Please help. I am terrified.

ChiefGrasscutter

There is something odd about all this:

In essence the OP received a sum of money into their Santander a/c from a Barclays a/c, then Santander flag this transaction up as suspicious and demand proof that the sending account belongs to the OP..................eh???????
Why is is a material question that the Barclays account belongs to the OP; some 3rd party (person/organisation) might be sending the OP funds. Presumably, in my hypothetical case and following the same logic Santander would be demanding that the 3rd party (person/orgnisations) sending the money appears at a branch to verify their ID.

kaisersoze_2

Lolagirl, in your very first thread an answer given to you relates to HSBC, are you having problems with another bank? You edited the first post as soon as you had written this one, was it not related to this? Im with CheifGrasscutter something doesnt quite add up

lolagirl

bryanb wrote: »

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.

Wow. I've been searching on Google and they seem to be almost known for doing things like that!

lolagirl

savingwannabe wrote: »

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

Fortunately I already had plenty of food in my fridge and freezer. But I absolutely can't pay my rent, due last Wednesday, until Scabbey give me back the money they've basically 'stolen' from me. A friend's offered to lend me 50 quid. I've not taken him up on the offer yet but I probably will have to if this isn't sorted by Monday.

I've sent faxes and emails to about eight different staff at Abbey and I've not heard a thing back.

I went on Google and found similar stories to mine involving Abbey. Typically it seems that it takes MONTHS for people to get their money back from this disgusting excuse for a bank.

I am considering issuing a County Court Claim for the balance of my account. Obviously this would take several weeks to get my money, but presumably it would work. They can't deny that they have my money in that account. So perhaps I should sue them for the balance? This seems a good idea but I am not clear on which address to use and who to address the County Court claim to

Bloomberg

lolagirl wrote: »

I am foolish enough to do my personal banking with Santander. I did not realise how shockingly bad they are until today.

I have a personal current account with Santander and a business current account with Barclays. I am self-employed. Late last week I transferred £900 from my small business account at Barclays into my Santander current account, using the Faster Payments service. I transfer various amounts, from as little as £50 to as much as about £1000 from the small business account into the Santander personal current account, every few weeks. Never had any problems.

Yesterday I tried to use my debit card for a £5 transaction in Tesco & it was declined. I had £3000 available balance in my account, so that did not make sense. I phoned Santander who informed me that my personal current account and savings account had been "flagged up" by Fraud Prevention for a suspicious transaction. They were unable to explain more and asked me to call back in the morning. Naturally I could not sleep and called back first thing this morning.

I was told that the £900 transfer I'd made from my Barclays business account into Santander had been flagged up as fraudulent. They wanted me to provide proof that that Barclays business account is mine. I told them OK, fine. They agreed that I'd bring my Barclays statement, cheque book and debit card into the Santander branch as proof of ownership of that account. I took that ID. Waited one and a half hours before a Customer Advisor deigned to see me. Then he said he'd need to fax off my proof to some central unit at Santander. Another half hour went by. Then he said the department could not accept the proof.

I spoke to the Fraud Department who claimed they were still investigating the transaction and that in the meantime I could not withdraw any money at all from my accounts. Unfortunately, all the money I have in the world is in Santander right now. I have £5 in my purse and that is it. I spent from 10AM this morning until 2.40pm this afternoon on the phone to Santander. Finally, a woman in the Fraud Department informed me that the £900 in dispute could not be touched until that situation was resolved but that her supervisor had agreed that I was entitled to access the remaining £2000 in my account. She told me to go back into the branch with my passport and debit card and ask the branch to phone through to authorise the one-off withdrawal. She was very nice and assured me she was making notes on my account to explain what she'd agreed with me.

I got to the branch. Waited another hour. And was told that actually there no notes on my account to suggest I could make any withdrawal at all of any funds. They said it'd take another "three weeks or so" before their investigations were complete and I'd be able to withdraw any of my money. I then asked to see the branch manager who told me this sort of things happen all the time, he's dealt with four people today already whose accounts have been blocked. "The bureaucracy is getting ridiculous" he admitted. But there was nothing he could do, he claimed. He told me not to take too seriously anything I am told on the phone but at the same time he admitted that he has no authority to override what the Fraud Department is saying at any particular time. I asked him if I could at least withdraw £50 from my savings account, which would allow me to eat and pay for my transport to work for the next few days. He said, NO. He said I'd have to borrow from my partner or from family. I do not have a partner and I do not have family.

I am so gutted - and afraid - that I can't stop crying at this point. It's not even like they're saying "you can have access to your money again next week." They're saying "we don't know when we will let you access your own money." I am really alone in the world and I just don't know what to do.

I asked Barclays, who hold my business account, if they'd consider a temporary overdraft just to tide me over and unfortunately they have refused, saying my credit score isn't high enough. I don't have CCJs or defaults or anything like that.

Also, my major household bills, rent payment standing order and Council Tax and utility bills Direct Debit are due to be paid from my Santander account over the next week. Santander informed me none of them will be honoured, despite the fact I have more than enough cleared funds on the account.

I do not get my next payment from work until 15th May.

I just called Santander once again, and I got some man in India this time who just kept saying, "your details don't match, your details don't match."

I know Santander are known for being awful and I will be applying for an account with a proper bank as soon as possible now. But in the meantime, how on earth do I get my money back? I am not a rich person, I live hand to mouth and I just have no idea what I am going to do for money, travel expenses or how I even eat once I've consumed what is in the fridge at present.

What an absolute horror story, the Santander never cease to amaze me with their bad service and general disorganisation. I really do feel for you as it is hard enough to make ends meet without these clowns getting in the way.

There has been some very sound advice given in relation to your initial post. What I would suggest is that you open a proper bank account, HSBC have been excellent in my experience. Start the ball rolling with the proper bank and as you are a potential long term customer they may give you some advice or if you are really lucky may even fight your corner.

I would also suggest that you get a credit card and always have some kind of back up plan in the future. Should this nightmare situation continue it would not hurt to approach a newspaper, they love these kind of stories. All the best.

PaulW922

Abbey are appallingly bad in this kind of situation - I have a business account there and I would have closed it years ago if it were not free. I do not see any serious issues with you writing out a guaranteed cheque to a friend and getting them to give you the cash - it is not fraud if you know the money is there and that there are no sound grounds for being denied access.

I would expect that at some point the bank will quote the money laundering regulations as a reason for this. Banks frequently do this and use it as an excuse for their own conduct.

PasturesNew

Once this is over, open up two new accounts.
1] Separate bank account at a local bank, with a debit card and online banking. Stick £1000 in there and forget it.
2] Separate account at somewhere like a building society, with a pass book where you walk in, hand over the passbook and get cash out. Stick £100 in there.

I've done this so I'm never stuck! It's awful to not be able to get at your money as I discovered when I thought I'd lost my debit card on my account and had to wait for them to send me a new one.

lolagirl

Update on Abbey:

It has been a week now. Abbey has not done anything at all despite my filing complaints left right and centre. I had a call from some drowsy sounding person in their Complaints Department who claimed he'd investigate. I finally got hold of him on the phone again yesterday and he claimed "the fraud department are still investigating it. Nothing I can do to override their decision."

I am left with no access to my money. I managed to borrow £100 from a friend but that's all I have. All the money I have in the world is in the Abbey. I know they've got a dreadful reputation as a 'bank' but I didn't realise they could actually rob you of your own money indefinitely. I have absolutely no way of paying my rent. Abbey are bouncing standing orders and direct debits on my account despite the fact that I have a few grand in cleared funds as my available balance. I asked them to at least give me a time frame and they said "we can't give you a time frame."

I really do not know what to do.

Would filing a County Court claim against them for the balance of my account force them to act?

angel_islington

lolagirl wrote: »

Update on Abbey:

It has been a week now. Abbey has not done anything at all despite my filing complaints left right and centre. I had a call from some drowsy sounding person in their Complaints Department who claimed he'd investigate. I finally got hold of him on the phone again yesterday and he claimed "the fraud department are still investigating it. Nothing I can do to override their decision."

I am left with no access to my money. I managed to borrow £100 from a friend but that's all I have. All the money I have in the world is in the Abbey. I know they've got a dreadful reputation as a 'bank' but I didn't realise they could actually rob you of your own money indefinitely. I have absolutely no way of paying my rent. Abbey are bouncing standing orders and direct debits on my account despite the fact that I have a few grand in cleared funds as my available balance. I asked them to at least give me a time frame and they said "we can't give you a time frame."

I really do not know what to do.

Would filing a County Court claim against them for the balance of my account force them to act?

God, that is horrendous. Normally, I recommend only dealing with them via letter as talking to them on the phone is complete waste of time and money, however you need a much faster response to this situation. Someone earlier in the thread suggested going down to the branch and staying there until you get it sorted. This is obviously an extreme thing to do but stealing your money is a pretty extreme thing to do! I know that if it was me that's what I would be doing and I tell you I would kick up a stink! If you do this, make sure you don't do anything that will get you kicked out by security but at the same time kick up enough of a fuss to let them know they can't get away with doing this to you.

Good luck.

freewayz

Kind of sounds like a solicitor needs to get involved.
One who knows what they are talking about to get it sorted.
Tell the bank....any further phone calls etc will be made through the solicitor.
Also phone the Beeb....see if they will run a story...phone the newspaper the biggest one you can find.....as long as you are telling the truth they can't nab you for slander.
Make it as messy and public as you can.....and don't worry about being embarrassed your self...it's not as though you had no money to cover your debts.

Sometimes public humiliation (which hurts business) is the only thing that gets them doing their jobs.