Can Inland Revenue look in my bank accounts?

24

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  • sabretoothtigger
    sabretoothtigger Posts: 10,035
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    HMRC can command the police and local army unit in recovery of any revenue it suspects due and may break into houses without a formal search warrant if circumstances demand it

    I wouldnt be surprised if project echelon had recorded your ip and dispatched agents as we speak :p
  • FraudBuster
    FraudBuster Posts: 931 Forumite
    Check out the disclosure T&C's you signed when opening the bank account.
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 13,120
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    Check out the disclosure T&C's you signed when opening the bank account.

    Agree, but all I suspect have a clause about "disclosure within the law" or such like, even the Swiss have now fallen into line [with much arm twisting]
    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Blah99
    Blah99 Posts: 486 Forumite
    lanmonkey wrote: »
    wow, so they would have to have pretty strong evidence before they even consider asking a judge for permission to look in yoru bank accounts

    Yes. They either try and trick you by getting you into a room and saying "so we know you earned X interest last year on undeclared amounts, want to tell us about it", when they don't actually have the detailed proof. Or if the amount earned is sufficiently huge (or your assets are clearly way beyond your means) they can use that as reasonable suspicion.

    There's also the proceeds of crime act, and SOCA have some pretty nasty powers but are fairly ineffective at using them.
    Mmmm, credit crunch. Tasty.
  • Blah99
    Blah99 Posts: 486 Forumite
    Farway wrote: »
    Agree, but all I suspect have a clause about "disclosure within the law" or such like, even the Swiss have now fallen into line [with much arm twisting]

    Correct. Remember that the wonderful human rights legislation guarantees us all a right to pay stupid amounts in compensation to scum.. oh, no, sorry, I mean it guarantees us a right to life free of state interference. The T&Cs only allow the bank to disclose information when there is a legal obligation to do so. To do it at any other time is actually a breach of the data protection act, even if the data is going to a public body.

    The Swiss situation is extremely specific and limited in scope.
    Mmmm, credit crunch. Tasty.
  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,620
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    Interesting discussion. Was just wondering whether one could ask the Customs & Revenue whether they had ever asked for access to your account under the Freedom of Information Act? From time to time there have been relatively large sums of money going in and out of our accounts as we move our savings around in search of better interest rates/fixed rate bonds, especially when you have to move money through a current account before you can set up a new savings account and write out a cheque. I'm wondering whether this type of activity would trigger their interest?
  • LesU
    LesU Posts: 338 Forumite
    lanmonkey wrote: »
    wow, so they would have to have pretty strong evidence before they even consider asking a judge for permission to look in yoru bank accounts

    I think a great deal of naivety is being displayed in these posts that state that the police or customs need to go cap in hand to a judge.
    All they have to do is state a possible link to drugs or terrorism (aka money laundering) and they can do whatever they like.
    Remember, you're not safe even if you are an MP inside the House of Commons!
  • Blah99
    Blah99 Posts: 486 Forumite
    Primrose wrote: »
    Interesting discussion. Was just wondering whether one could ask the Customs & Revenue whether they had ever asked for access to your account under the Freedom of Information Act? From time to time there have been relatively large sums of money going in and out of our accounts as we move our savings around in search of better interest rates/fixed rate bonds, especially when you have to move money through a current account before you can set up a new savings account and write out a cheque. I'm wondering whether this type of activity would trigger their interest?

    No, it wouldn't, unless you're talking very regular (daily to weekly) transfers of £10k+ batches, or regular transfers (monthly) of £100k+ batches, or individual transfers of £1m+.

    The FOI Act doesn't apply to individuals as such. If you're asking whether you've been put under surveillance you can make a DPA subject access request to get all info stored on you. However, if you imagine the situation where you're an organised crime boss, the DPA request can be ignored by the authorities. In that case, if you have a suspicion you're being placed under surveillance by any UK public body (police, SOCA, council etc) you can make a surveillance request to the Home Office. They will then look at your case and make a determination as to whether to lie to you or tell you the truth.

    The system is mainly intended for people who believe they've been wrongfully placed under surveillance or on a watch list. They can appeal to the Home Office to review their case, but it's a blind process because obviously the surveillance can't be confirmed or denied until it's found to be unrequired/unlawful.

    I think a great deal of naivety is being displayed in these posts that state that the police or customs need to go cap in hand to a judge.
    All they have to do is state a possible link to drugs or terrorism (aka money laundering) and they can do whatever they like. Remember, you're not safe even if you are an MP inside the House of Commons!

    You're confusing issues. Disregard the Damian Green thing, because that's irrelevant.

    Yes, the police could *potentially* engage a wiretap or surveillance on you without proper legal authorisation, but when the case went to court and discovery was initiated your legal defence would be a failure to follow the law. Remember that the police cannot lie or be generous with the facts to obtain a warrant and they must have reasonable cause for suspicion, which includes evidence to back it up. Fishing isn't allowed.
    Mmmm, credit crunch. Tasty.
  • Trollfever
    Trollfever Posts: 2,051 Forumite
    Fishing isn't allowed.
    :D


    http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/mhs/index.htm
    All telecommunications traffic to and from Europe and passing through Britain can be intercepted at the base, including private telephone calls, faxes, emails and other communications. Much of the information is collected, processed and relayed back to the United States automatically.
  • trenchwars
    trenchwars Posts: 313
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    Blah99 wrote: »
    Yes, the police could *potentially* engage a wiretap or surveillance on you without proper legal authorisation, but when the case went to court and discovery was initiated your legal defence would be a failure to follow the law. Remember that the police cannot lie or be generous with the facts to obtain a warrant and they must have reasonable cause for suspicion, which includes evidence to back it up. Fishing isn't allowed.

    That may work in the USA where judges are more likely to throw out evidence obtained unlawfully (although less so in recent years), but not so in the UK.
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