4 days ago
My father had a severe stroke so I have taken over his finances to manage his bills... NAB has done the unthinkable and now I'm furious
A woman has slammed one of the Big Four banks, claiming she was blocked from accessing her elderly father's account despite having enduring power of attorney.
Andrea Fox claimed NAB cut her access to her father's bank account and accused the finance giant of holding his funds 'hostage'.
Ms Fox has spent more than four years caring for her father's finances, including bills and rates, after he suffered a severe stroke.
'They locked me out of net banking and they put a hold on my dad's account which means that I cannot access his net banking at all,' she said in a TikTok.
'I cannot access his funds, which means I can't pay his bills for him.'
Ms Fox's access to the account had been flagged by the bank's fraud department
'I spent an hour and a half on the phone with the bank. They basically treated me like a criminal, like I was trying to scam my father's money,' she said.
After the long phone call, Ms Fox was eventually told she would need to attend an NAB branch in-person to resolve the issue.
However, even after verifying Ms Fox's identity and seeing documents detailing her enduring power of attorney (EPOA), which legally appointed her to manage her father's finances, the bank seemed unwilling to help.
'They said they couldn't do anything about the bank block because the fraud department had put a hold on the account and stopped me from accessing that money,' Ms Fox said.
'They said it could be up to 30 days before they reinstate my access to dad's account.
'But guess what? I just got his pharmacy bill for his medication from the nursing home. I just got his rates notice.
'What did they say? "You can go into the bank branch and have that bill paid for you because we won't be reinstating your bank access".
'To say that I'm frustrated is beyond it. I went into that bank, trying to get something really simple sorted out, and walked out with tears in my eyes, a bright red face, feeling like I was a criminal.'
In an emotional update on Friday, Ms Fox revealed NAB's fraud department had blocked her access temporarily so it could re-process the EPOA documents.
'Their reasoning was to make sure I wasn't defrauding my father of his money, even though I was going into the bank account to pay one of his bills,' she said.
'I had to go into the NAB today, stand in the line for all that time, explain the situation again and I had to go through a process to get out cash to then walk down to the post office to pay my dad's rates.
'That's just rubbish.'
Ms Fox ended her rant by calling on NAB's fraud department to tell her 'what the hell is going on'.
'I cannot call up and inquire as to the progress of this. The bank cannot call up and inquire. All I can do is send an email, which they may respond to within 30 days, and that is not okay,' she said.
'It drives me crazy. It really does.
'The banking overreach, the protecting people's money, which is literally holding people's money hostage.
'I'm not okay with it. If my dad could actually speak for himself, he would not be okay with it either.'
Several commenters recommended Ms Fox go to the banking ombudsman if her access wasn't reinstated soon.
'Put a complaint in at the bank, then put a complaint in at the ombudsman,' one wrote.
'They make it hard for us to look after our aging parents,' another said.
'What a nightmare,' another wrote.
Others suggested why the bank may have initially blocked her access.
'Unfortunately this is a legislation issue, banks are required to periodically refresh everyone's ID,' one wrote.
'I think the bank is doing the right thing to protect your father's account,' another said.
'It's every bank following elder abuse legislation,' another wrote.
'I'd rather them be over-cautious than do nothing. At least you will get access back with no money taken. Imagine how many people are defrauded,' another said.
