I hold lasting power of attorney (LPA) and manage the finances for my 85-year-old mother, who lives with dementia in a Spanish care home. For the last seven months we have been unable to access her money to pay her care home fees, because Barclays has suspended her account.
I became aware of this last December after receiving an error message when trying to log on. When I rang I was told the account was dormant. I visited a branch with my LPA documents and was told that the account could not be reinstated and that I would need a signed letter from my mother before the funds could be transferred. I don’t believe Barclays had any right to insist on this, but with more than £450,000 locked in the account I had to comply.
