How do we keep your loved one's money safe?

Trusting someone to come into your loved one's home sometimes means trusting them around money too, for the weekly shop, perhaps, or a small errand. It is completely natural to want to know how that is handled, and to be sure your loved one's money is safe.

It is something we have thought about very carefully, and built real safeguards around. These protect your loved one, protect their finances, and protect everyone involved from any misunderstanding. Here is how it works.

Only when it is needed, and always agreed

First and most importantly, our carers only handle your loved one's money when it is genuinely needed as part of their care, such as doing the shopping. And it only ever happens when it has been discussed, agreed, and written clearly into the care plan. It never happens informally or on the side. If handling money is not part of the agreed care, a carer simply will not do it.

Independence and choice come first

Wherever possible, we support your loved one to manage their own money, exactly as they see fit. Any support with finances always respects their wishes, their best interests, and their right to make their own decisions, following proper principles where someone may find financial decisions harder to make for themselves. This is their money, and their choices about it always come first.

Complete transparency

Openness is the heart of keeping money safe. Every transaction a carer makes on your loved one's behalf is written down: what money was received, what was spent, the change returned, and what it was for, with receipts kept wherever possible. These records are then checked and audited by our quality assurance team.

This transparency does two important things at once. It protects your loved one and their money, and it protects the carer from any possible misunderstanding, so that everything is always clear and accountable.

Simple, careful habits

In their day-to-day practice, our carers follow a few sensible habits that keep everything clean and clear: counting money together with your loved one where possible, returning any change straight away, keeping receipts safely, and never mixing your loved one's money with their own. Small things, done consistently, that make a real difference.

Careful rules around bank cards

Where a bank card is involved, the rules are stricter still. A carer will only use your loved one's card where it has been properly risk-assessed, agreed in the care plan, consented to, and where there is no safer alternative. And carers never keep your loved one's bank card, PIN or online banking details outside of the specific arrangement that has been agreed.

Clear limits our carers always follow

For your loved one's protection, there are firm rules every carer must follow. Among other things, our carers will never:

• handle large sums of money (there is a low limit on what can be handled at once, unless something more has been specifically agreed)
• buy anything with your loved one's money for anyone other than your loved one
• become involved in wills, legal or financial arrangements, or offer anything that could be taken as financial advice
• accept gifts or loans from your loved one, or lend them money
• gain any personal benefit from spending your loved one's money

These boundaries are not there because we expect problems. They are there precisely so that problems can never arise.

A simpler alternative

In some cases, rather than a carer handling cash at all, your loved one's care-related expenses can be invoiced directly to whoever manages the bills, with receipts provided. It is simply another way we keep things transparent and straightforward, and we will talk through what suits your family best when setting up care.

Watching out for financial abuse

This part matters a great deal. Sadly, older and more vulnerable people can sometimes become targets for financial abuse, occasionally even by people they know. Our carers are trained to keep a watchful eye out for the warning signs, such as missing money, unexplained transactions, unusual withdrawals, or pressure from others, and to report any concern immediately, whatever its source.

So we do not only handle money carefully ourselves. By being present and attentive, our carers help protect your loved one's finances more widely, which is a genuine and often overlooked benefit of having a trusted professional in the home.

Held to the highest standards

We hold our carers to the very highest standards of honesty and integrity, and we take any breach of these rules extremely seriously. The trust you place in us, and that your loved one places in their carer, is something we protect fiercely. You can read more about how careful oversight runs through everything we do in our guide to the care assessment.

Money matters, safely handled

Handling money is a small but sensitive part of care, and we have surrounded it with transparency, careful habits and clear safeguards. The result is simple: your loved one's finances stay exactly where they should be, safe, accounted for, and firmly in their control.

If you would like to talk through how we would care for your loved one, we would be glad to help.

Book a free care advice call, or give us a ring on 020 3970 9900. We are always happy to answer any question, however small.