BNZ will not let my father, who has Alzheimers and is in the UK, to close his account. He does not have internet banking, and has never logged into his account. I have Lasting Power of Attorney over his affairs - established in the UK, but BNZ will not recognize this.
After 9 weeks and dozens of emails, BNZ now is requiring that he locate a solicitor in England, create a package of documents, have them notarized, and then return them to NZ in order to close his accounts. During a UK-wide COVID-19 lockdown, for a highly vulnerable individual.
Does BNZ not have somebody who will not treat this like a risk-management exercise? Is there no way to close an account with BNZ from overseas for somebody who has advanced health issues and cannot act fully on their own?