Natwest are closing my account after 27 years......

Ben8282

I am still dubious at the medical advice allegedly given to the OP to record all calls in that I can't see the purpose of this advice. The OP's condition is not likely to increase the probability of the bank making an error and failing to correctly follow the OP's instructions. So what is the purpose of the recording ... to protect against what and to be used how?
The OP says that they opened the new savings account because of 'a good deal offered'. May I ask what this 'good deal' on a savings account was?
I think Natwest have done the OP a favour here. As Natwest does not pay interest on current accounts and as the OP is desperate to get the money into a savings account ASAP (presumably to earn interest on it), then perhaps the OP should consider opening their new current account with a bank who pays interest on current accounts . That way there will be no need to transfer these small sums of money to savings accounts as the money will already be earning interest in the new current account probably at a higher rate of interest than any savings account.

Uxb

..or indeed to add
It seems OK for banks to record telephone calls so that later in the event of a query they can confirm who said what - but this is not regarded as a breakdown of trust

But if the consumer does the same thing then some posters think that recording a call by the consumer does indeed demonstrate that trust has broken down.

I have had the pleasure of recording an important conversation with an organisation who later (as I suspected they would) ignored the requests made - which was why I recorded it of course!
Later we get the denials at the complaint stage no record of any changes being made.
But when they found I had the BT logs of the called number, call time, call duration AND the recording - the speed of the apology was quite astounding.

whiteswan

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Most people don't deposit and transfer out the same day to a different bank though. Legitimising money is often done a small scale so as not to raise suspicions. Why not simply deposit the money into the correct account at the outset? If on review there's a history of similar transactions. Then the bank may well simply decide that your custom isn't worth their time and trouble.

Hi - the reason I didn't pay the money straight into a branch of the new account is because there are none local.

Now you may say - why open an account with a bank/bs that's not local - well because it offered "incentives" which I along with many other people are encouraged to open these accounts and utilise the offerings they make.

I didn't transfer ALL of the money paid in - just a small amount of it - isn't this something that millions of people do every single day - transfer money from a current account to a savings account ?

I have to agree with your last sentence...........

After LOTS of reading it appears that if I had my mortgage with them then they could actually demand repayment of the money outstanding on that mortgage as well as close my account.

I DON'T have my mortgage with them - but what a frightening thought - that somebody could be placed in that position.

Along with their comment "we wont be providing you with any references to other banks / we wont enter into any kind of discussion with you " - then what if I had struggled finding another bank ?

A quick google shows Natwest are the main culprit when it comes to doing this to "seemingly" innocent individuals/organisations.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/07/natwest-shut-customers-accounts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37677020

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18540832

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/saving/article-2202092/Natwest-closed-account-warning-explanation.html

Better off away from them...............

Dave

EachPenny

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Most people don't deposit and transfer out the same day to a different bank though. .... Why not simply deposit the money into the correct account at the outset?

Not all banks accept cash deposits, not all banks have branches in every town/village, not everybody wants to save their money with the same bank they use for their current account.

I think it is fair to say many people do make a cash deposit and then transfer out the same day - especially if the current account pays no interest.

The OP's transactions are nothing in comparison to the very substantial numbers of 'suspicious' transactions being conducted by the very many posters on this forum who are playing the current account interest game. The transfers we make don't involve any cash, but £1000 being swapped around accounts all the time - total annual deposits far exceeding declared annual income - all of this could look 'suspicious' if you wanted to look at it that way.

Another poster the other day asked if she'd have a problem paying in £1500 in cash - the responses she got were along the lines of nobody would care about such a trivial amount. So I think the OP could feel more than a bit justified in feeling that there is some inconsistency here if paying in £100 winnings and transferring it out the same day is considered sufficiently 'suspicious' to warrant his account being closed.

If I get cash I normally pay it in to my bank nearest to where I do my supermarket shop as it is the shortest walking distance from the time-limited car park. That account is more or less dormant and has been for nearly 20 years, bar the occasional cash payment in and transfer out. As soon as I get home the money is transferred electronically to a current account with another bank, from where it will be moved to one of 40+ savings accounts with a variety of banks and BS. Based on some of the comments on this thread I'm expecting a knock on the door at any moment from the money police demanding to know what I'm up to. Meanwhile the bank I pay the cash in to has never queried the limited activity on the account, the near constant £1 balance, nor the cash deposits. But given that particular bank's hemorrhaging of current account customers I'm not expecting my 60 day notice letters any time soon.

EachPenny

whiteswan wrote: »

Along with their comment "we wont be providing you with any references to other banks / we wont enter into any kind of discussion with you " - then what if I had struggled finding another bank ?

Better off away from them...............

Dave,

Whilst I think moving to a different bank is a good idea, I would really urge you to take a complaint forward against Natwest for the way they have dealt with you. Not just for other people who might find themselves in this (or a worse) position in future, but also for yourself.

I had a similar situation with an insurance company at quotation stage some years ago. Amending some details on a quote caused a lockdown of my account due to suspicions of fraud. I phoned the company to explain the situation and asked to go ahead with the policy. They refused to insure me. Being aware that 'have you been refused insurance?' is a standard underwriting question I complained. A member of the fraud team removed the block from my account, passed me back to the quotation team who then knocked a further amount off the premium before I accepted it. Then a few weeks later I got a letter of apology in the post and a £60 cheque.

I have never been asked the question "have you been refused a bank account or had an account closed?" but none of us know what may happen in the future. If your account has been closed due to an error or misunderstanding then you should at least make sure your file has on record the circumstances of the closure and that no blame is attached to you.

Good luck.

bxboards

Lungboy wrote: »

By continuing with the call it could be argued that they are giving consent, having been told it's being recorded.

Pretty much every call to a bank I have made has always said something like 'this call may be recorded for security and training purposes', so I would argue that regardless of who is doing the recording, the bank has consented, as has the caller.

kate_sim

HI dave , i feel your pain Nat west have just given my husband and i 60 days notice to close our account , we have been given no reason. We have banked with them for 36 yrs and have been model customers .
.

eskbanker

kate_sim wrote: »

HI dave , i feel your pain Nat west have just given my husband and i 60 days notice to close our account , we have been given no reason. We have banked with them for 36 yrs and have been model customers .
.

No doubt it smarts a bit but to look at the silver lining of the cloud, you can now switch to a more generous bank that'll give you a joining incentive and/or interest on your balance, see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts

kate_sim

It more than smarts ,it goes against natural justice . we have been assumed guilty, of what i do not know with no chance of any recourse or defence because the bank can do what it wants and hide behind draconian laws.

Shakin_Steve

Maybe both of these cases are purely for business reasons. If an account is reviewed and found to have not been making the bank any profits for years, they just close them?
It's just me thinking out loud, before I get flamed.