Estate agent asking to see proof of funds/deposit

Red-Squirrel_2

davidmcn wrote: »

Every employee of my bank is a complete stranger to me.

Banks are regulated.

Red-Squirrel_2

martindow wrote: »

What is the problem with the agents seeing your account number and sort code? This is no more than is printed on a cheque and no-one could do much with it apart from paying some money in.

You can set up a direct debit online with that info.

ReadingTim

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

You can set up a direct debit online with that info.

Not directly to your own account you can't. So you'd be limited to fraudulently receiving goods or services which someone else paid for, assuming the provider doesn't get wind they're being conned - why the delivery address is different from the billing address etc.

And besides, the same flaws currently exist which cheques, and there's hardly been a spate of fraudulently opened DDs arising from detailed copied off a paper cheque has there?!?

At best your point is a red herring, at worst ignorant scaremongering.

martindow

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

You can set up a direct debit online with that info.

Yes, but the DD guarantee protects you on that score. I think Jeremy Clarkson once gave out his bank details and someone set a DD to Friends of the Earth or a similar charity. He could have recalled the money but apparently he chose not to.

My point was that you may have misgivings showing an agent lots of details of your finances but it is not a real worry that they will have your account number.

maccaz21

Well, they won't be getting a full statement from me anyway..

I've give them more than enough.

Name
Address
Date of statement
Money, well in excess of the bid I made
Bank name
Sort Code / Account no, (Even IBAN and BIC)

I know this is too much to begin with, but I wanted to get it done and move on so I bit the bullet. They then come back asking for the full unedited pdf version with all pages. No, that's a step too far.

ReadingTim

maccaz21 wrote: »

Well, they won't be getting a full statement from me anyway..

I've give them more than enough.

Name
Address
Date of statement
Money, well in excess of the bid I made
Bank name
Sort Code / Account no, (Even IBAN and BIC)

I know this is too much to begin with, but I wanted to get it done and move on so I bit the bullet. They then come back asking for the full unedited pdf version with all pages. No, that's a step too far.

Well, that approach will certainly enable you to "move on" - to another property, as I doubt you'll be proceeding with this one; or even this agent if you're going to establish yourself as a 'difficult' customer. :money:

maccaz21

ReadingTim.

If somebody objects to showing private transaction history on a bank statement to an EA, something they are not obligated to look at, is then defined as a "difficult customer"

I've given a screen shot of the top of my bank statement which shows,
Name, Address, Date of statement, Total balance, Bank name and
account numbers.
I understand internal procedures for time wasting. I have shared information, however, specifically a pdf version is required, and I cant redact any of the statement. This is not their remit.

Maybe next time you will be asked for other non-remit documents, maybe last years self assessment, or last month's pay slip. Would objection to this defined as difficult, I don't think so. Same principle.

bowlhead99

maccaz21 wrote: »

I understand internal procedures for time wasting. I have shared information, however, specifically a pdf version is required, and I cant redact any of the statement. This is not their remit.

They say they have an obligation to verify source of funds in line with their AML regulations. For that, they would reasonably want to see evidence of the funds (for example an original paper or electronic bank statement would be acceptable).

You can say no, that's not their remit, you know the AML regulations better then they do. And that they could get the relevant comfort from your solicitor about the fact that the solicitor is content that on a risk based approach you are probably not a money launderer or terrorist financier. You might be correct. But you don't seem to be asserting that you are correct on that legal/regulatory point, just that you are correct about what their remit should be? In a lot of ways, the world does not work on how a sample of people think it should be.

Maybe next time you will be asked for other non-remit documents, maybe last years self assessment, or last month's pay slip. Would objection to this defined as difficult, I don't think so. Same principle.

The values on last year's self assessment or your current level of employment income have pretty much zero bearing on your ability to buy the property with money which you have told them is currently cleared into a UK bank account, so you could quite reasonably tell them to eff off if they wanted that extraneous information.

However, having money in your own name cleared in a UK bank account will certainly have more than zero bearing on your ability to buy the property with money you have told them is currently cleared into a UK bank account. Saying they can't see an official statement of the account, only some edited image which you admit to having doctored from the original for personal reasons, probably falls short of their standards of evidence.

But if you believe you know the regulations better than them and they are definitely asking for something beyond their remit, just as a 'fishing expedition', then you should definitely walk away, because then they will either prove you right and find a way around those rules and propose something different, or they won't because they can't. Either way, it will be sorted.