Lloyds account frozen

eskbanker

colsten wrote: »

The PAD has been fully implemented in the Law of all UK nations now, and just about all banks have been offering basic accounts to all legal residents (unless they have CIFAS markers due to fraudulent behaviour) for several months already.

When you have finished rolling on the floor, you could go and find the URLs for the legislation if you want to be helpful.

According to https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/payment-accounts-directive,

The government has implemented PAD by means of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015

Even someone as readily amused as Anthorn may be struggling to find many pages of dry legislation entertaining though....

Shakin_Steve

romeo21 wrote: »

Yes had £300 transferred to me from a friend who has owed me money, got 5k back from a deposit I paid from a rented property. All normal and legit.
I'm sure people do worse plus isn't that what a bank account is for? Sending and receiving money

You have my total sympathy. Please let us know the outcome of this sorry tale, and I do hope it is sorted quickly for you.

Ed-1

romeo21 wrote: »

Yes had £300 transferred to me from a friend who has owed me money, got 5k back from a deposit I paid from a rented property. All normal and legit.
I'm sure people do worse plus isn't that what a bank account is for? Sending and receiving money

It may look legit from your end, but the bank may know something about where the funds came from that troubles them. Theoretically someone could use criminal funds to pay you. Obviously nothing looks wrong from your end, but would cause an investigation if the bank has information that funds are proceeds of crime. The bank then has to establish whether you were involved and knowingly received illegitimate funds or are an innocent party to it.

That's just a hypothetical scenario, it may not be what's happening with your account but we're all at the mercy of the banks these days...

colsten

Anthorn wrote: »

I'm still rolling on the floor ROFL.

I can do better than that. I'll nip off to HSBC and demand a basic bank account because it's my legal right to get one and they have to give me one or else! ROFL PMSL

We're all laughing by now, if for different reasons. Just a thought - don't forget to actually inform yourself about your rights before you are making a total fool of yourself.

silverwhistle

Besides it being the banks to decide on their own terms what can justify freezing an account, the main issue it would seem is that there are no obligations on them in terms of resolving the situation expeditely. Handy to have a 100K extra for overnight trading or whatever. In the meantime someone could potentially default on all sorts of debts and have unpaid bills, with many consequences. If the bank has made an error do they have any responsibility (leaving aside the issue of proof and enforcement)? The banks may say they are subject to penalty if they turn a blind eye to laundering, but what balances the equation?

As London is rife with hot money it would appear they only deal with the smaller customers who don't have the resources and backing to fight their corner.

Fraud_Unmasked

An account freeze can be for many different reasons.

Often it isn't the banks decision to block an account, and it is based on intel from other sources. The police can tell banks to freeze accounts, or another bank may make a complaint that funds are fraud/proceeds of crime (even if the person has received in good faith) in those circumstances the bank has an obligation under AML regulations to block and hold until a full investigation has been done and permission granted to release.

The whole activity on an account could trigger an alert, or it could be one transaction. There are no specific rules, and each account holder is different. I appreciate it's a pain, but there processes are written and have to be followed. I.e Sanctions counties/people.

All you can do is make sure you have the right proof your are entitled to the funds, and where it has come from should the bank ask.

As for the PAD directive - everybody in the EU has a right to open a basic bank account in another EU country regardless of where they live. It does only apply to basic accounts, and the bank can decline where CIFAS exists, or withdraw the facility if fraud is committed. As a general rule people have a right to a basic bank account, and a bank should offer such a facility - unless they have fraud concerns.

romeo21

Fraud_Unmasked wrote: »

An account freeze can be for many different reasons.

Often it isn't the banks decision to block an account, and it is based on intel from other sources. The police can tell banks to freeze accounts, or another bank may make a complaint that funds are fraud/proceeds of crime (even if the person has received in good faith) in those circumstances the bank has an obligation under AML regulations to block and hold until a full investigation has been done and permission granted to release.

The whole activity on an account could trigger an alert, or it could be one transaction. There are no specific rules, and each account holder is different. I appreciate it's a pain, but there processes are written and have to be followed. I.e Sanctions counties/people.

All you can do is make sure you have the right proof your are entitled to the funds, and where it has come from should the bank ask.

As for the PAD directive - everybody in the EU has a right to open a basic bank account in another EU country regardless of where they live. It does only apply to basic accounts, and the bank can decline where CIFAS exists, or withdraw the facility if fraud is committed. As a general rule people have a right to a basic bank account, and a bank should offer such a facility - unless they have fraud concerns.

Hi thanks for the information.
2 weeks has passed now and my account is still frozen with no communication or letters.

Not really sure what to do as the bank is still not telling me anything.

robatwork

Please do keep this thread updated - nobody here can really help other than offer some sympathy, but it may help someone in future.

The £5,000 deposit refund you got back......wild speculation maybe but is that a very unusual payment amount into your current account? Was the landlord possibly a bit shady?

romeo21

robatwork wrote: »

Please do keep this thread updated - nobody here can really help other than offer some sympathy, but it may help someone in future.

The £5,000 deposit refund you got back......wild speculation maybe but is that a very unusual payment amount into your current account? Was the landlord possibly a bit shady?

Not unusual at all. landlord owns many properties and my deposit came back via his company account.

All i can do is wait now but not sure how long im waiting for.

SnailIchbod

Sorry to hijack the thread like this. But I totally know how this feels.

I had the same issue happen to me last year 2 days before Christmas.

Put simply, they closed my account. Put blocks in place and wouldn't change their mind and said "it was a commercial decision". The blocks in place made their 60 day notice irrelevant as all payments in and out were rejected, the direct debits were also cancelled when notice was given. And yes that lead to a load of bounced payments.

I can't think of any reason why my account was closed. It was operated perfectly, I held a credit card with a £9,000 limit (and had a healthy overdraft and balances spread over a range of products). Literally overnight all my banking facilities within the Lloyds bank group were revoked.

Checked my credit report. Nothing. Checked CIFAS. Nothing. The notes I got under an SAR request has missing notes. And their team doesn't care.

I'm taking Lloyds to court and I need to bring similar cases to light to bolster up my case in the hope things changed. I've been offered a settlement which I've rejected.

I'd love to hear from you OP (and anyone else reading for that matter) who has had an account closed with markers present or even markers placed in error. Lloyds are denying the blocks restricted anything and the account closure was to terms. It wasn't and the recorded calls I have prove that it wasn't just a "commercial decision".

For what its worth. The bank have flatly refused it was money laundering but the way they reacted was as if I was laundering money. If it was money laundering they wouldn't have given me all my funds the next day after I pressed them. Mistakes happen and I gave lloyds the chance to say one was made but they didn't. The "executive team" are worthless btw.

If you'd like to be a part of the case. Please drop me a PM and I'll send over my email to discuss.

If you're needed as a witness - I will of course cover all expenses. The case itself is being handled by my lawyers. And we're looking for as many people as possible! I currently have 2 with similar circumstances but the more the merrier. Banks need to get the balance right. And it's clear some banks need to be taught that the hard way.

If you're local to either Birmingham or London I can meet to discuss too. Just let me know. This post is an open invitation to everyone.

Sohail