POCKIT prepaid serious problem

johnlfc60

Hi folks, my names John I’m new to the forum as a posting member but have regularly read many threads for years and found it very helpful indeed. Good to meet you all.

I’m hoping for some positive responses on my first post but I’m expecting the odd sarcastic remark but I’d really like some advice from someone who has used Pockit prepaid accounts before or someone who can point me in the right direction as I’m finding Pockit very hard to deal with.

Basically a few weeks ago I opened up a Pockit prepaid account to use as a parachute account to lend my son some money for a house deposit. They granted me a full limit account which meant I could transfer in up to £1500 a day. I sent £1400 to the account from my natwest account to then forward on to my son as he is currently sofa surfing.

The £1400 arrived, no issue. I set my son up as a payee, sent the £1400 on to him. A few moments later I got an email stating the transfer hasn’t been completed and that more information was required and my account was frozen until I provided the necessary proofs. These were:

- picture of passport
- picture of me holding my passport for likeness
- proof of address
- proof of funds and how I plan to use the account

I provided all these as and when I could.
It’s now into the 3rd week of not being able to access the account or funds as it’s still with the verification team which customers can not talk directly to.

I email constantly, get scripted replies and nothing from a human being.
I call daily only to be told that it’s still with the team and they can’t provide a timescale on when it will be processed (even though they’ve marked it as “high priority” for me). Im going round in circles, I don’t earn a high wage so it’s really caused a lot of stress and my GP has signed me off with depression which doesn’t help the situation.

The “CRF” team work round the clock according to their website 24/7, 365 days a year. Yet nobody will respond to me or give me an update. My son is going to lose this house as the agent is getting really impatient as you can imagine. I really need some advice on this. Is there any other way or contacting someone who could help me further - or even someone who has been in a similar situation with Pockit and literally had their money held and found them very unhelpful?

I need access to this account/funds in there by the end of this week I’ve stressed this time and time again by phone but all they repeat is “im sorry there isn’t a timescale it’s a case by case” there are no timescales.

I wish I’d of just paid the agent direct from NatWest but my wife wasn’t in agreement with me lending my son the money (for past reasons). But with his current situation I went round the back door and I’ve shot myself and my son in the foot in the process as now £1400 is just hanging around in cyber space and they have all the required documents and more.

Is there anyway to speed this process up? Is there an email I can contact above the customer service email that just sends scripted replies? I have no other way of getting hold of the £1400 in the mean time either as I don’t know how long this is going to take.

Can anybody help? Or know anyone who’s had similar issues? How long will this “verification” take? It’s caused friction between the family and making me really ill I feel like they’re holding the money against my wishes.

Sorry for the long first post.

I look forward to your replies (if any).

Regards,
John

SnowTiger

johnlfc60 wrote: »

Is there anyway to speed this process up? Is there an email I can contact above the customer service email that just sends scripted replies? I have no other way of getting hold of the £1400 in the mean time either as I don’t know how long this is going to take.

Can anybody help? Or know anyone who’s had similar issues?

There probably isn't very much you can do to get the matter sorted out quickly.

Transferring a largish amount of money in to a new account, then straight back out again will raise alarm bells.

Pockit is probably concerned about money laundering or other dodgy activity.

A few years ago I loaded up my Revolut card with a similar amount to make a purchase. The organisation I wanted to purchase from only accepted debt card payments, however they wouldn't accept a Revolut card. I eventually made the purchase in another way.

I attempted to transfer the money on my Revolut card back to my bank account. My Revolut account was suspended and I was asked to provide some documentation, then had to several weeks for things to be sorted out.

I've also been through something similar with Barclays Bank. After two months of waiting I made a complaint to them. After that it was all sorted out within two weeks and they gave me £150 compo.

johnlfc60

It’s very frustrating.
I’ve tried to lodge a complaint which they said they would for me and call me back in 24 hours never did. Poorly ran

Migster

You could try emailing the CEO - virraj@pockit.com

SnowTiger

johnlfc60 wrote: »

It’s very frustrating.
I’ve tried to lodge a complaint which they said they would for me and call me back in 24 hours never did. Poorly ran

If I were you I'd get the complaints process running properly. Pockit's address is in their T&Cs.

Pockit's own FAQ promises a response within 15 days:

As part of our complaint procedure, we will send you an acknowledgment within 24 business hours and provide you with a final response within 15 working days of acknowledgment.

Howver, the FOS generally won't do anything without a deadlock letter from Pockit or until after eight weeks.

jonnygee2

You can start a complaints process but it will not speed anything up. There are no timelines because they have to wait on other parties. Monzo wrote a blog about this (same process at all banks) https://monzo.com/blog/2019/04/04/why-we-block-freeze-close-monzo-accounts/

There is a chance of some compensation though and it is still worth opening a complaint.

I don't really understand why you needed to sent up an intermediary account instead of just sending money straight to your son. Setting up a new account, moving a large sum in and then instantly out can look suspicious and trigger an account freeze. A bit late now but for future reference.

Right now your only option is to wait. About 3 to 4 weeks is the normal time line but could be longer. It is not in Pockit's control (read Monzo post) and therefore it really will waste your time to keep phoning them or giving them deadlines. Instead, make alternative financial arrangements.

Ben8282

Why did you not just send the money directly from your own current account What you did seems very strange to me and probably stinks of money laundering to the banks.

johnlfc60

Thanks for all the replies. Will email the CEO for now. Yes hindsight is a wonderful thing - but I was trying to do it because my partner wasn’t up for helping so I had to find a way.

johnlfc60

You provide all the proofs to prove there’s no suspicious activity. I even pre-warned them of the transactions that were going to happen as to prevent this situation! I raised a ticket via the “in-app” help platform which I was getting responses on. Now I can’t login to the account I get absolutely no help or correspondence.

johnlfc60

Oh and the “help” email address is soon to be ditched completely which will totally take away any means of contact for me. It will be “in-app help ticket platform” only. Brilliant.

Ben8282

johnlfc60 wrote: »

You provide all the proofs to prove there’s no suspicious activity. I even pre-warned them of the transactions that were going to happen as to prevent this situation! .

Pre-warning them won't help. A money launderer could pre-warn them.
But still don't understand why, if you have a current account with Natwest, (a) why you are bothering with accounts such as are offered by pockit with the 99p monthly fee and various fees for transactions including sending the money and (b) why you sent the money to your son via pockit (Natwest - pockit - Son) instead of directly (Natwest - Son).