Barclays closed my caccounts!

skyepark

My husband is a non eu and opened a bank account where he had savings and a current account. He tried to vet money out yesterday and wasn't able to; he rang telephone banking and they said he was sent a letter to an address he is no longer present at( he didn't leave a corresponding address either) they can't say why just that he no longer meets the criteria, he told them he was going abroad a few times since they had also blocked his card while he was here. They did not tell him anything. He has a lot of money there and now has to claim it back with The lost account form this will take ages! Is this the only way? His account is grey on the banking system. Help?

chexum

Did he recently paid anything unusual to the bank account? Brought back cash from the old country, sent a wire/SWIFT transfer from a foreign account?

If yes, the bank may need to report it and investigate the sources of the funds paid in - if it's not possible to find a satisfactory explanation, it gets ugly, he does not have a word to say as he's not supposed to learn that this is suspicious activity:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/29/29-crimeact.htm

[SIZE=-1]This means that a financial firm, and the Financial Ombudsman Service:[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=-1]cannot, at the time, tell a customer that a transaction is being delayed because a report has been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act; and
  
  [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]cannot later – unless NCIS agrees – tell a customer that a transaction was delayed because a report had been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]if a firm receives a complaint: if a firm receives a complaint in these circumstances, it may be unable to explain its reasons to the customer – who may then bring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.[/SIZE]

hunt85

if he had the account in a previous address where he wasn't living (why didn't he change the address?) and he made unusual transactions (such as alot of foreign transactions, gambling websites, cash deposits etc) then they'll close it under money laundering terms. They don't need to tell you anything. Which country was the ID he used to open the account from? theres a lot of problems with people using Albanian pasports who are actually from Kosovo which open accounts which often get closed. And people from Brazil using fake or genuine Portuguese passports and ID cards which turn out to be claimed falsely even though the document might be genuine. I am an ex barclays employee by the way.

Edit just read you said NON eu! could be alot of other factors depending on what country the ID from and the nationality including UN sanctions etc and also the usage on the account.

iereboy

Get ready for the ride of your life involving NO INFORMATION!

They will NEVER tell you, you can make a complaint if you want in writing, but its still getting closed down. No amount of screaming or I want to speak to a manager will have any effect. You'll never get to speak to the department who has made the decision or the reason.

In their eyes, something on the account has trigged serious alarm bells. Money laundering, fraud, funds being recieved or sent from dodgy countries/sources.

They'll also say they can choose to do business with whoever they want to and so can you.

I would like to say as well, something does not sound right- he has lots of money, a non EU resident and has not given them an up to date address. Surely if you have a lot of money, you would be weary of who reads your statements and where they go to....

olly300

Your husband is:
1. None EU
2. Didn't tell the bank that he was moving so his mail was probably returned to the bank.
3. He went aboard and tried to use the bank without telling the bank he was going aboard

Then it's unsurprising that the account was closed and the cards block.

Due to money laundering regulations and to protect themselves from fraud banks will block cards and close accounts.

In future if you or your husband move you need to tell your bank asap preferably before you move to the new address, and you also need to inform them when you are going aboard before you go.

I moved into a house where a previous tenant who was non-EU decided to not give their bank (one of the same banks I bank with) their new address. Eventually after a new cheque book, a new debit card and some statements appeared at the house and I "returned to sender, the bank phoned the house up then blocked their account. I only know because a few months later they came round for their mail and was told that it had all been returned to sender as no-one living there knew who they were.

skyepark

he told the bank he was going abroad before he left and still they locked his account he had to ring to get it unlocked, he stopped recieving bank statements by post and he should have left a corresponding address, but he didnt. I was told now that we have to claim the money through lost accounts.org.uk, but if they write a cheque in his name how will he bank it? he doesnt have a bank account. The only transactions he did while abroad was withdraw cash and transfer cash through IBAN and not even large amounts. I do think its because they sent a letter to his 'address' and he wasn't able to answer but being abroad sucks since I hope his money will be claimable quickly. He didnt have that much but enough to live on abroad.