Welfare Matters

This page shows welfare items from the last  Newsletter.   However, other items from past Newsletters might

well still be of interest to our members.  We have therefore included a link to take you to a list of subjects for you to

select and view those items you may wish to re-visit.

Please note that although the list is limited at present we are working on it and hope to expand it shortly.

Click here for Issues from previous Newsletters

 From The Spring 2024 Newsletter

When looking back through bank and credit card statements a pensioner may see a regular debit and wonder what it was for. Upon investigation it’s then discovered that this payment is for a service such as a gym membership, magazine subscription, or even some unidentifiable service. This type of payment is called a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) and was established when bank/credit card details were given to a company to authorize them to take regular payments for a service.

If this authority is no longer required, then a CPA can be cancelled by contacting the bank and/or the company receiving the payment. The following is a template which can be used for this purpose.

Service Provider name and address

Account number

Dear Sir/Madam

I am an old established customer of (company name) and have paid for your services using a Continuous Payment Authority.

I am withdrawing this authorization and do not want any further payments to be taken from either my debit or credit card.

The last four digits of the card/account these payments are being taken from are ….

Under ‘The Payment Services Directive 2015’ any more payments taken from the card will be an unauthorized transaction.

Please send confirmation you have done this.

Yours faithfully, (Your name).

Thinking of getting married or know of any pensioner who is? Well think of the consequences! Apparently elder abuse, which includes financial exploitation, is a growing scourge. The worse perpetrators trick targets into marriage without their families’ knowledge in order to take control of their estate on death. Victims who suffer from dementia could be particularly vulnerable. Marriage automatically revokes any will already in place and can give the new spouse freedom to plunder a victim’s wealth, particularly after the victim’s death. Sounds far fetched but apparently does happen!

Finally, as highlighted in previous Newsletters there is a wealth of information and help available to us pensioners on the Bank Workers Charity web site https://www.bwcharity.org.uk or helpline # 08000234834.