ARE THE BANKS REALLY A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES?

 it doesn't feel like a big thing, but gradually - ever so gradually - the banks in this country are collectively  making life more difficult for all of us. What am I talking about? let me give you a very smn small example:

My balance has gone completely "wonky". It is now extremely difficult, and almost close to impossible, to do ordinary things like get out of a chair. Standing up for even a moment is almost impossible. When my balance first started going "off" I went to my doctor who told me that nothing short of an operation on my brain could stop the problem - and there was no guarantee that it would solve it, Unsurprisingly, I turned i t down  down preferring to live with the problem than having somebody operate on my brain. I  am a lawyer. for crying out loud!  What could I do to make MY life better? I thought that perhaps the answer lay in giving somebody that I trusted implicitly a general power of attorney, so that my attorney could handle everything for ne while I was still alive. So said, so done. I gave my wife my power of attorney and arranged for her to be able to sign all of my accounts - both  business and personal. So you can imagine my great surprise when I was told that I had to go in person to collect my  new debit card, 

Why? 

Apparently, the bank feels that they are protecting me, despite the fact that the power of attorney which I gave to my wife is registered and is valid. According to the bank they don't feel that they have to follow or accept the law, Basically, they are saying that the law is whatever they say that it is..

 So the next time that a lawyer advises you to give someone a power of attorney be aware that there are those who feel that they don't have to accept it. And this applies to everything else as well, the law is whatever the banks say that it is - and they are free to change it at any time..

Perhaps I should add a little post script - the bank in question was RBC Royal Bank and the head of tits legal department was too busy to speak to me. (The manager of the branch (Maraval) was very nice but she could do nothing 

And this advice goes for everything else else as  well.