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Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

HenryV — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:54:23 GMT

My mum's elderly friend (94) has just been moved into a care home and is receiving 'end of life' care. We are about to end the tenancy of her flat. My mum has Power Of Attorney. The elderly lady is almost blind/deaf and far too weak/frail to sign all the pages of a POA copy. How can my mum use the original POA document to cancel her BT phone line without incurring charges?

Re: Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

imjolly — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 13:06:09 GMT

are you sure friend is a BT customer as often refer to line as BT but may be another ISP

Re: Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 13:12:02 GMT

POA, either Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney needs to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian as soon as the "donor" loses capacity. This entails sending the original document to them. Then once returned you would usually need to send the original or a certified copy to the organisation you wish to engage with on her behalf. There is no need for the "donor" to sign anything.

At the risk of sounding harsh, if the EOL is expected sooner rather than later, it may be easier to deal with after the event as a bereavement case.

Re: Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

HenryV — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:17:21 GMT

Yes,it's a BT contract.

Re: Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

HenryV — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:20:59 GMT

The elderly lady has not lost mental capacity.
She's just about lost all physical capacity.

Re: Cancelling BT contract for mum's elderly friend

HenryV — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:27:11 GMT

Update,

I received this email message from a BT member of staff;

You can send Power of Attorney documents to POA@bt.com, or post them to BT PLC, PO BOX 334, Sheffield, S98 1BT. We only return original and certified documents.

POA documents that will be returned would be the following:

Any solicitor / court ?certified copies?
True original documents

Original and certified copies are returned automatically even if the customer hasn?t requested the return of the documents.

If the POA documentaries not an original or certified copy and the customer hasn?t asked for the POA to be returned these are destroyed securely.

Thanks,

That'll do.