Santander have froze my account

Pincher

Ed-1 wrote: »

A friend of mine was put on CIFAS by Lloyds and had his accounts frozen and then closed for simply shifting his own money between two of his own accounts to double up on interest over a few weeks. Lloyds deemed the activity suspicious and acted on their suspicions to the extent that they believed it was fraudulent but had no proof it was so it was unbelievable they registered him on CIFAS. I think that case is now with the ombudsman as Lloyds wouldn't budge on their decision. Who do banks think they are?

That does not bode well for people who move money round current accounts to satisfy the monthly transfer in rule. I cycle £1,000 round every month for the 3% accounts.


TESCO produces about £5 a month after tax, so it's £1,005 out, and £1,000 in. It's like milking a cow.

Ed-1

Pincher wrote: »

That does not bode well for people who move money round current accounts to satisfy the monthly transfer in rule. I cycle £1,000 round every month for the 3% accounts.


TESCO produces about £5 a month after tax, so it's £1,005 out, and £1,000 in. It's like milking a cow.

Moving money around every month though could not be misconstrued as potential money laundering.

Moving large amounts of money in/out every day (needed to double up on interest) could be.

Pincher

Ed-1 wrote: »

Moving money around every month though could not be misconstrued as potential money laundering.

Moving large amounts of money in/out every day (needed to double up on interest) could be.

If I was laundering money, surely I would


Move £1,000


From account A to B
From account B to C
From account C to D


Obviously, I wouldn't do it every day, to avoid suspicion.


If you were the bank that runs account B, and all you see is £1,000 coming in and going out on a regular basis, with no direct debits for utilities, payment to credit cards, etc. What would you conclude?

Ed-1

Pincher wrote: »

If I was laundering money, surely I would


Move £1,000


From account A to B
From account B to C
From account C to D


Obviously, I wouldn't do it every day, to avoid suspicion.


If you were the bank that runs account B, and all you see is £1,000 coming in and going out on a regular basis, with no direct debits for utilities, payment to credit cards, etc. What would you conclude?

Well quite. In the case of my friend the transactions consisted of transferring £x out to account B at bank B earlier in a day then transferring the same £x back to account A at bank A after the cut-off point for that day's interest at bank B had passed with possibly some everyday transactions in between.

Dates not right but as a guide:

1st April: FPO £1000; FPI £1000
2nd April: FPO £1000; lots of small transfers in (skimmed off interest from other interest-paying accounts); FPI £1000
3rd April: FPO £1000; some other deposit/withdrawal; FPI £1000
4th April: FPO £1000; FPI £1000
5th April: FPO £1000; some other payment; FPI £1000
6th April: FPO £1000; FPI £1000

You get the idea.

Goldmann1004

I am going to close my accounts once this has been resolved. On the plus side the cheque has cleared as of 20.45, however the account is still frozen until the fraud department lift my blocks in the morning. I can't make this up. I spoke to the make shift security department who asked me , " what do I expect him to do?" I am at a loss for words for their whole approach, from extended cheque clearing to contradicting themselves. I know from me kicking up a fuss they are now making things difficult for me.

magpiecottage

Goldmann1004 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the replies. Yes cheque is 100% genuine. I have complained but ive been told the fraud department do not speak to customers.

If that is their response and you have been given no indication that there will be another, I suggest you go here and complain to FOS that they have overreacted and left you with no means of accessing cash or making any payment.

agentk

My santander 123 account has been blocked twice. The second time was most annoying as i was making a payment to a already set up/ verified bank account. I had made a previous payment and obtained a otp code. Really frustrating but i wouldnt want to cut my nose off to spite my face. 20k @ 3% and cashback.

Refunded cost off call to verify transaction. I too do the account shuffle. Makes you wonder what they are watching.:eek:

Nathan101994

The way banks treat people nowadays is disgusting to say the least. I once had an account with barclays and they shut it down due to "undisclosed addresses" and a "fake time at address" even though I only turned 18 2 days before this and best thing about it they never asked me for my previous address or a time at address. Fortunately though, Santander opened an account for me and have not had a problem ever since that. How can i provide this information when i wasent even asked for it in the first place. Thank god it has not affected me opening accounts elsewhere. Banks have let so much known fraudsters play their systems for years now its the innocent customers taking the blame for it for banks to play the "taking it seriously" tune to the regulators !!

Pincher

Assuming all this checking is for money laundering, are they actually catching any real launderers?


All these telephone scams, boiler house sales, they never seem to get the money back.

colsten

Pincher wrote: »

Assuming all this checking is for money laundering, are they actually catching any real launderers?

I am sure they do. Just because it's not published every time they catch someone doesn't mean there are no real money launderers. We don't hear of every crime committed and still our prisons are full.