Credit Union won't open current account because of intellectual disability

MarkR

This sounds bizarre, but it just happened and I'm stunned. My son, (16) has Autism and an Intellectual Disability. We manage all of his finances. He has no real concept of money.

He already had a savings account of some sort with our local credit union, which had been set up when he was a child with his mother as the co-signer. Now that we want a current account for him, to receive some supports he is entitled to, the Credit Union said I needed to speak to someone specific about setting up an account for someone with special needs. While I thought that was odd, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and called this person.

They told me that if was unable to understand what was being set up for him, they wouldn't be able to open an account for him.

That's normal. AIB have a Special Needs/Person in Care type account for this exact scenario. BOI also, but they call it Vulnerable Customer Account.

Jim_Hodge

They kind of have a point if he has no concept of money and can't understand the terms and conditions associated with opening and operating a current account.

MarkR

Yes, I made some progress with bank of ireland vulnerable account. Once I have a letter from the GP stating that he doesn't have the capacity to manage his finances they are happy to open an account for him.

Thanks