Should a bank be able to close an account based on spending habits?

koloko

In 1996, as a student desperate for money, I opened a NatWest student account with a £1750 overdraft. I maxed it out and spent ten years paying a minimum until it was cleared. I spent thousands on charges.

20 years later I am much more affluent. Since 2010 I have topped up the account from my HSBC wages account, and usually have around £50,000 in there.

I use the account to save and also to play online casinos. Whatever you think of them - they are legal and I can afford them - I have no debts, a six figure salary etc.

Last month I had a letter from NatWest asking to explain:
(1) my source of funds
(2) my spending habits
(3) why large sums go in and out of the account to me and my wife and some family

I understood this was under money laundering regulations; I explained honestly and openly what I do.

NatWest reviewed the information and have decided to close my bank account based on my spending and risk. I am somewhat annoyed by this. As a student and graduate with no money, they happily kept the account open as it accrued thousands in charges. Now I am more fluid but spending my money in an industry they deem unacceptable (in terms of risk) they want nothing to do with me.

Should this be acceptable in the UK in 2017?

I know a private bank has the right to anyone as a customer, but at the same time i feel I have the right to spend as I like, within legal boundaries.

Motormad

You're last sentence says it all.

jonesMUFCforever

I agree with Motor - they have decided that they do not want you as a customer.
You can choose from a lot of banks and if you are savvy make a few quid by using the switch service and get paid for moving.
Your next bank might be ok with your transactions - only time will tell.

We don't know if the figures add up because you have not told us of the turnover on the account.

PixelPound

TBH what you did as a student is irrelevant today. It's like saying "I remember when you could simply walk into a bank and open an account, now you need to show ID. I simply want to use an account for putting legally earned money in, why should I need to provide ID, I'm not wanting credit".

It's their business and they have a right to choose who to have as customers, so long as it is deemed fair. Just as if you have a loan or a credit card they can terminate the agreement.

GingerBob_3

nic_c wrote: »

TBH what you did as a student is irrelevant today. It's like saying "I remember when you could simply walk into a bank and open an account, now you need to show ID. I simply want to use an account for putting legally earned money in, why should I need to provide ID, I'm not wanting credit".

It's their business and they have a right to choose who to have as customers, so long as it is deemed fair. Just as if you have a loan or a credit card they can terminate the agreement.

Can your electricity provider decide to stop doing business with you? No. So why should the banks be allowed to do so? Banking, like energy supply, is a primary service on which we all depend, and without which, life gets very difficult, very quickly. Why then, should the banks be in the privileged position of being able to disown a customer?

tom9980

koloko wrote: »

In 1996, as a student desperate for money, I opened a NatWest student account with a £1750 overdraft. I maxed it out and spent ten years paying a minimum until it was cleared. I spent thousands on charges.

20 years later I am much more affluent. Since 2010 I have topped up the account from my HSBC wages account, and usually have around £50,000 in there.

I use the account to save and also to play online casinos. Whatever you think of them - they are legal and I can afford them - I have no debts, a six figure salary etc.

Last month I had a letter from NatWest asking to explain:
(1) my source of funds
(2) my spending habits
(3) why large sums go in and out of the account to me and my wife and some family

I understood this was under money laundering regulations; I explained honestly and openly what I do.

NatWest reviewed the information and have decided to close my bank account based on my spending and risk. I am somewhat annoyed by this. As a student and graduate with no money, they happily kept the account open as it accrued thousands in charges. Now I am more fluid but spending my money in an industry they deem unacceptable (in terms of risk) they want nothing to do with me.

Should this be acceptable in the UK in 2017?

I know a private bank has the right to anyone as a customer, but at the same time i feel I have the right to spend as I like, within legal boundaries.

I think i remember long ago you hinting about match betting, if that is still the case Natwest have been rather hot on those with large gambling transactions of late, not sure exactly why the change in policy but i am hearing lots more reports of this issue with Natwest in recent months.

Archi_Bald

tom9980 wrote: »

I think i remember long ago you hinting about match betting, if that is still the case Natwest have been rather hot on those with large gambling transactions of late, not sure exactly why the change in policy but i am hearing lots more reports of this issue with Natwest in recent months.

I would take a bet (no pun intended) that if you stick to names like Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Bet365, with accounts in your own name, you will be just fine with a Natwest account. Use some of the more exotic firms, and/or engage in multi-accounting, and Natwest may well not want to have anything to do with you.

PixelPound

GingerBob wrote: »

Can your electricity provider decide to stop doing business with you? No. So why should the banks be allowed to do so? Banking, like energy supply, is a primary service on which we all depend, and without which, life gets very difficult, very quickly. Why then, should the banks be in the privileged position of being able to disown a customer?

It isn't a primary service like electricity, more like a service like communications service. We all depend on mobile phones and life can be very difficult without a means of communication like a mobile, so its more like vodafone terminating your contract.

veryintrigued

What's the alternative?

tacpot12

I think you are right to feel aggrieved. When you opened the account, NatWest didn't explain what that you couldn't use the account as you have been using it, and you have been doing nothing illegal. Have you complained about the account closure and taken it to the financial ombudsman.

I think that while a Bank has the right to decide who it will have as its customers, it can only do so when it accepts them as a customer providing they have operated the account within their terms and conditions. They are in breach of their contract with you.

JuicyJesus

tacpot12 wrote: »

I think that while a Bank has the right to decide who it will have as its customers, it can only do so when it accepts them as a customer providing they have operated the account within their terms and conditions. They are in breach of their contract with you.

You think wrong. No business has to provide you with any service it doesn't want to for any reason, barring things like race or sex discrimination.

It's also not in breach of the T&Cs because the T&Cs say that the bank can close the account for any reason given proper notice (or no notice at all in certain limited circumstances).