"They'll ask questions..."

Sensory

I've been brought up to believe transferring large sums of money will raise questions, and/or institutions will become suspicious of money laundering.

If my relatives gift me about £50K in total, will that raise alarm bells (with anyone)? What would actually happen? I'm getting married soon and my husband-to-be and I are essentially getting a nice push out of the door.

I'm thinking of opening a Santander 123 account and dunking £20K straight into it, plus a FlexDirect with another immediate £5K. I already have a Vantage account with Lloyds.

Tiglath

Yes it will trigger an alert in any reputable systems (especially if it comes through in one go, although any system worth its salt will also pick up on a series of linked transactions). It doesn't mean to say they won't let it through after doing some research into the source of funds, although there might be a slight delay. Where's it coming from - another UK bank account?

Sensory

A couple of UK bank accounts.

So if an alert is triggered, what happens then? Do I receive a letter? A call? Will the transaction be halted?

Tiglath

The transaction may be temporarily suspended but they won't tell you they're investigating as that would constitute the offence of 'tipping off.' If you query it, they'll probably say something like they're having computer problems.

rb10

Chances are it'll just come straight through, no problems.

Plenty of people transfer amounts far greater than that.

innovate

They might just call you and ask a few questions about the source of the money. Since you have nothing to hide, you just tell them it's a wedding present.

Beware the bankers that will try to sell you something that you probably don't need, under the guises of offering "help" or "advice" on what to do with your funds. In my experience, Lloyds are particularly obnoxious in that regard. They even call you after 6pm to tell you there's money coming into your account and did you know what to do with it?

You can reduce the likelihood of getting called if your relatives send you the amounts in smaller junks, such as below £10K at a time.

Gromitt

Sensory wrote: »

I'm thinking of opening a Santander 123 account and dunking £20K straight into it, plus a FlexDirect with another immediate £5K. I already have a Vantage account with Lloyds.

If the transfer is electronic, chances are it'll be fine, or just suspended 24 hours for fraud checks as they have a paper trail. Now if you tried to deposit 10K in cash, its guaranteed there will be questions (no paper trail).

Some banks may try and sell you investments or an 'account review' - you'll need to say your not interested.

Secondly, why are you depositing 5K into an account where interest is only paid on 2.5K ?

Sensory

It won't be £50K in one transaction, but I have no issues with answering a couple of phone calls if necessary. I'd merely rather not get bogged down in written correspondence or have to jump through several hoops just to get the transactions approved.

innovate wrote: »

Beware the bakers that will try to sell you something that you probably don't need, under the guises of offering "help" or "advice" on what to do with your funds. In my experience, Lloyds are particularly obnoxious in that regard. They even call you after 6pm to tell you there's money coming into your account and did you know what to do with it?

Oh yes... Lloyds can be truly obnoxious. I've lost count of the number of times they've contacted me via phone calls and writing, actually requesting me to visit a branch to discuss whether my accounts are 'working for me' and whether they could offer ways to help me save money.... by upgrading to their £25pm Premier account, or transferring my Vantage balance to a lower rate savings account. I'll actually be downgrading to Classic and opening a FlexPlus! :laugh:

I decline each and every time, but it doesn't seem to stop them.

Gromitt wrote: »

Secondly, why are you depositing 5K into an account where interest is only paid on 2.5K?

Slight miscalculation :doh: As I'll be opening a FlexPlus account, it'll be £5K with Nationwide.

matttye

Sensory wrote: »

It won't be £50K in one transaction, but I have no issues with answering a couple of phone calls if necessary. I'd merely rather not get bogged down in written correspondence or have to jump through several hoops just to get the transactions approved.



Oh yes... Lloyds can be truly obnoxious. I've lost count of the number of times they've contacted me via phone calls and writing, actually requesting me to visit a branch to discuss whether my accounts are 'working for me' and whether they could offer ways to help me save money.... by upgrading to their £25pm Premier account, or transferring my Vantage balance to a lower rate savings account. I'll actually be downgrading to Classic and opening a FlexPlus! :laugh:

I decline each and every time, but it doesn't seem to stop them.


Slight miscalculation :doh: As I'll be opening a FlexPlus account, it'll be £5K with Nationwide.

The Premier account is almost worth £25 a month just to stop the nagging :rotfl:

chambta

It's highly likely that absolutely nothing will happen in this case.

innovate

Sensory wrote: »

I decline each and every time, but it doesn't seem to stop them.

You can ask them to set your Marketing indicator (or whatever they call the thing that allows them to bombard you) to "no". That will vastly reduce the offers of "reviews" but doesn't totally shield you from "helpful" calls.