Think Money - Think Again! - Must Read

brendenconnolly

Apologies for the title first of all, I didn't really think much about it.

Enforcer, thank you for that PM, I did receive it.

I emailed Stephen Stylianou, but as yet have received no further reply. i called think money again today, and now they apparently can't access any information about what's happening over the weekend. They called me back in response to my email to say that they are taking my complaint seriously, and will deal with it in due course, but when I ask what that due course involves, it's the same answer - they are unable to provide any information in regard to that.

In regard to the fraud prevention aspect, which, when suspected could cause this, there have been no unusual transfers into or out of my account. My incomings are from DWP and West Dunbartonshire Council, and have been the same for some months now. I don't see how they could have reached a conclusion in regards to this that would result in the way they are behaving.

It's probably worth noting that they never provide any responses in writing. Everything is verbal, irrespective of what I put in writing, and every individual who works there just repeats the same thing. i have insisted that they are obligated to at least tell me why they are doing this, but nothing. I have emailed them proof of where the payment came from, which gives a full breakdown of the money, and confirms where it has been sent. All they will say is that their complaints department, who it's not possible to speak to, and who don't contact the customer to get their side of the story, will deal with it in due course.

It's just round and round in circles, but they can't keep this money indefinitely, and I am now speaking with the FCA about the matter, so hopefully they might intervene but that would take more than a few days.

speakingofart

I suspect the most likely thing is that your account has somehow been marked as having fraudulent activity and they have shut down your access for this reason - i some circumstances, they aren't actually allowed to tell you the details of what's going on. Very frustrating whilst it's happening though.

brendenconnolly

speakingofart wrote: »

I suspect the most likely thing is that your account has somehow been marked as having fraudulent activity and they have shut down your access for this reason - i some circumstances, they aren't actually allowed to tell you the details of what's going on. Very frustrating whilst it's happening though.

Thank you for that - If it was the case that there was some sort of irregular or fraudulent activity on my account, then I would understand what they are doing, and they would need to have raised an SAR, which they haven't done. Besides that, the only money in and out of that account since opening it has been benefit payments, and the ocassional £50 here or there from family and friends, so this cannot possibly be the reason they are behaving in the way that they are.

I have now reported Think Money to the Police for theft, and have a crime reference number. The FOS have agreed to intervene, and have written to Think Money to remind them of their obligations towards customers who's money they manage. The FCA have requested a copy of this complaint, following a discussion with them, as have the team at RBS who manage the agency relationship that TM enjoy.

it's the wall of silence that's the worst, if they would discuss things, and let me know what problem they have, then things would be infinitely easier.

I have also e-mailed them proof of the payment they have held from me in the form of a remmitance advice detailing the breakdown of monies within the £986 they have taken from me.

because there is no SAR and because they will not speak to me, I have no option but to label this theft. It's the same as walking into my house, lifting £900 from the table, and telling me they won't give me it.

Candyapple

Have you tried to open a basic bank account elsewhere in the meantime?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/basic-bank-accounts

That way when this issue is resolved, you can close your account down with them.

eskbanker

brendenconnolly wrote: »

If it was the case that there was some sort of irregular or fraudulent activity on my account, then I would understand what they are doing, and they would need to have raised an SAR, which they haven't done.

What do you mean by SAR? In the USA this seems to refer to a Suspicious Activity Report that might have been relevant if you banked there, but in the UK this usually means Subject Access Request, in the context of an individual's rights under the Data Protection Act, but they certainly have no need to raise one of those to lock down an account they believed was being used fraudulently....

maninthestreet

i'm very surprised you managed to get the police to consider Think Money's actions as a possible crime. Please let us know what happens.

SuperHan

I thought again when they wanted to charge £15 for nothing more than basic banking facilities.

But this does sound like your account has been suspected of fraudulent activity. Could your details have been disclosed to anybody else? Over the phone or online for example, maybe disguised as a method of paying but they will then use your account to deposit money and ask you to pay it back. It's possible that some money has been deposited that you are not aware of that has caused the flag.

The best you can do is wait it out, and at least you have your credit card to tide you over in the interim.

brendenconnolly

SuperHan wrote: »

I thought again when they wanted to charge £15 for nothing more than basic banking facilities.

But this does sound like your account has been suspected of fraudulent activity. Could your details have been disclosed to anybody else? Over the phone or online for example, maybe disguised as a method of paying but they will then use your account to deposit money and ask you to pay it back. It's possible that some money has been deposited that you are not aware of that has caused the flag.

The best you can do is wait it out, and at least you have your credit card to tide you over in the interim.

I've been waiting it out, but since they can give me no timescales, I've been calling every 30 minutes, I've spoken to more than a dozen staff, and they all just say as soon as there is an update, we will contact you. Do you have any idea how long they can do this for? I've not given my details to anyone, but that doesn't mean much these days, the only payment I was expecting was this £986. I accept something could have happened that I don't know about, since they locked me out of my account, but that was 11 days ago, and they are still today saying that this is just a technical problem, unrelated to the money, which, they say, hasn't been released to transact with by the processing team. i don't understand, that being the case, how long it can possibly take to process a simple bacs payment - that was the sum of extra information gleaned from 18 phone calls so far today. If that's not true, then they are lying to me. Either way doesn't look good.

they are really awful. Earlier today I asked a person who we will call Lady 1 to put me through to customer relations to discuss my complaint. She couldn't do this - she had to find out who was dealing with it, and e-mail them to ask them to call me back. When I called again later, I asked Gentleman 1 if there was any update on who was dealing with my complaint, and when they might call. Gentleman 1 then had to email Lady 1 to find out whether she had located the person, and wait for her to reply back to Gentleman 1. Later, on another call, I spoke with Lady 2. Again I asked about the complaint, who was dealing with it and when they might call. So, lady 2 then had to e-mail Gentleman 1 to find out if he had emailed Lady 1, and what the outcome of that was, and then Lady 1 would need to e-mail Gentleman 1, who would then reply to Lady 2 - I'm scared to ask about it again in case I drag a 4th person into it! Unbelievable.

And it's so frustrating - If they contacted me and said here's what's happening, here's what's going on, and here's what's going to be done to sort it, then I would be absolutely fine. It's the ignorance, the rudeness, and the attitude throughout their organisation that TM are always right, and the customer doesn't matter anyway. Horrendous and I need to call them back again in 10 minutes.

They don't even respond to tweets, other than asking me to DM them, which they then don't bother to respond to.

brendenconnolly

maninthestreet wrote: »

i'm very surprised you managed to get the police to consider Think Money's actions as a possible crime. Please let us know what happens.

Not only are the Police prepared to investigate the matter as a possible crime, but the FOS have agreed to intervene and write to TM before the TM complaints process has got beyond stage 1. I have sent TM full proofs of where this money came from and what it was for, and still they haven't even bothered to call me.

brendenconnolly

Candyapple wrote: »

Have you tried to open a basic bank account elsewhere in the meantime?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/basic-bank-accounts

That way when this issue is resolved, you can close your account down with them.

Thank you very much for your contribution - I have made alternative banking arrangements, so that I can close my account when this matter is concluded - I wouldn't want to have any contact with them after all this nonsense they have put me through.