Need help - Denied access to bank account funds

lyonzy1

So the story is this, On friday evening i tried to use my debit card in asda and it was declined. I contacted TSB who told me there was a block on my card, To go in saturday to branch with 2 forms of ID and it should be resolved.

I tried to move money via my online banking only for it to say pretty much " NO "

I then contacted them again and was then told the same but now i was told its a full account block.

I went into branch on saturday with 2 forms of ID and i was told the block was internal and they couldnt remove it, After calling again tsb from inside the bank they told me the correct dept ( Account Quality Dept ) was closed until monday, So i was refused a withdrawal of funds and sent on my way.

I again called monday to be told that the block says " Refer to branch" The branch manager informed me they had no clue what was going on and raised a " Concern "

Ive been calling constant since monday and im being told refer to branch, Then im being told to raise a complaint, Which i have. I Then called the complaints dept who told me it was a " Delayed processing " and they could tell me no more i just have to wait.

I Called again yesterday and was told a letter has been sent out and im to wait for the letter - which yet hasnt still arrived. Ive got a family to support and children and ive had no access to my funds since friday !! There isnt a large amount of money in my account but its all i have. So my question is this,, Can the bank actually deny me the right to access my funds? What can i do about this? Because ive exhausted all i can do in my opinion, Nobody seems to know whats going on atall !!

IM FUMING Please help

alanq

It may not be a case of "no one knowing whats going on" but of not telling.

For example, if a bank has a suspicion that an account is being used for money laundering then it would be commiting a criminal offence if it told you it was carrying out an investigation. Many innocent people have been victims of this. I think that the real criminal would manage to work out what was going on!

Banks are punished severely for allowing accounts to be used to launder money so they prefer to be over zealous and upset their customers rather than take the risk of huge fines.

Are you aware of anything unusual happening that may have caused the bank to be suspicious?

eskbanker

lyonzy1 wrote: »

Can the bank actually deny me the right to access my funds?

Yes, if they have reason to be suspicious of account conduct in areas such as fraud or money laundering. However, the associated rules and regulations (or at least the interpretation many banks have of these) means that they can't disclose anything while they investigate, frustrating as that inevitably is for the customer.

lyonzy1 wrote: »

What can i do about this?

Keep the pressure on them as you're doing.

Find somewhere else for emergency funds in the mean time, e.g. borrowing from friends or family.

In future, spread money across at least two banks so that you have some sort of fallback.

lyonzy1

Well im self employed and i do have involvement in gray area banks dont like which is the trading of bitcoin online currency, I buy and sell but if theyre not happy with that then im happy to close my account with them. The problem is ive got just short of £600 stuck in there. Ive no money to support myself and not a clue what is going on. So in the meantime im kind of angry as to what i can do in order to get my funds.

I can access my online account but i just cant move any money. They should of informed me of this before they decided just to lock my access. So im guessing i have to just wait?

eskbanker

lyonzy1 wrote: »

I can access my online account but i just cant move any money. They should of informed me of this before they decided just to lock my access.

That would be self-defeating - if they said to you that they were going to lock access to your account in x days/weeks time then of course you'd empty it!

Jibeddy

If I'm not mistaken cryptocurrency trading, Bitcoin in your case, can quite easily trigger these money laundering alarm bells.

lyonzy1

Im again on the phone to them now ive told them im not happy id like to goto branch today withdraw my funds and shut down my account

lyonzy1

And again rep told me nothing they can do they told me just to " Wait for this letter " how can they just say that? I cant print off proof of payments into my account right now - Think i may go make a stand in branch and refuse to move until im given my funds and my account is closed.

john1002

One thing to note for anyone following advice of opening another account make sure you do it from a separate group bank, so if lloyds choose a bank not part of the group otherwise they can apply a block across all group banks.

Just had this happen this week with Halifax but affected all my accounts was worried after all the posts recently on account blocks and closures but one phone call answering credit file questions to confirm identity the block was lifted and everything is fine, lucky I have other accounts so would not have caused a problem but if I didn't then it could have.

John

KJSmith

Has your TSB account only been opened very recently?

agrinnall

Once you have this sorted out, if you wish to continue dubious financial dealings such as trading in Bitcoins you should open accounts at two different banking groups and use one for your regular finances and one for your dodgy dealing.