that.”
A Barclays spokesman mentioned: “It’s evident that on this event we’ve got failed to offer the excessive ranges of service that our prospects can anticipate to obtain, and we apologise for the inconvenience this has precipitated to our buyer. As a hoop fenced financial institution, our Barclays UK merchandise are designed for patrons throughout the UK.
“We wrote to our buyer in November 2022, adopted by two additional letters that supplied advance discover that we are going to now not offer providers to private present or financial savings accounts to prospects with addresses exterior of the UK, and explaining the subsequent steps they should take. We’re working intently with our buyer’s consultant and can make sure the funds are swiftly despatched to the chosen account, along with a further fee for the inconvenience precipitated.”