Barclays Account "Under Review"

delishjo

I am sat here in tears because of the disgusting way I have been treated by Barclays today. I paid in a PPI settlement cheque on Tuesday from BARCLAYCARD. Nothing suspicious there you would think. Oh no, apparently BARCLAYS BANK don't trust BARCLAYCARD cheques and have frozen my account and put it "under review" with their own FRAUD DEPT. They also reversed the transaction with regard to the paying in the cheque and now I have no idea where it is. The branch say even though the transaction was reversed the cheque will have still gone off to clearing. How can that be when the transaction was reversed? In the meantime I haven spoke to every man and his dog at Barclays and no one can tell me a) Why my account is "under review", b) How long this "review" will take, c) How I can get MY cheque back so that I can pay it in to another account.

I asked to speak to someone who was actually "reviewing" my account. Oh no, that's not allowed. They are shadowy figures sequestered away in a dimly lit office in Canary Wharf somewhere and no one is allowed to know who they really are. Fortunately this isn't my main account so my mortgage and direct debit payments aren't affected but thats not the point. Barclay have £5000 of my money.Excuse me for being cynical but I have just spent the past 18 months fighting Barclays through the Financial Ombudsman in order to win this settlement and then they put my account in to "review" when I do finally win and pay the cheque in. Funny that...not!!

Can anyone offer any advice and help? I don't care about them reviewing account, I just want my cheque back so I can pay it in to my main Nat West account or open a savings account with them.

grumbler

Start complaining ASAP and take them to the FOS again if they keep dragging their heels.
IMO, if the cheque was the reason for this 'review', they should have suspended the cheque for investigation if they found it suspicious, not frozen the entire account.

Re the interest on £5K, I wouldn't worry about it. How much do you hope to earn at Natwest? Why have you not paid it to Natwest in the first place? That said, when complaining you can demand compensation for the lost interest.

delishjo

Hi Grumbler, I'm not worried about losing or getting interest on the money, I just want the money in the first place. I didn't pay it in to NatWest because that's my household account and I use the Barclays account to keep money for holidays, birthdays, Christmas etc separate. Not any more though. I shall be closing that account as soon as I can.

FireWyrm

I doubt it was anything to do with spite to be honest. It was just an abnormally large cheque going into an account that triggered the stupid AML flags. If they are being evasive about where the money has gone, then that is your answer. It will take a human a few days to manually clear it and then it will be back in your account as though nothing had happened.

I would however, close your account with immediate effect as soon as it is released and send a stiff complaint though I doubt anything will come of it.

grumbler

FireWyrm wrote: »

....It was just an abnormally large cheque going into an account that triggered the stupid AML flags....
It will take a human a few days to manually clear it ...

It's a very stupid and extremely inefficient system in place then that gets triggered by a big cheque from Barclaycard deposited to Barclays and then takes days to investigate this highly suspicious deposit.

System

Once the funds have cleared - I would switch your Barclays account to a new provider rather than close it

Halifax, M&S, First Direct or Co-Op to all offer some kind of switching bonus worth circa £100

Don't get mad, get free goodies :beer:

mgdavid

delishjo wrote: »

.....I didn't pay it in to NatWest because that's my household account and I use the Barclays account to keep money for holidays, birthdays, Christmas etc separate. ......

so this account is not required for day-to-day living? Hardly a life-changing event to wait a few days before accessing it then?
'in tears all day' seems to me to be a tad over-reacting, or am I missing something?

FireWyrm

grumbler wrote: »

It's a very stupid and extremely inefficient system in place then that gets triggered by a big cheque from Barclaycard deposited to Barclays and then takes days to investigate this highly suspicious deposit.

I didnt invent the system. I never said it made sense or was even logical. That however, is the system and until someone with the national braincell realises that there are far more efficient and less obvious ways to launder money, we're all stuck with it. The same goes for our ridiculous gun laws and any number of other barking laws that have been passed in the last 20 years or so.

Mrs_Ryan

Hmmm. I wonder if Barclaycard have thrown their toys out of the pram about having to fork out 5k and they've tipped off their chums at Barclays to stop the cheque..

mgdavid

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

Hmmm. I wonder if Barclaycard have thrown their toys out of the pram about having to fork out 5k and they've tipped off their chums at Barclays to stop the cheque..

see post #4

delishjo

mgdavid wrote: »

so this account is not required for day-to-day living? Hardly a life-changing event to wait a few days before accessing it then?
'in tears all day' seems to me to be a tad over-reacting, or am I missing something?

When I started this thread I asked for advice. I did not however ask to be misquoted or belittled. I said and I quote" I am sat here in tears," NOT "in tears all day." Secondly, do you know me or my personal circumstances? No, you don't so please do not assume to judge that this is hardly a life changing event for me. Do you have insider information that means you know that I will definitely see my money again in a few days? No you don't.

Might I suggest that if you don't have anything practical or helpful to say that you say nothing at all. Your judgments and opinions are not required particularly as they are based on pure assumption.