A foreigned owned bank account in UK

izoomzoom

I imagine this doesn't come up very often, but I pay a monthly amount to a relative in another 3rd world country. My relative has a bank account in this 3rd world country, and the bank (where my relative has a bank account) then has an account here in the UK.

So I pay an amount in pounds into this UK account (I have to go into a local branch and pay by cash / cheque) because it is some kind of 'head office' account. Online transfer got returned by the bank.

Anyway, my problem is this money was paid in, but my relative was told that the money wasn't paid in. After a bit of backwards and forwards, it turns out the account was supposedly closed before I made my last deposit. Is it possible to make a deposit, in branch, into an account that is closed?

I will go back to the branch where I made the deposit to try and get my money back, but that will only be on the weekend.

Lansdowne

But if you paid the money into the foreign bank's UK account, surely the money is still sitting in that "head office account" as they are unable to transmit it to your relative as their account is closed. So I would assume you have to contact the London office of the foreign bank.

olly300

Yes it is even with UK based banks.

Banking systems aren't real time.

Edited to say: More importantly you need to find out why your relative closed the account. You are helping them, and while I know many people in developing countries think that everything in developed countries is easy, you need to tell them off about their behaviour. Or if they are young talk to a more senior relative to do it.

dzug1

izoomzoom wrote: »

I. Is it possible to make a deposit, in branch, into an account that is closed?

It depends how far the deposit is processed at the counter when you pay it in - but feasibly yes, if it's placed in a pile for later processing.

A UK branch of a foreign bank may not have direct access to accounts that are held in the parent country,

izoomzoom

For clarity sakes, 3rd world bank has an account at NatWest, which is where I paid my deposits into.

Will I be able to get money back if it was paid in after the account was closed?

When I asked Natwest previously, before I knew I paid in after the account was closed, they said that there was no way to get the money back, even if I happen to make a mistake and pay the money into a wrong account (I didn't but was asking hypothetically).

izoomzoom

olly300 wrote: »

Edited to say: More importantly you need to find out why your relative closed the account. You are helping them, and while I know many people in developing countries think that everything in developed countries is easy, you need to tell them off about their behaviour. Or if they are young talk to a more senior relative to do it.

My relative didn't close their account. The 3rd world country bank closed their account held at Natwest. Its taken me and relative about 2 months to figure out what went wrong.

olly300

izoomzoom wrote: »

For clarity sakes, 3rd world bank has an account at NatWest, which is where I paid my deposits into.

Will I be able to get money back if it was paid in after the account was closed?

When I asked Natwest previously, before I knew I paid in after the account was closed, they said that there was no way to get the money back, even if I happen to make a mistake and pay the money into a wrong account (I didn't but was asking hypothetically).

You should be able to get your money back as there is a record of your transaction.

Natwest may not play ball but as they are regulated in the UK you could cause them enough hassle (and bad publicity) so they pay you back.

olly300

izoomzoom wrote: »

My relative didn't close their account. The 3rd world country bank closed their account held at Natwest. Its taken me and relative about 2 months to figure out what went wrong.

Then the money is in a Natwest holding account.

All banks and companies that deal with money have an account where they put money paid in that they cannot match to a specific account.

innovate

Why has your relative's bank account been closed? Had your relative spent the (amount of) money you paid in?

jonesMUFCforever

IMO Natwest will not pay you the money back as it is not yours.
They should get the money back to the customer - if the account was closed off because of a debt then it will go against that.
It would help if you tell us who is the 3rd world country.

System

I think (the UK branch of ) the relatives bank has closed its NatWest collection account but the OP has still deposited funds into NatWest.

The OP could go back into NatWest with receipt and confirm if they allowed him to deposit into a closed account and request refund.

innovate wrote: »

Why has your relative's bank account been closed? Had your relative spent the (amount of) money you paid in?