TSB Have Suspended Account

OceanSound

Oh dear. TSB have messed-up badly. Not only did you (and your mum) have the courtesy to drop-in to your branch, they've treated you like a criminal afterwards. Not only that, they've patronized your mum's good judgment by suggesting that she may be senile or gullible enough to hand-over a £75k investment.

If she has banked with them for 40 years and they know her well, what were they hoping to gain by asking for two documents with her address. IF she was being coerced, how would the two documents have helped? I think it's a bluff. £75k leaving the bank would be quite bad for TSB's accounts. So, they're making a solemn dance about it and giving spurious reasons.

Like someone said, your mum can ask for a hefty compensation payout on this one. Write a strong letter, do everything in writing from now. Keep names and designations of all the staff you've spoken to/will speak to. If they still refuse to budge. Approach a solicitor. Solicitor will be able to take the matter-up requesting the bank settle now or go to Court over this.

Either way, you should be able to claim solicitors fees and associated costs from the bank. I imagine it will be rather a lot for TSB to payout if they end up in Court.

Normally, I would have suggested complaining to the Ombudsman (after TSB has issued you a deadlock letter or eight weeks have passed since you complained).

But there is sufficient reasons here for you to go direct for legal action. (note you cannot go to Ombudsman if you chose to take legal action first) -
Take no notice of the so called 'experts' on here. Some of them claim they are ex-bank staff, ex-postal workers etc.. More like "Yes men" installed by the establishment to cover its backside.

The confidence in banks rely on liquidity. Just imagine, if people like your mum went back to keeping money under her mattress. They'd have a lot less reserves than £75k.

OceanSound

John-K wrote: »

If this thread is not a wind-up then I despair for the OP, and what it says about how he looks after his mother.

It appears he cannot even spell the name right of where this supposed friend lives, suggesting absolutely no due diligence on his part. I wonder if it is actually his friend, and not his morher!!!8217;s.

o!, yeah. "mother" (note correct spelling) must be a metaphor for 'friend. And 'friend' must be a metaphor for 'herself'. :rotfl:

Sea_Shell

Regardless of the Banks attitude....I'm not sure I'd assist in trying to help my mum make such a transfer in the first place, regardless of her insistence. I'd be questioning her reasoning (sanity).

I'm not convinced this isn't a wind-up anyway.

18cc

Well I am still think this is appalling on behalf of TSB although I accept I am in the minority.

It is a matter of proportionality. Yes, of course people are being defrauded and the bank is to be applauded for querying the payment before allowing it through.

However, having spoken to the account holder, and bearing in mind that it is the account holder's money (ie it is not a loan) then if the account holder says they are transferring it to a lettuce growing startup in central sahara desert then it is none of their business.

I left Lloyds for exactly this reason - they were getting far too uppity with my payments..

woolyG_2

All I can say is well done TSB.

So reverse the roles then, and you try and transfer funds out of your account and your bank says 'No' and freezes your account, then treats you like some sort of criminal. I am sure you would have the same attitude. Bank protecting customers and there own interests can only go so far. Yes banks need to be careful, but bank like everybody nowadays want us to live in a nanny state.,

If you are happy to be told how you can and can't spend your money good on you...

northwalesd

OceanSound wrote: »

I think it's a bluff. £75k leaving the bank would be quite bad for TSB's accounts.

That's a gem :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

EachPenny

woolyG wrote: »

So reverse the roles then, and you try and transfer funds out of your account and your bank says 'No' and freezes your account, then treats you like some sort of criminal. I am sure you would have the same attitude. Bank protecting customers and there own interests can only go so far. Yes banks need to be careful, but bank like everybody nowadays want us to live in a nanny state.,

But TSB are not treating your mum as a criminal - they are treating her as someone who may be under the influence of a criminal and have therefore blocked the payment to protect her interests.

And you must be able to understand that walking in to the bank with your mum to 'help' her make the withdrawal looks no different to the many fraudsters who walk into banks with elderly vulnerable people and 'assist' them in draining their bank account.

bigadaj

The difficulty is that you can easily see this popping up in the money section of a newspaper or moneybox in a couple of months once the money has disappeared stating that TSB have a duty to reimburse the elderly confused account holder who never intended to transfer a large amount of money to a developing country.

Who is the individual who needs this loan and how does she know him, I'm a supporter of personal responsibility but this is effectively giving away a large sum of money. Subsequently the taxpayer may well be hit by increased benefits claims, what proportion are these funds of her total and liquid net worth?

EachPenny

OceanSound wrote: »

£75k leaving the bank would be quite bad for TSB's accounts. So, they're making a solemn dance about it and giving spurious reasons.

You are joking, aren't you?

OceanSound wrote: »

Approach a solicitor. Solicitor will be able to take the matter-up requesting the bank settle now or go to Court over this.

Either way, you should be able to claim solicitors fees and associated costs from the bank. I imagine it will be rather a lot for TSB to payout if they end up in Court.

But there is sufficient reasons here for you to go direct for legal action.

Your knowledge of the legal system appears to match your knowledge of the financial system then.

To make a claim in court the mother would need to demonstrate a loss. What loss has the mother incurred as a result of this transfer being delayed? She is not being paid interest by the person it is being loaned to, and any losses incurred by the person who is receiving the loan will not be TSB's responsibility.

TSB's personal banking terms and conditions give them the right to withhold and delay payments if they suspect fraud or illegal activity. Suing the bank for following the terms and conditions you have agreed to will not be a productive or profitable experience.

If you believe your advice is superior to the "so called 'experts' on here" then please advise the OP of the likely costs involved in taking legal action vs the likely level of claim that could be made against TSB in these circumstances.

OceanSound wrote: »

Take no notice of the so called 'experts' on here. Some of them claim they are ex-bank staff, ex-postal workers etc.. More like "Yes men" installed by the establishment to cover its backside.

I don't claim any expertise. I would just apply some common sense to understand what is likely to happen in a situation where an elderly person was attempting to make a £75,000 transfer to a foreign bank account.

OceanSound wrote: »

o!, yeah. "mother" (note correct spelling) must be a metaphor for 'friend. And 'friend' must be a metaphor for 'herself'.

(note the correct phrase is "song and dance" not "solemn dance")

woolyG_2

EachPenny wrote: »

But TSB are not treating your mum as a criminal - they are treating her as someone who may be under the influence of a criminal and has, therefore, blocked the payment to protect her interests.

I think what she meant was she felt as though she was being interrogated by the staff, but I do realise there is a fine line between protecting the customer and infringing on their rights. I personally believe they crossed the line. I don't suppose it helped the matter that the branch staff had her trying to get her point across to somebody in a foreign call centre and she is hard of hearing as it is. I am sure you can imagine even for the best of us how stressful that can be. never mind being bombarded with questions from everywhere