Eldery mother being targeted by overseas lottery scams

In an earlier day crooks like this would get jailed for a long time but nowadays the police are too busy wasting their time to do what used to be called police work.

IANAL

Could she be impaired enough for what used to be known as an Enduring Power of Attorney ? - basically that would give you (or whoever she nominates - could be several people in conjunction) complete power over her finances...

The paperwork is now technically defunct and has been replaced by a more expensive and difficult set of paperwork, but you should be able to get it online - it also needs a witness signature, but who's to know if it was backdated... :-)

This might be one to take to uk.legal btw

It's not just the crooks. Back in 1998 my mother was sent a dividend cheque from Bank of Scotland. Well it looked for all the world like a dividend cheque and had a tear-off cheque at the bottom to pay into your account.

But if you read the small print - as most pensioners don't when they get a dividend cheque - you would have seen it was an invitation to open a Credit Card account with them and this cheque was the first transaction.

Utter bastards.

Then Alliance and Leicester charged her £110 bank charges (over 3 months) because she was overdrawn by £40 for 16 days...

If the so-called legit companies are reduced to the role of "muggers" in society you can't really blame (I suppose)everyone else for trying it on. Pensioners are "marks" vulnerable enough to be fair game.

:(

The organisations that should be locking these people up are not doing their jobs.

The courts are useless as well. You get a gang of 10 or 20 spending all their time commiting some kinds of frauds that making them millions and the leaders will get 3 years and some of them will get cautions. "3 years" means 18 months. Scum like that think it's a good deal so they carry on doing the same as soon as they get out. You have to remember that the police will be ignoring all the other crooks to concentrate on this one gang.

I could set out plenty of cost effective ways to deal with these people but politicians seem to be selected from the ranks of the idiots.

Get the post delivered to a mailbox and collect it yourself. Complicated and will cost you money but you have the security of knowing none gets through the door. Unless of course the system breaks down.

You could look at the mail preference list service too

but suspect that can't help There should be a quick and easy way of stopping this sort of mail along with unwanted phone calls too but british law doesn't seem to protect the consumer.

Not unlike anything this government does, that would be illegal, disgraceful, and terrible.

IGWS this document is not available from any reputable source.

I have it (the original document) as a .pdf in my historical archives, for research purposes only.

My email address is valid. but unlike Gordon Mc Shite -Features I am a responsible person, therefore any requests would have to mention "For research purposes only"

Don't tell 'em.

DG

That's something I hadn't thought of - thanks.

JD

Alternative option - wire mail basket with a lock on it so only you can get the mail. Bit prisony though. :)

Thanks, but my mother would know what I was up to, and would insist on having a key.

JD

Or pay for PO redirection to your address (or any other address that you have access to if you live with her) then censor and only let her have stuff that's legitimate.

In which case, you'd have to intercept the PO's "confirmation" letter - and still have to think of something else in 2 years' time... :-((

can you not claim the bank charges back under the new Office of Fair Trading rules?

What new rules?

Jake

I do understand your concerns but as you've explained it to her there's not much you can do. It is after all her money & her life.

Wouldn't intercepting & hiding _her_ mail would make you the criminal?

From what you've said you are just a lodger in her house which doesn't;t carry much weight.

Just because she disagrees with you doesn't mean she's impaired enough to impose Power of Attorney.

I know that isn't what you want to hear but, as I see it, that's the reality of the situation.

Dave F.

Redirection of her mail will require her ID and her signature