Prominent Chichester solicitor Emily Allchurch acted swiftly to prevent a vulnerable elderly couple losing their life savings — then realised she wanted to help others potentially susceptible to betrayal by people they trusted.
Now, after exposing the duplicity and rectifying the wrong doing, mum-of-five Emily has set up a new service – called Enable – to provide guidance and assistance to those in need.
Her new business came about after the con woman had hoodwinked the couple out of thousands of pounds and even had them unwittingly change their wills to exclude family members to her benefit.
Emily, a solicitor at prestigious Chichester law firm The Owen Kenny Partnership, recalls that the couple’s relatives didn’t live locally and as their health started to decline they started relying on their cleaner more. She added:
“Initially she would do errands for them, they gave her their bank cards to get money out and would give her cash to thank her.
“They were trustworthy and became more reliant on her but she began to alienate them from friends and family. Then she drafted a will for them to sign that gave lump sums to her and others. When I discussed their wills with them it became apparent they had not known what they were signing and did not want to exclude their families. By this time the cleaner had become their main carer and had been paid thousands by them. It was very hard for them to come to terms with the betrayal they felt when they should have been spending their last years together enjoying life.”
Efficiency and integrity are at the heart of the new business and Emily believes she can make a difference by enabling people to live with less worry.
She added:
“In recent years the pace of life has increased significantly, a lot of my older clients feel bombarded by the sheer volume of paperwork coming through their door, instead of receiving a simple bank statement there are notices, regulations, terms and conditions, opt ins, opt outs, phone calls that may or may not be from British Gas, BT, the bank – they are unsure who to ask for help with all of this.
“Unwittingly this makes them vulnerable to third parties gaining access to their personal information and finances as often they turn to friends/carers/cleaners for assistance. Sadly, this can lead to manipulation and financial abuse.”
As a specialist solicitor for the elderly, Emily adheres to the highest standards of client care. The aim of Enable is to provide a professional, safe and efficient service to clients offering personal assistants who can handle bills and manage accounts, arrange appointments and find carers and domestic assistance. Expert professionals at Enable are also happy to arrange medical appointments, the replacement of white goods and even order weekly shopping deliveries.
Emily added:
“I feel very strongly about providing a service that meets people’s needs in terms of day to day management whilst safeguarding the interests of the client.
“For a set weekly amount, clients will have their own PA whose sole purpose is to make their life easier. Not everyone enjoys admin but my team of PAs would go so far as to say they ‘love it’ and I think that attitude and dedication comes across in the service we provide.”
Emily adds that each PA has been chosen for their integrity, honesty, reliability and high-quality work:
“These qualities are essential as well as experience, professionalism and a passion to help others. All have undergone Dementia Friends training to support their role. And we are fully insured as are any tradespeople and carers with whom we work.
“By setting up this service exclusively to provide home admin we are able to keep our overheads low and provide a bespoke professional service for a fraction of the cost of others. Enabling people to live their lives free from unnecessary worry is what it’s all about.”
To speak one of the Enable team call now on 01243 680 680; or email [email protected]
