Bank should not treat an attorney differently from the customer without good reason

Categories:

Vulnerable customers and hardship decisions, Bank accounts, Cards,

Summary:

Andrew had an enduring power of attorney for his mother Marjorie, who is in care and has mobility issues. In June 2025 Andrew complained that the bank would not allow him to view his mother's credit card account via internet banking (he had access to her transactional accounts in this way). He also complained that the bank would not let him set a PIN for Marjorie’s replacement credit card when she could not get to a branch.

Published:

January 2026

The bank offered to add him as a card holder to her credit card account so he could view activity on the account and have his own card. Andrew was unhappy with the bank’s suggestions and complained to us. He said the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 gave him the authority to do anything, on behalf of his mother, that she could lawfully do.

Our investigation

The bank said the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 imposed no duty on third parties to accept the instructions of an enduring power of attorney. The fact that someone was given authority to act did not mean that others were compelled to accept those instructions unless required by statute, contract or other legal obligation. The bank’s general terms and conditions provided that it did not have to agree to let a person with a power of attorney use a customer’s accounts on their behalf.

We concluded that the bank was not compelled to accept all instructions from an attorney acting under an enduring power of attorney. Equally, the bank is not compelled to accept all instructions from its customer. However, we considered the bank should apply its terms reasonably and fairly. A bank should not deny a specific service to an attorney, or treat the attorney differently from the customer, unless there is a good reason to do so.

The bank explained why it would not allow Andrew to set a pin on Marjorie’s card. However, we considered the bank needed to provide a sound reason for why he could not view his mother’s credit card account via internet banking when he could access it via phone banking, paper statement, and through the branch.