Natwest account close no notice witholding tens of thousands

Lriggs

Hi all, (advance apologies for the long post)

Wonderer of anyone could shed some light into a situation i find myself in.

I dont have a great credit history and have been living on and off in Australia for the last 8 years so when i returned to the UK I opened a Monese account whuch has been fine with no problems.

I recently won a very large ammount of money at Mecca bingo which was paid by cheque to me - as my monese accouny has a maximum balance I had to go to a mainstream bank to open an account.

I went to natwest spoke to an adviser - i started by mentioning I didnt have a great credit history (nothing fraud related just bad decisions as a youngster) and that i had lived in australia on and off the last 8 years - and so I'd like to open a basic account - i was told i had to apply for a full account first.

She took my ID entered my address and asked how long i lived there i told her.. she then asked for my last aussie address this was then taken - but no question of how long i loved there - i then say "theres also another address in sydney before that one... and then you get to UK adresses" - i was told " its ok if your last 2 addresses we in sydney they'll only need your current uk address to do checks. I was not given an opportunity to verify the info that she has put in.

Success - "you've been approved for a select account" - ok by me... sort code/acc num given - cheque deposited welcome pack given - app set up.

Next day account is blocked - phone up and told my account has been closed for commercial reasons - wait for a letter.

The letter arrives - says due to info on the searches i am not eligible for an account - come in to a branch within 14 days to collect your funds.

I went in today not only with ID but also proof from mecca of the legitimacy of the funds. I was told i can't have the funds as fraud team have your account under review for 30 days.

Call the fraud team they give me the same story - call back 30 days from the letter date.

I have since done research seen that you need 3 years of address history - natwest only took 30 months i think the long conversatiom about living on and off in sydney she may have assumed that my australian addresses covered the required time frame and never thought to double check (at no point had i mentioned times or dates only that over the last 8 years i'd been living back and forth between aus and UK)

I have now sent a complaint about the process - and explained what the mix up may have been and also supplied them with a long list of address history covering 5 years.

Is there something I can do? The money is legitimately mine will i ever see it again? At this point i dont want a reversal of their decision just my money back....

Thanks for any insight and apologies for poor spelling or grammar have typed this novel on my phone

jonesMUFCforever

Please confirm - are you a UK or Aussie citizen?

Westie983

I would suggest you wait for the letter in the post for more information, are you now living in the UK? and just have years living abroad and therefore a UK citizen? if you are not then could explain why the account has been closed due to checks as many bank accounts cant be opened by non UK residents regardless of citizenship.

Your funds will be returned to you if they are from a legitimate source which it sounds like it is, but you will need to wait for the cheque to go through cheque clearance systems first, even more so due the the value of the cheque.

Hopefully the letter will shed more light on the situation.

Westie983

Lriggs

Thanks for the replies - I am a UK citizen born in the UK... although I don't think that was asked and I used my license as ID not passport

I have receieved the letter that told me to collect my funds and that they closed the account as after checks I am not eligible

It was today after the letter i was told to disregard the letter I know have to wait 30 days from the date of the letter to call and see of they have made a decision my funds

Whats annoying I havent been asked to clarify anything - but I have now sent in a complaint explaining the potential misunderstanding and have also taken the proof of where the funds came from to the branch (mecca have been very helpful)

jonnygee2

There are two possibilities. Either the account will be closed and the amount returned, or the account will be closed and the amount withheld.

There is no way to accelerate the process. If more information is needed they will ask for it. Most likely they will not.

Your complaint will be dealt with separately. The decision as to whether to return the money is not related.

Lriggs

I think i'm concerned most with the outcomes and what they entail... if the money is withheld what then? Does it go back to Mecca? - how can it be withheld when its bingo winnings confirmed by Mecca? Why was I not asked for the proof?

Sorry all these questions will be running through my mind for 30 days!

Is it just the fact its tens of thousands that is putting the extra time on the whole thing? If they just said that I wouldn't be stressing as I know its super legit

colsten

If I were you and was 100% certain that all is legit, I would be filing a complaint straight away. I would also do it with the office of Natwest's Products and Marketing MD, not through their normal complaints procedure. His name is Les Matheson and his email is les . matheson @ rbs . com (remove the blanks).

Be concise, unemotional, and state clearly what you expect him to do. Also state that this is a formal complaint, in case you have to take your case to the FOS (8 weeks wait time from raising complaint). He is unlikely to read your email himself but someone in his office will, and they have more powers than people on the shop floor.

jonnygee2

If I were you and was 100% certain that all is legit, I would be filing a complaint straight away. I would also do it with the office of Natwest's Products and Marketing MD, not through their normal complaints procedure. His name is Les Matheson and his email is les . matheson @ rbs . com (remove the blanks).

Be concise, unemotional, and state clearly what you expect him to do. Also state that this is a formal complaint, in case you have to take your case to the FOS (8 weeks wait time from raising complaint). He is unlikely to read your email himself but someone in his office will, and they have more powers than people on the shop floor.

This really would be a waste of the OPs time. No one you have mentioned has any power over what's happening.

The OP really should just wait.

[Deleted User]

OP needs to wait.
And also make sure his “winnings” are indeed from Mecca Bingo and not another source

colsten

jonnygee2 wrote: »

This really would be a waste of the OPs time. No one you have mentioned has any power over what's happening.

The OP really should just wait.

Whilst I am not saying that the matter will be resolved faster, I disagree that it's a waste of time. As the OP told us, he hasn't even been asked to provide evidence for the source of the money. Not that Mecca Bingo is an unknown, dodgy outfit! It cannot possibly take 30 days for Natwest to verify the authenticity of a cheque issued by Mecca Bingo. There is nothing else they need to check - Mecca operate legally in the UK, gambling is legal in the UK, winning big money is legal in the UK.

It is quite outrageous that banks deny people access to their money for 30 days, and it is high time that banks get a bit more sophisticated in their ML activities. The top gun in the banks need to know if customers get treated unreasonably, which I believe is happening in this case (taking the report of the OP at face value).

Lriggs

Thank you for everyones input... I will wait - in the meantime I have made a complaint through natwests website giving them my full address history for the last 8 years (just to show that there was no intentional false information given) I have provided the paperwork Mecca have given me to prove the win and the cheque and will await their response.

Thanks again everyone - if anyone has any other insight i'd be pleased to read it....