Sent money from Bank of Scotland to Lloyds and suspended

bluehydrangeas

Hello,
I've just recently opened a Club Lloyds account within the last few days. Today I received the activation code for online banking. I sent money between my Bank of Scotland and Lloyds account using the Halifax and Lloyds apps. The Halifax app allows access to BOS accounts, so I prefer using that to manage my BOS accounts. Immediately after sending a payment from Lloyds to BOS, I was logged out and told my access has been suspended. I now can not access the Lloyds, BOS or Halifax apps or online banking websites. I have called Halifax and after explaining the situation, I was put through to someone with a Scottish accent and told I would need to go to a Lloyds branch with ID. I asked if this would restore access to my BOS, Halifax and Lloyds accounts but the person could not confirm it would. This has never happened before and I am now very anxious. Has anyone here had any similar experiences with Lloyds or Halifax/BOS?

18cc

Yes I had this a couple of times and in fact when I went into the branch with my passport the manager there contacted the security department by phone and had to prove to the security department they were actually the branch!

it took about half an hour and I had to listen to a long spiel about not transferring money to someone who has called me out of the blue etc etc where as all I was doing as making a payment to a savings account at a different bank

very soon after that I left Lloyds and switched my account to Barclays and have not had problems since

in my opinion Lloyds fraud filters are very harsh

[Deleted User]

18cc wrote: »

Yes I had this a couple of times and in fact when I went into the branch with my passport the manager there contacted the security department by phone and had to prove to the security department they were actually the branch!

it took about half an hour and I had to listen to a long spiel about not transferring money to someone who has called me out of the blue etc etc where as all I was doing as making a payment to a savings account at a different bank

very soon after that I left Lloyds and switched my account to Barclays and have not had problems since

in my opinion Lloyds fraud filters are very harsh

In this context 'harsh' is a euphemism for 'stupid'.

Ashen

Had this a few days ago when sending just under £5000 from Lloyd's to Nationwide. Had to go into branch to get it unlocked, with passport, etc, and a long chat with someone from their fraud department.

I can see why, with all the fraud nowadays (you just have to read MSE articles to see people who have done silly things trying to get their money back, and then banks blamed if they refuse). But I would hope things like the new scheme to link names with account numbers when making payments would prevent the need.

Also not sure what would happen if it happened to someone without photo ID.

[Deleted User]

I find it somewhat arrogant of the bank to require their customers to 'just' go to the nearest branch with identification (and explain yourself). What if you don't have their required form of identification, and where is the nearest branch? For me, this would involve a 20 mile round trip.


Let's face it, the banks are getting paranoid about this, and causing a lot of problems for their customers. What it really needs is for those customers that are inconvenienced by this paranoia to vote with their feet - go to the bank with the identification, and when they've grudgingly accepted that you're not a money launderer, close all your accounts with them, on the spot.

Ashen

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

Let's face it, the banks are getting paranoid about this, and causing a lot of problems for their customers. What it really needs is for those customers that are inconvenienced by this paranoia to vote with their feet - go to the bank with the identification, and when they've grudgingly accepted that you're not a money launderer, close all your accounts with them, on the spot.

To be fair, it's not paranoia when it's actually happening. Not money laundering, but people being scammed.

You just need to look at stories like the below, where TSB refunded a case where it seems evident that they were not at fault, but presumably refunded to avoid bad press. It also doesn't help that MSE hugely misrepresent TSB's position on refunding scams, stating that anyone scammed would get their money back.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/05/tsb-to-refund-fraud-victims-as-cancer-patient-has-29000-payout-stolen/

You even have the apparent person that was scammed posting in the associated forum thread, saying that it was obviously a TSB issue. Even if it isn't the bank's fault, many people perceive it as so. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5846093

Given that, I have no idea what the right thing for banks to do is. There is one thing I certainly agree on - having to go to a possibly distant branch with identification to unblock the account can definitely be a problem.

bluehydrangeas

I went to a Lloyds branch and was ushered into one of the rooms by a member of staff. I presented my ID and was given what I can only describe as a !!!!-and-bull story about potential fraud. I could understand if the money was being sent to another person's account or if it was an unusual amount, but it wasn't. I was doing a transfer between my own accounts at banks which are part of Lloyds Banking Group, which led to my accounts being suspended.

I also had to speak to someone from the fraud department on the phone for about 20 minutes in the branch. When this was completed, my accounts were unlocked. I found the whole debacle rather stressful and unnecessary. The experience has left me feeling that I'm unable to continue my tenure as a customer of LBG. I've already transferred my funds to accounts at other banks and will likely be closing down my Halifax, BOS and Lloyds accounts.

alphabravocharli

Well Done, i think Lloyds are treating their customers unfairly. I think they are just trying to seem tough on normal customers to show regulators how strict they are and real culprits go unchecked.

bluehydrangeas wrote: »

I went to a Lloyds branch and was ushered into one of the rooms by a member of staff. I presented my ID and was given what I can only describe as a !!!!-and-bull story about potential fraud. I could understand if the money was being sent to another person's account or if it was an unusual amount, but it wasn't. I was doing a transfer between my own accounts at banks which are part of Lloyds Banking Group, which led to my accounts being suspended.

I also had to speak to someone from the fraud department on the phone for about 20 minutes in the branch. When this was completed, my accounts were unlocked. I found the whole debacle rather stressful and unnecessary. The experience has left me feeling that I'm unable to continue my tenure as a customer of LBG. I've already transferred my funds to accounts at other banks and will likely be closing down my Halifax, BOS and Lloyds accounts.

Wheres_My_Cashback

I've had accounts with Lloyds for donkeys years, but only in the past 18 months have I experienced problems with them and their fraud department for what I consider routine payments to other external accounts of mine which I've sent payments to multiple times.

I have on both occasions put in official complaints which is the only way to get action and to ensure they get the message.
The questions they asked on one of the checks were ludicrous meaning I had no way of fully answering them correctly.
I only had to go to branch once at their insistence, but charged all my costs to them, telephone calls, 45p per mile car running costs as per HMRC, car parking, time at £35 per hour which included 1.5 hours in the branch making the complaint official.

Sea_Shell

This is all very worrying to read. I use a Lloyds account as a "hub" account, and so far haven't had any issues moving my money around, but it seems to only be a matter of time that they'll pull me up on it. Luckily we (currently) have a local branch, but still it would be a pain.

robatwork

Wheres_My_Cashback wrote: »

I only had to go to branch once at their insistence, but charged all my costs to them, telephone calls, 45p per mile car running costs as per HMRC, car parking, time at £35 per hour which included 1.5 hours in the branch making the complaint official.

You invoiced them you mean?
Did they pay or are you still waiting the outcome of your complaint?