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RBS blocked access to my account because I owed money on another account
ShavedApe
Posts: 7 Forumite
Yesterday evening I went to the fuel station to get some fuel and pay on my card as I normally would. I was told my card had been declined I was then told that unless I could pay for the fuel they would have me arrested for theft.
It turns out that because I owe money in my savings account 112 to be exact this has been this way for some time btw over a year at least, I have when possible paid money into that account to try and reduce it.
A couple of days ago I got an email and a letter saying they wanted to talk to me about my current account so I contacted them to be told I owed money on the savings account and was I calling up to pay I said no as the money owed was due to there charges and I wanted to query those charges before I agreed to make an arrangement to pay.
The charges where £38 pounds unpaid direct debits so I thought since they have now reduced this charge to £5 maybe I had a case, I expected that they wouldn't drop the charges completely but since I am on low to zero income at the moment I thought it would be worth a try.
At no point did the person on the phone tell me unless I came to an agreement they would prevent access to my current account but thats what happened, They cancelled my card and when I went online to look at my accounts I couldn't even see my account I could see the savings one but that's all.
I went to the branch and was told to call a number the same number as the letter and email so I did and was promptly told that the money in the account was theres as I owed the bank money, This surely isnt legal?
I explained my situation and was told that unless I came to an agreement with them that I would not be given access to my account I said ok then I guess ill pay £10 to £15 a week he said that wasnt enough and they where not prepared to take any less than £50 and if I couldnt afford that then I should contact the CAB and they could make a proposal on my behalf for a smaller amount. I cant wait a week or two for access to my account while they decide if that amount is ok I told him and he just repeated himself so I ended the call there.
I called back got a very helpfull lady who said they would be prepared to accept £18 a month and then she proceeded to do a financial statement with me at the end of it it was determined that I couldnt do that because I was already paying out more than I earn, so she said she would send me a form where they could try and reduce the repayment further, all sounded great till she told me I still would have no access to my account unless I first phoned them and asked them to authorise an encashment that I could pick up from the branch of my choosing.
At this point I have spent 45 minutes on the phone to them at least 10 of those on hold and at 20p a minute this could get expensive.
I decided to pay it all in the end fortunately I could as I have been saving money to pay for my ADI licence renewal at the end of the month something that I have to pay in order to continue working. So at this point I may be short of the money to pay for that but the fun didnt end there.
I went to the bank to take out some money and was told all that had been authorised was £30 I called the number back spent another 10 minutes on the phone to them to be told yes your all paid up you can take out what you like. Queued up again to be told by the cashier your account is still stopped but if you like i can put you in a private room while you ask them to authorise some more, I said what's the point if when I do that you'll tell me nothings changed. So she went away 30 minutes later she returned to tell me that she had spoken to them but they needed me to call to allow them to authorise it. So again another 10 minutes on the phone where again I was told I owed them money and I said no I don't they wanted to do another financial statement with me I then said listen all I want is access to MY MONEY! and I don't even want it all, explained to him and he said ill remove the stop I said three people have already said they'll do that and haven't so just authorise me to withdraw £50 and that will do till my new card comes.
Sorry for the long read but I thought it was a story that should be told so that others are warned of this new practice I assume its new.
I would move banks but I don't have the best credit history due to redundancy and then self employment and every bank I try turns me down but never really say why and all I want is a basic account.
I still wonder how legal this practice is and what if anything I can do about it I told one of the guys on the phone about me nearly getting arrested he said oh im sorry for the inconvenience it felt a little more than inconvenient I can tell you.
Sorry for the rant but the story seemed worth telling as it may warn others with an RBS account to be quick and sort out any outstanding balances even if you cant afford to pay with this new practice they make it so you cant afford not to.
Lee
It turns out that because I owe money in my savings account 112 to be exact this has been this way for some time btw over a year at least, I have when possible paid money into that account to try and reduce it.
A couple of days ago I got an email and a letter saying they wanted to talk to me about my current account so I contacted them to be told I owed money on the savings account and was I calling up to pay I said no as the money owed was due to there charges and I wanted to query those charges before I agreed to make an arrangement to pay.
The charges where £38 pounds unpaid direct debits so I thought since they have now reduced this charge to £5 maybe I had a case, I expected that they wouldn't drop the charges completely but since I am on low to zero income at the moment I thought it would be worth a try.
At no point did the person on the phone tell me unless I came to an agreement they would prevent access to my current account but thats what happened, They cancelled my card and when I went online to look at my accounts I couldn't even see my account I could see the savings one but that's all.
I went to the branch and was told to call a number the same number as the letter and email so I did and was promptly told that the money in the account was theres as I owed the bank money, This surely isnt legal?
I explained my situation and was told that unless I came to an agreement with them that I would not be given access to my account I said ok then I guess ill pay £10 to £15 a week he said that wasnt enough and they where not prepared to take any less than £50 and if I couldnt afford that then I should contact the CAB and they could make a proposal on my behalf for a smaller amount. I cant wait a week or two for access to my account while they decide if that amount is ok I told him and he just repeated himself so I ended the call there.
I called back got a very helpfull lady who said they would be prepared to accept £18 a month and then she proceeded to do a financial statement with me at the end of it it was determined that I couldnt do that because I was already paying out more than I earn, so she said she would send me a form where they could try and reduce the repayment further, all sounded great till she told me I still would have no access to my account unless I first phoned them and asked them to authorise an encashment that I could pick up from the branch of my choosing.
At this point I have spent 45 minutes on the phone to them at least 10 of those on hold and at 20p a minute this could get expensive.
I decided to pay it all in the end fortunately I could as I have been saving money to pay for my ADI licence renewal at the end of the month something that I have to pay in order to continue working. So at this point I may be short of the money to pay for that but the fun didnt end there.
I went to the bank to take out some money and was told all that had been authorised was £30 I called the number back spent another 10 minutes on the phone to them to be told yes your all paid up you can take out what you like. Queued up again to be told by the cashier your account is still stopped but if you like i can put you in a private room while you ask them to authorise some more, I said what's the point if when I do that you'll tell me nothings changed. So she went away 30 minutes later she returned to tell me that she had spoken to them but they needed me to call to allow them to authorise it. So again another 10 minutes on the phone where again I was told I owed them money and I said no I don't they wanted to do another financial statement with me I then said listen all I want is access to MY MONEY! and I don't even want it all, explained to him and he said ill remove the stop I said three people have already said they'll do that and haven't so just authorise me to withdraw £50 and that will do till my new card comes.
Sorry for the long read but I thought it was a story that should be told so that others are warned of this new practice I assume its new.
I would move banks but I don't have the best credit history due to redundancy and then self employment and every bank I try turns me down but never really say why and all I want is a basic account.
I still wonder how legal this practice is and what if anything I can do about it I told one of the guys on the phone about me nearly getting arrested he said oh im sorry for the inconvenience it felt a little more than inconvenient I can tell you.
Sorry for the rant but the story seemed worth telling as it may warn others with an RBS account to be quick and sort out any outstanding balances even if you cant afford to pay with this new practice they make it so you cant afford not to.
Lee
0
Comments
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wow sounds bad be glad the didnt refuse you access to your account for 5 months like me0
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It's not a new practice. Banks can always offset debts, which I suspect what they are doing. However, banks won't do this sort of thing unless they have to. You have a debt of £112 which you haven't paid for a year. They gave you a chance. £112 over a year is just £10 a month, which most people can pay off.
Banks can choose who they want as a customer, you are "behaving badly" so they want to get rid of you. Get rid of your debt etc.
Learn from your mistakes.0 -
First time poster - overdrawn on a savings account - pull the other one.0
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How on earth does it take so long to explain something that's on here a hundred times already? Nearly got arrested - what?0
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How can you owe money on a savings account??!! You cant have direct debits on a savings account eitherDebt free and staying that way! :beer:0
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It's not meant to thoughSome savings accounts offer DDs.
An example is the Halifax Web Saver accounts.
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The bank's systems go down, the customer says "can I have a withdrawal please?" and the bank agrees to the withdrawal, only to discover later that the customer had no money.How can you owe money on a savings account??!! You cant have direct debits on a savings account either0 -
A little far fetched, I hope, for all of our interests !The bank's systems go down, the customer says "can I have a wihdrawal please?" and the bank agrees to the withdrawal, only to discover later that the customer had no money.
J_B.0 -
No. A reaosnable risk based policy to provide branch customers with their money during a systems failure.Joe_Bloggs wrote: »A little far fetched, I hope, for all of our interests !
You might not give them a few thousand pounds, but a customer should rightly expect to be able get a couple of hundred quid in such circumstances.0 -
I have been declined numerous faster payments from the Halifax, without justification in my narrow view.
If there is doubt in any financial transaction then surely it is better to notify the party that there is a difficulty rather than pay out regardless of any evidence that they actually had any money at all !
I will stand corrected if my views are old fashioned and bear no relation to reality.
J_B.0
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