Halifax bank account closed

FizzyPop_2

I have a couple of questions.

I currently bank with Halifax. I have 1 Halifax current account and 7 savings accounts attached to it. I’ve banked with them for maybe 4 years now. Today I received a text saying that after a review, a decision to close the account in 60 days has been made and that account facilities have been withdrawn. I probably have about £650 in there across all accounts. I called up to enquire about the closure and got passed on to account review/specialist team. The lady I spoke to was quite nice and first asked why I had so many accounts to which I replied that a few of them were meant to be closed and it was not my fault that they hadn’t been. (I haven’t actually been using all 7 savings accounts for this reason). She then queried a few of the transactions on the account, namely from Etsy and cashback websites. She asked whether I had proof of the source of these funds. She wasn’t able to tell me what would be acceptable proof and merely asked ‘you have an account with them don’t you?’ and then said to ask local branch about what to bring.

Before anyone asks, I sell household stuff on Etsy, things that have been used previously but that I’ve not managed to shift on gumtree or ebay.

My question is: what is considered sufficient proof of the source of the funds? Cashback websites are easy as I can just log in and show the payments being made. Etsy I wasn’t sure whether I had to print off invoices or whether showing them the email that clearly states the value of the funds being put into the account. Just to say the actual transaction amounts are about £15 and £30 from the cashback websites and about £400 from Etsy.

I know I can just ask my local branch but I wanted to bring it in one go as opposed to doing it over several visits (unless of course they ask for extra information).

I’m quite shocked about the situation especially as I always thought Halifax was one of the nicer banks. I’d understand if I was commiting fraud or money laundering but to just close an account out of the blue seems unjustified, especially as I’ve had cashback payments on and off over the time that I’ve been with them and the same with Etsy payments. It’s not something new.

Thanks in advance for any help.

18cc

it is possible i suppose that they think.you are using a personal account for business but the amounts seem quite small and anyway they wiuld probably just ask you to change it.

buglawton

Close the account or all accounts? That wasn't clear to me.

FizzyPop_2

buglawton wrote: »

Close the account or all accounts? That wasn't clear to me.

Sorry all of them so the current account along with the savings accounts.

Ben8282

The question about why so many savings accounts is rather odd considering that Lloyds online banking was yesterday reminding me that I can have up to 5 instant saver accounts which could be renamed to create pots for specific savings purposes and encouraging me to open such accounts (which considering that they pay 0.2% pa interest I find quite amusing).
You say that the current balance of all your accounts is £650 but has it always been so low? The amount mentioned is far too low to be arousing any suspicion or requiring proof of source of the funds.
One thought is that somebody you sold something to has made a claim that you have defrauded them but quite how Halifax would be directly involved I don't know.
Could I ask if this is your main current account (the account that your salary/wages is paid into)?

18cc wrote: »

it is possible i suppose that they think.you are using a personal account for business but the amounts seem quite small and anyway they wiuld probably just ask you to change it.

The amounts involved seem to be too low for this to be a concern.

FizzyPop_2

18cc wrote: »

it is possible i suppose that they think.you are using a personal account for business but the amounts seem quite small and anyway they wiuld probably just ask you to change it.

Maybe. The way the lady asked the question made it sound like she thought I was doing business or maybe I’m just hearing things that aren’t there lol.

In any case I’m just not sure whether they’d want the invoices or the transaction payments being shown. Invoices would of course verify what I’ve sold and transaction amounts (by this I mean the total funds that get sent to the bank account) would verify the amounts shown on the account are as they should be. Not sure what proof they require to show the funds are mine and whether either of those are sufficient.

FizzyPop_2

Ben8282 wrote: »

You say that the current balance of all your accounts is £650 but has it always been so low? The amount mentioned is far too low to be arousing any suspicion or requiring proof of source of the funds.
One thought is that somebody you sold something to has made a claim that you have defrauded them but quite how Halifax would be directly involved I don't know.

No, funds that get sent from Etsy are not always low. The most I’ve been sent is around £1k but again it’s not a regular occurence as I only list stuff up whenever I have the time as I’m usually too busy. And this £1k is not just one item either that’s been sold, it’s several items that have been sold and then Etsy group the payments together and send it for whatever date is requested.

Your last point would make sense if I received payment from the customer directly but everything is done through Etsy so any problems are solved by them. Everyone I’ve sold to have been happy and left glowing feedback etc.

Also to answer your edited in question, no thankfully it’s not my main bank account otherwise I’d be more panicked and trust me I’m panicking already as I’ve read of so many horror stories.

[Deleted User]

FizzyPop wrote: »

...
I’m quite shocked about the situation especially as I always thought Halifax was one of the nicer banks.
...

There is no such thing as a nice bank. They are all nasty. When dealing with banks (and insurance companies) your starting assumption should be that they are swindlers, liars and fraudsters, then take it from there. This is how they view their customers, so it's appropriate to take a similar view of them.


So, following the rant, it does look as though they have stupidly come to the conclusion that you're running a business via your personal accounts. As such, there are fees that they feel they have a right to, but are not collecting. Hopefully you have other banking arrangements with banks outside the Lloyds Group. If so, I'd be inclined to get your money out of Halifax and don't ever contact them again.

FizzyPop_2

johnsmith1890 wrote: »

There is no such thing as a nice bank. They are all nasty. When dealing with banks (and insurance companies) your starting assumption should be that they are swindlers, liars and fraudsters, then take it from there. This is how they view their customers, so it's appropriate to take a similar view of them.


So, following the rant, it does look as though they have stupidly come to the conclusion that you're running a business via your personal accounts. As such, there are fees that they feel they have a right to, but are not collecting. Hopefully you have other banking arrangements with banks outside the Lloyds Group. If so, I'd be inclined to get your money out of Halifax and don't ever contact them again.

Haha yes I suppose that’s true. But never had cause to dislike them for any reason.

The issue is getting the money out. It’s only £650 or so and if it’s such a hassle to get out then it’s not a huge amount to lose but would rather not lose it if possible. Just need to know what counts as sufficient evidence for them. Won’t be able to get to the bank until next week.

Ed-1

FizzyPop wrote: »

Haha yes I suppose that’s true. But never had cause to dislike them for any reason.

The issue is getting the money out. It’s only £650 or so and if it’s such a hassle to get out then it’s not a huge amount to lose but would rather not lose it if possible. Just need to know what counts as sufficient evidence for them. Won’t be able to get to the bank until next week.

Have they blocked the accounts pending closure?

FizzyPop_2

Ed-1 wrote: »

Have they blocked the accounts pending closure?

Yes I believe so as I can’t access my online banking.