Protecting a customer’s life savings and age pension
Written by Laura Wilson
NSW Trustee and Guardian has successfully sought redress for a vulnerable customer who was exploited.
Mr Lee* is 78 years old and NSW Trustee and Guardian was appointed financial manager after he was diagnosed with dementia. Mr Lee became aware that a large sum of money was transferred from his bank account, and he didn’t know why. Services Australia (Centrelink) deemed this transaction as an assessable gift, resulting in Mr Lee receiving a partial age pension. Mr Lee relies on his age pension to support himself and his wife in their housing commission home.
Investigations by our Legal team revealed Mr Lee had paid his life savings to a charity organisation affiliated with his Chinese culture. NSW Trustee and Guardian determined that this transfer was not done freely and willingly, because Mr Lee’s kind nature and diagnosis of dementia had been taken advantage of. After unsuccessful attempts to directly obtain a refund from the organisation, NSW Trustee and Guardian filed a complaint on behalf of Mr Lee with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The outcome of the complaint was a full refund and a significant contribution to Mr Lee’s legal costs.
Mr Lee now has access to his life savings once again. His eligibility for the full age pension has also been reassessed by Centrelink.
“In this case, we promoted the welfare and interests of Mr Lee, advocating for him to ensure the exploitation he had experienced was redressed,” said NSW Trustee and Guardian Solicitor, Tiffany Lau.
“This insightful and personalised service demonstrates how the expertise of NSW Trustee and Guardian protects, promotes and supports the rights, dignity, choices and wishes of our customers.”
Our agency can be appointed by a court or tribunal as a last resort to manage the property and affairs of a person who is not able to make their own decisions due to injury, illness, or disability. We currently manage the estates of 12,500 people in NSW each year.
*Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
Definitions
- tribunal
A legal forum to make and review decisions and settle conflicts. Tribunals are like courts but are usually more specialised and less formal.