The following month, one of the individuals given power of attorney went into the bank and authorised an international money transfer of $20,000 from one of their joint accounts. Jamie said the payment was unauthorised because he had revoked his power of attorney and Madge's power of attorney was invalid because she had lacked the mental capacity to sign the original document in 2010.  

Our investigation 

We found there was no reason for the bank to question the validity of the power of attorney authorisations in 2011. The documents were processed with a covering letter from a solicitor, and the bank was not made aware of Madge’s incapacity until Jamie asked the bank to revoke her power of attorney in October 2023. However, we found the bank should have made Jamie aware that a power of attorney for Madge was still in operation on their joint accounts in March 2023 when he made his request to the bank. He had made clear at the time of his request that he wanted the names of all attorneys removed from his accounts. The bank failed to respond reasonably and communicate effectively in response to that request. However it appeared the subsequent transfer of funds was for Madge’s benefit.

Outcome

We recommended the bank pay Jamie $500 for the inconvenience. Jamie accepted the bank's offer.