A 78-YEAR-OLD man and his 85-year- old sister, who was deaf and in hospital, had a joint deposit account containing € 106,000 in their local bank. An interfering neighbour approached an official in the bank suggesting that the man's name be removed from the account so it would be in the sister's name alone. The official facilitated this change and the man later alleged that when he was visiting his sister in hospital, they signed the authorising documents under duress.
Mr Meade found the actions of the bank "highly irregular and unsatisfactory". He directed the bank to reinstate the joint account and awarded € 1,200 in compensation to the man for the bank's negligence and failure of duty.