Help! My mother has dementia but they won’t cancel her credit card

Hi Nicole. In March this year,my mother-in-law (Dorothy) was placed in aged care with minor dementia. At about the same time,she received a statement from Latitude for the renewal of her Latitude MasterCard. Given Dorothy has no access to the internet,we asked her to sign the statement with a note asking the account be closed.

In April,we attempted to cancel the card via Latitude’s website as there is no other way to contact them for cancellation purposes. They requested some information Dorothy cannot recollect. We passed along the signed statement with the request to cancel.

Latitude continued to ask we complete things via their online system. This has meant we have had to pay an annual fee on a card she cannot use. It also means that the card will renew again in six months,and she will again be charged a fee.

We sit in a state of flux. Can anything be done? Murray.

Murray,let me say up front that the bigger issue is that Dorothy did not,when she was well,sign over power of attorney giving you permission to act on her behalf.

Ideally,everyone should have one of these in case you become unable to execute your own financial fixes. You should make a power of attorney when you make a will.

But much like the reader who wrote in about difficulties closing a Zip account several weeks ago, here,an online focus has obstructed the resolution of this more complicated situation.

Indeed,one emailed response from Latitude to you said:“As much as I want to help you,I unfortunately would have to advise that we over the emails have limitations and have limited access to all the resources.”

This is by no means a problem specific to Latitude but one that is rife in tech-driven providers.

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Latitude’s email went on:“[sic] This department does not specialise in handling such queries,hence,would request you to contact the voice team as voice department is the only department who can review this and will be able to have a brief discussion,and they also have a wider access which can be helpful in this case.”

But as you explained just one of multiple times:“We have tried to call. All we were told to do was go through the online process. Which she cannot do as she has no access to the internet. I do not know how many times this needs to be explained.”

Readers can only imagine your family’s frustration at a traumatic time,Murray.

But I applaud Latitude for a quick resolution once this column became involved – both accounts are now closed and the annual fee and all late charges for the year refunded.

The company also sent us a statement acknowledging that “given the circumstances,the request should have been escalated for special consideration”.

“Strict identification procedures on account inquiries,as for any financial institution,are designed to protect customers from fraud and ensure their privacy,” they said. “We apologise to the customer and her family for the inconvenience this matter has caused.”

And that is where that Power of Attorney would have helped.

Other readers,if Latitude has not been so obliging,can direct theirconcerns here. And if you get no joy,message me!

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author ofHow to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me. Follow Nicole onFacebook,Twitter andInstagram.