My Bank Have Put a Block on My Account due to a PM Bank Transfer Payment

[katyc]

My bank kindly rejected a transfer I made (below £300) to another member for a coin. A simple fraud check.... No biggie.... You'd think!

I called to say it didn't go through, assumed they'd do a check, ask a few questions and then authorise it. But they said they needed 72 hours to look further in to it. They ask where I purchased the item (I guess when they heard it's a forum it'll set alarm bells ringing perhaps....)

I then called a few times over that 72h period pushing for answers (as I am not happy they've put a block on my account). I can make debit or credit card payments. I seem to be able to pay existing payees. But I can't do any new bank transfers as there is a block on my account until this is resolved. Each time I'm fobbed off "I can see they have taken some action on it but it's not completed yet" (what the hell does that mean?!) Luckily I'm at my spending limit anyway so won't be purchasing for a while - but it's the principle!

We are now at six days. Double the quoted time they said they would take to get back to me. I have made a formal complaint about that of course.

I'm livid that they are allowed to control the way I spend MY money for this long!

I'm guessing they are digging deep on this one by the sound of it (perhaps seeing that in recent times, instead of buying clothes from the internet, I have been paying various random people by bank transfer - which is going to look a bit dodge I guess!) So I'm predicting they'll question many payments/receipts etc. Fine. I've nothing to hide (but what an inconvenient waste of time and faff!)

So, have any of you had similar to this? What did you have to do? How long? etc

Also, if I have to provide proof of purchases, then most members (who are not businesses) of course don't supply invoices. So do I provide screen shots of the listing of any queried transactions? Along with copies of any correspondence messages for evidence? Is that adequate proof? Is that even allowed for the sake of GDPR?

I don't like this one bit!!!! I'm also going to change current account because of it (due to the unacceptable time they're taking), however I currently cannot even change banks while there's a block on my existing one!

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by katyc

[HerefordBullyun]

Which bank are you with - just curious.

I am guessing natwest to me they seem the most intrusive of banks..

[katyc]

Santander

I've looked on USwitch - a few banks doing £200 incentive to switch. As soon as this block is lifted - SEE YAH 😡

[BackyardBullion]

7 minutes ago, katyc said:

Santander

I've looked on USwitch - a few banks doing £200 incentive to switch. As soon as this block is lifted - SEE YAH 😡

Santander have been the worst bank for me. I dumped them LONG ago for similar reasons. 

[katyc]

2 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

Santander have been the worst bank for me. I dumped them LONG ago for similar reasons. 

Did you need to prove your purchases in any way? (ones to non-businesses as I don't have invoices for those). They may not even ask for more info. They may just lift it without questions. But with it taking this long I'm not so sure. Most people wouldn't care, but I feel really frustrated and violated that they can control me for an unacceptable time. 

[HonestMoneyGoldSilver]

That's unreal over less than £300

 

 

[katyc]

57 minutes ago, HonestMoneyGoldSilver said:

That's unreal over less than £300

 

 

That's the most shocking part! Unless they've seen payments coming out over a period of time and it's triggered a check (because they're all transfers maybe it looks a bit dodge)

It was probably just a typical fraud check that led to them questioning (when asking what it's for and where I bought it, I guess "a forum member" would set alarm bells ringing 😆)

Edited June 12, 2023 by katyc

[Bigmarc]

I pretty much just use a revolute card for internet purchases. I try to keep my personal bank separate at just let it do its thing. I once had a stopped payment on here and revolute cleared it within a couple of hours of filling in the info of the buyer. I never leave much money on the revolute as I use it as kind of a security barrier between my account and the world of potential dodgey. 

[HonestMoneyGoldSilver]

If nothing else it's more encouragement to keep the bare minimum in your bank accounts and transfer the rest to precious metals. I bet the twats charge for having an account and give 0% interest on the balance

[katyc]

1 minute ago, HonestMoneyGoldSilver said:

If nothing else it's more encouragement to keep the bare minimum in your bank accounts and transfer the rest to precious metals. I bet the twats charge for having an account and give 0% interest on the balance

I agree. I really hope this post doesn't put people off investing this way. It just adds to the issue that we are being controlled and it'll only get worse. I don't mind them doing it now and again - it's for my protection. It's great for vulnerable elderly people for example. But to block this long. Nope. Not having it! Bye bye!

[ChrisSilver]

Sorry to hear about your issues with your bank and that it is taking them so long to resolve.

The problem with high street banks IMO is that fraud is so prevalent they are overly cautious. They are so overly cautious that they block a large % of perfectly genuinely transactions, and though blocking fraud transactions does help to protect customers as well as the banks ultimately it can lead to large inconveniences, particularly when blocking genuine transactions, such as the one that you have experienced. 

I had a credit card from one of the large high street banks and it was declined whilst abroad, calling in from abroad and waiting hours is not convenient for the end user. There are some advantages for paid premium accounts such as a dedicated telephone line but in the end I believe that the online only challenger banks are the best way to go. If needed, transactions can just be confirmed from within the app itself by FaceID, Touch ID etc (or similar biometrics) this is much easier for the end user. 

Any of these could be good to open: Monzo (the best app interface of any UK bank and the easiest to use IMO), Starling, Revolute.

Monzo and Starling the best IMO for whilst abroad, they both offer 0% foreign transactions fees 7 days a week with no mark up over the Mastercard rates. Starling has unlimited 0% cash withdrawals whilst abroad (but for day to day use I do recommend Monzo for their better app interface, so can even get both)

There are also other online challenger banks such as Chase, and Virgin, these are also worth considering they both have 0% foreign exchange fees on purchases. Virgin also offers unlimited 0% cash withdrawals whilst abroad with no requirements. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by ChrisSilver

[katyc]

29 minutes ago, ChrisSilver said:

Sorry to hear about your issues with your bank and that it is taking them so long to resolve.

The problem with high street banks IMO is that fraud is so prevalent they are overly cautious. They are so overly cautious that they block a large % of perfectly genuinely transactions, and though blocking fraud transactions does help to protect customers as well as the banks ultimately it can lead to large inconveniences  particular when blocking genuine transactions, such as the one that you have experienced. 

I had a credit card from one of the large high street banks and it was declined whilst abroad, calling in from abroad and waiting hours is not convenient for the end user. There are some advantages for paid premium accounts such as a dedicated telephone line but in the end I believe that the online only challenger banks are the best way to go. If needed, transactions can just be confirmed from within the app itself by FaceID, Touch ID etc (or similar biometrics) this is much easier for the end user. 

Either of these could be good to open: Monzo (the best app interface of any UK bank and the easiest to use IMO), Starling, Revolute.

 

Thank you @ChrisSilver. I think we need to spread our transactions out with the likes of Revolut etc. Not because we need to hide anything! But to give us other options when things are difficult - like this. I recall HSBC went down one evening - around 6 months ago - and thinking to myself - Imagine if that's the only account you have and you're on a night out? You can't buy another cocktail or even book an Uber home!

Edited June 12, 2023 by katyc

[Bigmarc]

I think the chase card has a 1% cashback on all purchases. It's a good deal but doesn't go down well with the forum OG's. Spread your funds about is probably the best way. 

Also the thing is with these fintech cards they are much more user friendly than a bank and usually resolve within minutes of logging into the app.

[ZRPMs]

They say it's fraud protection. I know the HMRC have been pushing them all for info and to police the transactions. They're all scrambling to keep hold of the cash for liquidity sake and tax liabilities in-case Mrs Jones want's to sell some of her personal items. Is any tax due and will it be declared to the revenue and in turn the tax/duty be collected. Unfortunately they're pretty much all the same. To combat it a little I have a few accounts in different banks. Each account is used for a specific reason ie:- Personal, Business, savings, Holding account, etc. But it mean's that if one bank freeze the account I have the others to fall back on. Also I use cash as often as possible. I don't like the march towards cashless. It only give's more control of my funds away to third parties. Hope you get it resolved soon.

[katyc]

I'm sure some of you are eager to know the outcome since you have this same hobby - it probably plays on your minds too! I'll update when I hear more.

(I was hoping for more people to confirm they've been in the same boat - and how they sorted it - but maybe not then.... Maybe it's just me 😳😬)

Edited June 12, 2023 by katyc

[ZRPMs]

17 minutes ago, katyc said:

(I was hoping for more people to confirm they've been in the same boat - and how they sorted it - but maybe not then.... Maybe it's just me 😳😬)

Your not an isolated case. I've heard many say the bank have frozen the account for the simplest of reason's. A friend of mine even had his account frozen because he couldn't remember his over the phone pin. He never used it and only reason they asked him for it was because they kept phoning him to ask if they could help in any way, Loan, re-mortgage, overdraft, up grade his account to a premium account. When he finally agreed to go through the questionnaire they asked him for the numbers (whatever) from his pin, when he couldn't give them, they froze his account. Cost him a morning going in to town, carparking fee's and when he got it sorted they asked him if there was any thing they could do to help him. He said Stop phoning me and blocking my account. 

[Roy]

Hi Katy,

It happened to me too, albeit a much larger sum, with a member here.

It's embarrassing!

What I did: Keep on to them, tell them it's unacceptable. When they say '72 hours' blah blah, say no.

Any leeway you give, they will use it.

It will be resolved but what a nuisance eh?

p.s. I'm with Barclays, have been for 45 years and I reminded them of that 😃

[DW1777]

I’m with Lloyds and wouldn't recommend them for similar reasons.  Their fraud checks meant I missed out on a purchase from the Royal Mint.  Explained to them the impact of their procedure but weren’t interested.  That said, I think they’re all as bad as each other.

[katyc]

9 minutes ago, DW1777 said:

I’m with Lloyds and wouldn't recommend them for similar reasons.  Their fraud checks meant I missed out on a purchase from the Royal Mint.  Explained to them the impact of their procedure but weren’t interested.  That said, I think they’re all as bad as each other.

Did they freeze you from making payments for a few days also?

[katyc]

14 minutes ago, Roy said:

Hi Katy,

It happened to me too, albeit a much larger sum, with a member here.

It's embarrassing!

What I did: Keep on to them, tell them it's unacceptable. When they say '72 hours' blah blah, say no.

Any leeway you give, they will use it.

It will be resolved but what a nuisance eh?

p.s. I'm with Barclays, have been for 45 years and I reminded them of that 😃

Thank you. Did they ask for further info after a few days or just lift the freeze? 

I was going to start printing things off in preparation, but no point risking wasting time if I don't need to 🤷🏼‍♀️

[DW1777]

17 minutes ago, katyc said:

Did they freeze you from making payments for a few days also?

Yes, it was about a week.  I responded to the security texts and messaged them.  In the end I had to ring them to sort it out.  Thankfully it was only confined to that transaction.

[Zhorro]

The annoying thing is that the banks are forcing us to go on-line (who accepts a cheque these days?) and then they block us from carrying out a transaction.

I stopped trying to buy from the RM at 9am on Mondays because my bank would block the transaction, and by the time I'd proved to them that I existed, the item would have gone from my basket.

So, any bank transfers require me to go into my local branch (which does not open on Wednesdays because of Covid), and even then, anything over £2,000 needs to be done at the counter.  I usually take a photocopy of the item I am buying because inevitably they ask what it is for.

[DW1777]

What I would say though from my relatively short time on this forum is that I think most people would understand and be patient, unlike many dealers.  It’s good you have raised awareness.

Edited June 12, 2023 by DW1777

[katyc]

5 minutes ago, DW1777 said:

What I would say though from my relatively short time on this forum is that I think most people would understand and be patient.  It’s good you have raised awareness.

100%. The seller was awesome about it. He even sent the coin without paying! This proves how amazing and safe the forum is (with the right amount of feedback and attitude trust blossoms 😁). But the banks spoil it with their suspicion 🙄

Edited June 12, 2023 by katyc

[katyc]

4 minutes ago, Zhorro said:

The annoying thing is that the banks are forcing us to go on-line (who accepts a cheque these days?) and then they block us from carrying out a transaction.

I stopped trying to buy from the RM at 9am on Mondays because my bank would block the transaction, and by the time I'd proved to them that I existed, the item would have gone from my basket.

So, any bank transfers require me to go into my local branch (which does not open on Wednesdays because of Covid), and even then, anything over £2,000 needs to be done at the counter.  I usually take a photocopy of the item I am buying because inevitably they ask what it is for.

Wow! What bank is that? They sound a nightmare!