HELP!!!! Bank Account Frozen / No-ops

TheBanker

benog1985 wrote: »

In your experience, how long do these things take to resolve? My salary is being paid into the account tomorrow and I need to pay rent/bills etc etc so I'm quite keen o be able to get more money from my account otherwise I could be in trouble.

It is impossible to say, because I don't know why the account is frozen or what the bank is doing. It could be resolved tomorrow, it could drag on for weeks. I'd say a couple of days is more likely than a longer period but it does depend on the circumstances.

You should ask the helpful branch manager what is going to happen about your rent and bills which need to be paid.

TheBanker

grumbler wrote: »

Any reputable company has to have a special procedure in place providing access to some emergency fund for the time of investigation. I know, 'reputable' is something that has nothing to do with our banks.

They do - Natwest have given the OP £200.

Are you familiar with the Money Laundering legislation? If I fail to report suspected money laundering, I can go to jail. My report could trigger an account being frozen whilst an investigation is carried out. I regret the inconvenience that causes to the customer but I'm not going to risk being sent to jail for failure to report.

benog1985

TheBanker wrote: »

They do - Natwest have given the OP £200.

Are you familiar with the Money Laundering legislation? If I fail to report suspected money laundering, I can go to jail. My report could trigger an account being frozen whilst an investigation is carried out. I regret the inconvenience that causes to the customer but I'm not going to risk being sent to jail for failure to report.

Hopefully it'll be just a couple of days....fingers crossed!!

Also in your experience, would the bank normally allow a withdrawal if they were carrying out anti money laundering investigations?

I have asked the manager today if he know the reason my accounts aren't accessible and can't tell me or if he honestly doesn't know, he said he doesn't know. Not sure if this is true or not but he has helped me out quite a lot. I'd be happier if he did know but couldn't tell me as then I could stop pestering him!

I haven't laundered any money not have I don't anything illegal so hopefully they'll sort this out soon!! The manager did say he'd give me a call in the morning to let me know what will happen re the direct debits and my rent & bills.

dktreesea

Money received via paypal from an overseas source and into a personal rather than business account, may raise flags at the bank.

Muling involves the overseas party paying money to you, say via paypal for a bogus ebay item. They cover the cost of the ebay side of things and you pass onto them the money, less a commission, once you pay down your paypal account into your personal bank account.

Banks nowadays take a very close look at these kinds of transactions. Especially if you have several payments a month from sources like Paypal instead of just the odd one off they might expect to see for people selling the odd item privately online.

benog1985

TheBanker wrote: »

Are you familiar with the Money Laundering legislation? My report could trigger an account being frozen whilst an investigation is carried out.

Is my account actually "FROZEN" if I have been able to withdraw funds though? I am led to believe that if an account is frozen you can't withdraw funds or credit the account.

TheBanker

benog1985 wrote: »

Is my account actually "FROZEN" if I have been able to withdraw funds though? I am led to believe that if an account is frozen you can't withdraw funds or credit the account.

Frozen normally means no credits or debits allowed. I don't work for NatWest so procedures may be slightly different, but in my bank certain staff are authorised to permit transactions on frozen accounts. It sounds like your account is frozen, and the manager has done something to help you. I've obviously no idea what he did though!

I hope my use of the word frozen hasn't alarmed you. I simply used the word to mean an account which had access restricted. I do not know if your account is actually frozen on NatWest's systems, or even if NatWest have a status of "frozen".

meer53

benog1985 wrote: »

Is my account actually "FROZEN" if I have been able to withdraw funds though? I am led to believe that if an account is frozen you can't withdraw funds or credit the account.

YOU can't withdraw funds or credit the account, but Natwest can.

TheBanker

benog1985 wrote: »

Hopefully it'll be just a couple of days....fingers crossed!!

Also in your experience, would the bank normally allow a withdrawal if they were carrying out anti money laundering investigations?

It all depends on what exactly is being investigated. I have in the past authorised withdrawels on accounts which were under investigation, but it depends on the nature of the investigation, the amount being withdrawn, source of funds and various other factors. It's very much a case by case decision.

I have asked the manager today if he know the reason my accounts aren't accessible and can't tell me or if he honestly doesn't know, he said he doesn't know. Not sure if this is true or not but he has helped me out quite a lot. I'd be happier if he did know but couldn't tell me as then I could stop pestering him!

He probably doesn't know. I don't tell customer facing staff why accounts are frozen, because then they cannot accidentally "tip off" the customer that they are being investigated for money laundering. Tipping off carries a jail sentence for the staff member concerned. I think not giving them the information is the best way to protect them.

benog1985

TheBanker wrote: »

Frozen normally means no credits or debits allowed. I don't work for NatWest so procedures may be slightly different, but in my bank certain staff are authorised to permit transactions on frozen accounts. It sounds like your account is frozen, and the manager has done something to help you. I've obviously no idea what he did though!

I hope my use of the word frozen hasn't alarmed you. I simply used the word to mean an account which had access restricted. I do not know if your account is actually frozen on NatWest's systems, or even if NatWest have a status of "frozen".

The bank manager said that he got the withdrawal "authorised locally" by his manager (not sure who this would be). I just thought that if there is an investigation by the AML team they wouldn't allow any money to leave my account. I'm wondering now if they will allow me to withdraw my wages tomorrow to at for things. We'll see I suppose.

Also, you couldn't alarm me any more than I already am
It's the not knowing what's happening and why it's happening that is the worst part. Suppose it could happen to anyone though couldn't it?

meer53

Just think of it as the bank protecting your account. Once their investigation is complete, things will be back to normal, they're not doing anything wrong.

Despite what Grumbler says