Santander bank closure have not sent my funds

mt99

Could you give Santander a UK address so they can send a cheque for the closing balance there? It could then be paid into your natwest account.

gregpicard

xylophone wrote: »

You might write to Santander explaining that problems have arisen from their error and requesting a transfer of the cash to your Natwest Account as you are not in a position to return from abroad to visit a Santander branch.

Otherwise, grant your father PoA and allow him to deal with Santander on your behalf?

I was thinking along those lines too, however I was told that I would have to go to the bank personally and that I could not provide my ID etc to a third party in order for them to withdraw the cash on my behalf. Although the Power of Attorny that you mention, is there some specific process to do that and would they legally then have to deal with my father?

I've just had a look at the information Santander have for PoA. Looks like this would only apply with an 'open' account? Now that the account is closed, I don't think they will update anything or do anything. Seems from everything that I ask them, there is no more they can do, the account is gone and my money is in a holding account.

mt99 wrote: »

Could you give Santander a UK address so they can send a cheque for the closing balance there? It could then be paid into your natwest account.

Again Santander being ridiculous with this. They already have my UK address, and it is the most up to date address on file. However, on the phone they said they could not send out a cheque to that address for policies of the bank as the address was changed during the investigation / closure stage. Load of cobblers, otherwise the first person I spoke to weeks ago shouldnt have even asked me about changing my address again in order to send a cheque. Basically they are saying I cannot get a cheque sent out, and the only way to get my funds is to go personally to the bank. One wonders if they are just having me on due to the fact they know I wont be returning any time soon, they can keep my bloody funds sitting in one of their holding accounts and making them a tiny bit of interest...!

PeacefulWaters

One wonders if they are just having me on due to the fact they know I wont be returning any time soon, they can keep my bloody funds sitting in one of their holding accounts and making them a tiny bit of interest...!

It might be many things, but it certainly isn't this.

xylophone

Although the Power of Attorny that you mention, is there some specific process to do that and would they legally then have to deal with my father?

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/make-lasting-power

Shakin_Steve

Someone's got to ask. Are we talking tens, hundreds, thousands or millions here?

Marchitiello

He mentioned over £1000, so I guess anything between £1001 and £1499

Dobbibill

gregpicard wrote: »

Yes I have another current account with Natwest


Apologies. I changed from my UK address to the foreign address a couple of months ago. Santanders policy regarding changing to an overseas address is to send them a printed form with the changes. My father filled out the printed form on my behalf back in the UK, and sent it off to Santander. They then update the address within 30 days, however they give you absolutely no notice whatsoever that it has been changed. I reviewed the address written by my father and it was correct. I can only assume that the bank missread what he wrote. As Santander don't give you any notice or update as to letting you know exactly when your address has changed, nor can you view that information online, I only became aware when I saw an online statement with the incorrect address.

OP - Did your father also sign the form on your behalf......this may indicate why they became suspicious. It has to have your signature - any reason you didn't print it off, sign and post it yourself?

gregpicard

Marchitiello wrote: »

He mentioned over £1000, so I guess anything between £1001 and £1499

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

Someone's got to ask. Are we talking tens, hundreds, thousands or millions here?

In total £1387 to be precise. Obviously not having access to this for over 2 months has been very, very inconvenient. Especially living abroad, it caused me some issues and a week or so with absolutely no money.

Dobbibill wrote: »

OP - Did your father also sign the form on your behalf......this may indicate why they became suspicious. It has to have your signature - any reason you didn't print it off, sign and post it yourself?

I live in South America, and the post is notoriously unreliable, I didn't want to take the chance that it would not arrive - I've even sent something in the past via tracked delivery and it arrived 3 weeks late. So I downloaded the last page of the form, signed it, and faxed it to my father. However the form filling isnt the reason for the account being blocked, after sending in the form the bank did change the address - just that they made a minor mistake in the spelling.

Westie983

So the bank accepted a faxed copy of the back page of the form and printed copies of the rest of the form?

As expected your money is sitting in the closure back office account ready to be allocated once ID has been shown.

I think the faxed copy may have been the issue here as it wouldnt match up to the rest of the form.

Have you spoken to Santander to ask them what to do if you are not visiting the UK any time soon, and unable to visit a branch?

What was the result of the investigation have they released the funds or is the account still under suspicion of fraud transactions, namely to do with address changed which have flagged up an investigation, maybe worth contacting them via email or secure message if they will keep you on hold for an hour that is a long time, or get them to call you back.

I hope you get it sorted.

Westie983

gregpicard

Westie983 wrote: »

So the bank accepted a faxed copy of the back page of the form and printed copies of the rest of the form?

As expected your money is sitting in the closure back office account ready to be allocated once ID has been shown.

I think the faxed copy may have been the issue here as it wouldnt match up to the rest of the form.

Have you spoken to Santander to ask them what to do if you are not visiting the UK any time soon, and unable to visit a branch?

What was the result of the investigation have they released the funds or is the account still under suspicion of fraud transactions, namely to do with address changed which have flagged up an investigation, maybe worth contacting them via email or secure message if they will keep you on hold for an hour that is a long time, or get them to call you back.

I hope you get it sorted.

Westie983

Hi Westie

I think I better clarify as people seem to think the address change caused the flag.

The whole address change process went fine, it was updated by the bank after the form was sent to them. What caused them to investigate, was the fact that they sent out a new debit card to this address which was never received by me. When I saw my latest statement with the incorrect address, I called the bank and informed them, also that I had not received my debit card and a month had passed since the address update.

After this occured, the investigation seemed to kick in. They believed that someone had been trying to use the card during the time I mentioned it was not in my possesion. Hence all that followed. They were not very detailed in their final response, only that after the investigation they were going to close my account.

I asked them about the 'me being abroad' issue first time around, that was when I was clearly told not to worry as a cheque would be sent out and they would update my address on the phone to a UK address. The second call I made later, I was told the cheque would be sent out after 30 days and they also told me that it may be possible to transfer the funds into another of my bank accounts. The third call to ask why the cheque had not arrived, they told me that due to the easter holidays it may be delayed and to wait a few days loner. Then the last call I made, a whole month after the supposed cheque was sent out, the woman spent almost an hour with me on hold talking to back room staff, only to tell me that actually there was no cheque - that because I changed my address over the phone after the investigation began and because the address at closure was a foreign one, they would not be able to send out a cheque. Nor would they transfer the funds now that the account was closed. The only possible way would be to go to a branch in person. She wasn't interested in the fact that I will not be returning, said that was the only way.

As you can imagine I feel quite aggrieved that they, in essence, lied to me with promises of updating my address, sending a cheque, etc. It's amusing that they are quite happy to take your money (I received a payment of 200 pounds while the account was frozen) but when it comes to giving me back my money they make it impossible to do so.