Is this bank money-making scheme or just life in money-laundering reality ?

Somerset

This is just a mild irritation but still ....

I'm buying a flat and due to complete next week. I transferred the completion monies from ING ( 90k ) to my Lloyds account planning to online transfer them to the solicitors today. But I can't - the maximum single per day transaction is 10k. I spoke to them ( reg for telephone banking ) and what I have to do is go to my branch with I.D. and get it done via Chaps which costs £ 20.00. Ok I'd do this today but it's £ 20.00 I thought I could avoid. They are using the money laundering reason for not being able to do it online ie. over 10k. But what's the difference ? In order to get online ( and transfer 10k ) I have to answer all the security questions i.e. prove who I am, and if I go to the branch with my passport I prove who I am - the transfer still happens but just costs me £ 20.00. What I'm saying is if I go to the branch, with I.D. they still won't do it by bacs ? ( the free way ) only by Chaps ( the £ 20.00 way ) so is this just them money-making ??

Somerset

This is a serious question. Just got back from the branch.

Why do they have to know what the money is for ? I prove I'm me, they check the funds are in the account, so why do I have to tell them what the funds are for and provide documentary proof ? That's my business and I don't see why I should have to prove my business to them.

Why the question 'do you live or work in the area ?' They know my home address from their records, and it's none of their business where I work.

Why is it so intrusive to get your own bank to move your own money ??

jonesMUFCforever

It is because if you were a money launderer and the bank employee had not asked the relevant questions, the bank employee could face a prison sentence, fine and the loss of their job.
I would not take chances - if you did not provide id and I was not happy with your explaination about the transaction I would report you to my line manager who would probably flag it up to the money laundering team.
Result - your transaction would be delayed or cancelled.
If you don't want to be asked about your business keep your money under the bed.

regularsaver1

I had this reaction once when a customer bought in £30k of Euro's - we have to ask!!!!

Somerset

ejones999 wrote:

It is because if you were a money launderer and the bank employee had not asked the relevant questions, the bank employee could face a prison sentence, fine and the loss of their job.
I would not take chances - if you did not provide id and I was not happy with your explaination about the transaction I would report you to my line manager who would probably flag it up to the money laundering team.
Result - your transaction would be delayed or cancelled.
If you don't want to be asked about your business keep your money under the bed.

The point you missed was I.D. was provided.

So I now need to convince my bank that any transfer I make is legitimate. So if I'm making a charitable donation, paying a bookmaker, buying shares or merely sending funds to a family member I need to prove that to my bank every time. If I'd written a cheque, the transfer of funds would still have happened, and I wouldn't have had to provide the information demanded today. So how would their money laundering obligations have been met ?

Strange then that ING weren't subject to the same money laundering regulations but did the transfer online with no questions. Ok they were sending it to 'me' so it seems it's the 'third party' that invokes these regulations. i take on board what you say but it's still an invasion of privacy and I resent it.

I'd be interested to know the purpose of 'do you live or work locally ' when as i said above, my bank knows where I live - it's the place they send my statements to, and I repeat it's none of their business where I work since this wasn't credit related.

I don't need the sarcasm of the 'under the bed' jibe.

Somerset

regularsaver1 wrote:

I had this reaction once when a customer bought in £30k of Euro's - we have to ask!!!!

A large deposit of cash is a different matter. I was talking about an Chaps transfer of my own money to a high street UK bank.

roswell

you could have just transered £9999 every day

regularsaver1

Somerset wrote:

A large deposit of cash is a different matter. I was talking about an Chaps transfer of my own money to a high street UK bank.

You will always be asked about deposits regardless

Somerset

roswell
Yes - I considered it but since due to complete next Thurs so was running out of time. My fault for not checking beforehand. But i still don't understand why I can't bacs over 10k wuth LloydsTsb but I can chaps it.

regularsaver
I understand questions about 'where did this money (cash) come from ? but not ' prove to us why/what is this money being spent on '

Maybe I should just forget it and move on ,,,, but big brother is already here and it bothers me.

jonesMUFCforever

What ID did you have with you?
Did anyone at the branch personally know you (the best ID you will get IMO)?
Do you transact large transactions like this on a regular basis - if not this is why they wanted to know a little about it - believe it or not criminals are quite sophisticated these days and it is not unknown for someone to have the brass tacks to go into a branch pretending to be you to do a CHAPS transfer which is same day, then as soon as it hits the receiving a/c it is CHAP'sed again to a third a/c and withdrawn - your money 's gone who will you want to blame?
Answers on a postcard please.
I can just hear you now ''how did the criminal get his hand on my money?''
Sorry sir we don't bother to question transactions as some customers think its none of our business.

I can also confirm that if you had written out a cheque for a large amount the bank would try to contact you by phone to establish whether it was you who wrote it out. If they could not get hold of you as a last resort the cheque would have been returned unpaid.

Somerset

ejones999 wrote:

What ID did you have with you?

Passport, Driving Licence, Utility bills & Credit cards. They only took a copy of the passport - they were happy I was who I was supposed to be.

No - nobody at the branch knew me. I live in central london and despite having banked with Lloyds for more than 20 years their turnover of staff is so fast I never see the same faces more than twice.

No. I don't do this often and I appreciate your point about fraud but ..... they were happy with the I.D. i.e. that I was genuinely me ... that wasn't the problem. Once they were certain I was 'me', why insist on documentary evidence of what I was paying/buying ? What would have happened of I didn't have it ? e.g. I was sending my brother some money ? Also, if I'd written that cheque instead, they would have asked me to confirm the payee and amount - not what was it for. why and send us proof of what you've just said.