Please help. I am terrified.

chambta

Disgraceful conduct from the bank in my opinion.

jonnythurston

The only way that I can think of for you to get access to your cash is 'technically' illegal as it would be 1st party fraud.

You would need to have a santander cheque book and a cheque guarantee card, not sure if you get them with these accounts?

The bank has to honour a guaranteed cheque, so you could write a £100 (or whatever the card guarantees) cheque and because the bank must honour the cheque this should be paid into you account.

As you are writing a cheque that you know shouldn't clear it is counted as fraud, but it may be the only way for you to get at your cash. I'm not even 100% sure that it would work. Maybe someone who works for a bank maybe able to tell you.

Hope you get this sorted soon, I really feel for you. It is beyond a joke how bad Santander are now. Personally I wouldn't trust them to look after my piggy bank.

lolagirl

jonnythurston wrote: »

The only way that I can think of for you to get access to your cash is 'technically' illegal as it would be 1st party fraud.

You would need to have a santander cheque book and a cheque guarantee card, not sure if you get them with these accounts?

The bank has to honour a guaranteed cheque, so you could write a £100 (or whatever the card guarantees) cheque and because the bank must honour the cheque this should be paid into you account.

As you are writing a cheque that you know shouldn't clear it is counted as fraud, but it may be the only way for you to get at your cash. I'm not even 100% sure that it would work. Maybe someone who works for a bank maybe able to tell you.

Hope you get this sorted soon, I really feel for you. It is beyond a joke how bad Santander are now. Personally I wouldn't trust them to look after my piggy bank.

Hi, I actually do have cheque book and cheque guarantee card. So maybe this method would work. Also, knowing that I have sufficient funds in my account to cover any cheques I issue in that way, it surely is not fraud?

Spooneroonie

This sounds like a nightmare - and I don't understand how you paying money into your account triggered a fraud question. I also don't understand how, you having identified yourself with your passport, they have any right at all to hold your funds.

I agree with Valli above, you want to keep a note of all this and complain to the Financial Ombudsman, you might also try giving your local Citizens advice bureau a call - they may be able to offer some advice.

Sorry not to be more help, and good luck.

jonnythurston

lolagirl wrote: »

Hi, I actually do have cheque book and cheque guarantee card. So maybe this method would work. Also, knowing that I have sufficient funds in my account to cover any cheques I issue in that way, it surely is not fraud?

Cashing a cheque that you know won't clear is counted as fraud, regardless of whether there are funds in there. The only reason the cheque clears is that the card guarantees that the cheque will clear.

I have a friend who works for a bank and she said it should work. She has seen it when people who are heavily over their overdraft but are still able to write £50 cheques which they cash in money shops.

I think you should only use this as a last resort personally. But i mean you need to eat somehow!

Let me know how you get on and if this cheque thing works for you

Katie-Kat-Kins

Just to let you know, I know someone who was in a similar position to you, found their account frozen for no justified reason (with Barclays) they got it sorted out within about a week and pressed barclays into a fairly significant goodwill payment for their troubles.

Write a formal letter of complaint NOW send it to your branch, the head office, the complaints department, the ombudsman and your local trading standards. Make sure you tell the bank that you will be seeking recovery of all the expenses you incur including any banking charges incurred with barclays, your telephone calls, your travel and fair compensation for your time and stress (you are not strictly entitled to the last bit but you never know).

Also next time you have to go in talk to customer services on your mobile at the same time and hand the phone over so that customer services can speak to branch. Feel free to keep asking to speak to the supervisor of whoever you are talking to. Make sure you take FULL names and job titles for your next letter of complaint too.

savingwannabe

Lola girl. I am shocked. I hope you are ok. How are you eating?

I am hoping that they have rung you up and apologised and it is all sorted.

This is so frightening. It could happen to anyone. Can you ask a church, friends to borrow money in the short term?

Good luck,

:j

libra10

Another (minor) example of Santander's incompetence.

We had to pick up a letter today from the Post Office, which we had to pay £1.51 to collect.

The letter was interest received on a Santander account my OH holds, and they had omitted to frank the envelope!

We aren't even sure that the interest stated is actually correct! It doesn't tally with another ISA account held by myself.

Good luck, I hope this terrible mix-up is soon resolved.

Valli

Libra - hope you write and ask for re-imbursement there...

bryanb

If we're talking santander's incompetence, in February I closed an executor current account. They gave me the balance and a closing statement. Last week I received a new Visa debit card on the account.