Advise Needed

DeepInDebt

Hi,

My partner is a Nigerian national. She applied for a current account at a well known bank and was accepted in principal. She sent off a photocopy of her passport and her bank statement as requested. Weeks went by and she heard nothing.
She called them and they advised that as the name on the application did not have a middle name, yet the passport did they couldn't pass the identity check. (Despite the middle name field on the online application not being a required filed as denoted by no * by it).
She was advised to reapply using her middle name, which she did and was accepted in principle again.
One day later and an email is sent to her advising that they would now not be able to offer her an account at all, with no reason given.

Can anyone advise if this is legal:

to accept someone in principle, decline based on a middle name (whether they would have ever contacted her to let her know this is another matter)
then to accept in principle and then decline a day later with not reason given???

Any advise greatly appreciated,

DID

Hintza

I imagine they can decline you for any reason they wish to dream up. Personally I wouldn't want to bank with them now so just look for another bank.

lincroft1710

DeepInDebt wrote: »

Can anyone advise if this is legal:

I doubt if there is any law which states that banks have to have reasonable grounds for refusing an application for an account.

Herongull

I believe that it can be problematic for foreign nationals to get a UK current account. If they are permanent residents and have been in the country for a reasonable time then they will eventually find a bank that will accept them.

somethingcorporate

Of course it is legal, you cannot force a private company to do business with you.

The middle name box was probably optional because some people do not have middle names, although obviously if you do have one it would be common sense to put it in.

A lesson learned for the next time you fill in a banking application for your wife. If you can fill it in, do!

malchish

Try another bank!
In this country, when a clerk makes a stupid mistake, this is usually followed by never admitting that there happened a mistake. Anything but. They will now try everything they can to find why your wife should not have been accepted.
Do not fight, quietly find another bank - then you can have a last laugh.

wealdroam

somethingcorporate wrote: »

A lesson learned for the next time you fill in a banking application for your wife. If you can fill it in, do!

OP, I agree... especially if your supporting documentation (e.g. passport) indicates that you should.

shaun_from_Africa

She sent off a photocopy of her passport and her bank statement as requested.

I'm assuming from that statement that your partner has an account with a Nigerian bank. (although my assumption may be wrong).

If this is the case, it might be worth trying to find out if the overseas bank has any tie ups or connections with any of the UK banks.
If this does turn out to be the case it may make opening an account here easier if she chose the connected bank.

DeepInDebt

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Of course it is legal, you cannot force a private company to do business with you.

The middle name box was probably optional because some people do not have middle names, although obviously if you do have one it would be common sense to put it in.

A lesson learned for the next time you fill in a banking application for your wife. If you can fill it in, do!

Whilst what you are saying is all well and good it does not address the question asked, i.e. why accept then decline on the same information, I can't see a middle name being the break point???

wealdroam

DeepInDebt wrote: »

Whilst what you are saying is all well and good it does not address the question asked,i.e. why accept then decline on the same information, I can't see a middle name being the break point???

But that isn't the question that you asked.

You asked if it was legal...

DeepInDebt wrote: »

Can anyone advise if this is legal:

to accept someone in principle, decline based on a middle name (whether they would have ever contacted her to let her know this is another matter)
then to accept in principle and then decline a day later with not reason given???

Somethingcorporate then confirmed that it was...

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Of course it is legal, you cannot force a private company to do business with you.

Now, to answer your supplementary question...

DeepInDebt wrote: »

...why accept then decline on the same information, I can't see a middle name being the break point???

It could possibly be because the applicant could not provide consistent information about their name.
I can see that leading to doubts about all sorts of things.

But no-one except the bank will be able to answer that question, will they?

browneyedbazzi

As mentioned above, the bank can refuse an account to anyone for virtually any reason they fancy (provided it isn't illegal discrimination).

Is this your partner's first UK bank account? Has she lived in the UK long enough to have all the required proof of address needed to open an account?

Getting your first account in the UK can be a nightmare...it was when I moved here nearly 10 years ago and I think it's possibly got more difficult rather than easier. I wouldn't generally recommend dealing with HSBC, but first accounts for people from abroad is one thing that they do well so it's worth applying to them. She may not be able to get a full current account right away though - she may find that she needs to get a basic account first then upgrade to a current account a little while down the line.