Bank withholding payment - basic account

PintorUK

dlk wrote: »

If the branch manager and relationship manager guaranteed no problems then they need their heads banging together. They can in no way make that guarantee as it's completely out of their control. The banks fraud and anti money laundering team will make checks where they see the need, the branch and relationship manager will most certainly not be empowered to overiding these. All you can really do is keep your fingers crossed that no checks are made that delay things and make sure you give all information they request as quickly as you can. As long as your employer answers requests from the bank promptly these things don't usually drag on beyond a day or two (I repeat USUALLY!)

Thank you, that is more in line with what I wanted to know. I haven't been told if we have been contacted already or not but I'm hoping they will do it quick if they haven't done it already. I am not sure if, in the branch, they will know anything about this, I don't know if it reaches "their level", I know that when I call their CS, they don't know a thing about it.

Having said this, I hope that this is a one off issue as I'll be receiving larger transactions than this every 3 months and it wouldn't be great if they had to lock the account every 3 months to do security checks.

Edit: and I can live with a delay of 1 or 2 days, say even a week, the issue is when I read stories of checks taking weeks and it seems that no matter what I do (as in open as many accounts as I want), I will always have to wait for those checks to be done, right now I can't wait several weeks for this and no point in chasing my employer as it isn't their issue anymore.

dlk

PintorUK wrote: »

Having said this, I hope that this is a one off issue as I'll be receiving larger transactions than this every 3 months and it wouldn't be great if they had to lock the account every 3 months to do security checks.

That shouldn't be a problem. It will presumably be from the same place and won't look particularly unusual. Most of these events that trigger a fraud check will be dealt with within an hour or two and the person who looks into your case if one happened in the future would just let it go without through without any further action. Source of funds is a big area the banks are having a crackdown on at the moment to prevent proceeds of crime entering the system or being hidden, as long as they're confident the funds are authentic and honest you'll be fine.

PintorUK

The source is Google, it shouldn't have any reputation issues, I'll just hope it gets sorted quickly, thank you for your responses!

bigadaj

PintorUK wrote: »

I am sorry, I actually thought you meant that was a real company hehe

Well I can sell you some shares in anyco, good discount and prospects!

jonesMUFCforever

PintorUK wrote: »

Thank you, that is more in line with what I wanted to know. I haven't been told if we have been contacted already or not but I'm hoping they will do it quick if they haven't done it already. I am not sure if, in the branch, they will know anything about this, I don't know if it reaches "their level", I know that when I call their CS, they don't know a thing about it.

Having said this, I hope that this is a one off issue as I'll be receiving larger transactions than this every 3 months and it wouldn't be great if they had to lock the account every 3 months to do security checks.

Edit: and I can live with a delay of 1 or 2 days, say even a week, the issue is when I read stories of checks taking weeks and it seems that no matter what I do (as in open as many accounts as I want), I will always have to wait for those checks to be done, right now I can't wait several weeks for this and no point in chasing my employer as it isn't their issue anymore.

The problem you MAY have is the fact that the bank may think you are too high risk to be their customer. Let's be honest a basic account is not the right vehicle of account for somebody on your earnings.
You may find a letter on your doormat soon saying they are giving you xx days before your account will be closed.
If it was me I would be opening anew bank account with a new bank (preferably face to face so you can explain everything which can be noted on your customer file) in anticipation (or to credit your salary if this proves to be ongoing).

PintorUK

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

The problem you MAY have is the fact that the bank may think you are too high risk to be their customer. Let's be honest a basic account is not the right vehicle of account for somebody on your earnings.
You may find a letter on your doormat soon saying they are giving you xx days before your account will be closed.
If it was me I would be opening anew bank account with a new bank (preferably face to face so you can explain everything which can be noted on your customer file) in anticipation (or to credit your salary if this proves to be ongoing).

I have done that already with Natwest, the problem is, unless I close the Santander account, I cannot change the account with the employer for the next 3 months and my fear of doing that is that it could delay getting the money even longer. If I go to Santander and close the account, can any pending payments be transferred to my Natwest account? Sorry for asking this in here as it may be a silly question that they can answer in the branch.

agrinnall

If you use the Current Account Switch Service then any payments to your Santander account will automatically be routed to your NatWest account for the next 36 months, so more than enough time for you to get the account details updated with your employer.

https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

PintorUK

agrinnall wrote: »

If you use the Current Account Switch Service then any payments to your Santander account will automatically be routed to your NatWest account for the next 36 months, so more than enough time for you to get the account details updated with your employer.

Should I wait first to see if these checks get done or would you advise to do it now?

Thanks!

societys_child

I'd open another current account with a different banking group anyway, you don't want all your eggs in one basket.

Of the 10 accounts I have, Santander are the worst for security checks. They're the only bank I ever have problems with. Locked my account when I transferred £2k to another account. Automated security phone call when I spent £38 on my debit card (admittedly a Chinese co.)

I'm pleased they're taking care of my money and all that, but . . .

abicat

Santander security checks are intrusive and when there is an error made, their fraud department are apparently a law unto themselves. They apparently have zero customer service skills and if you are likely to trigger their security system then I would definitely go with another bank.