Cifas / h2b isa

beckstas-money

i’ll try to keep this brief but really struggling to understand.

Been banking with my main account for 11 years. Have a current and saving account in my name as well as a trust for my first child.

On Saturday i applied for a help to buy ISA and received a email notification shortly after saying it had been approved. Went on my online banking on Sunday and the account was there. I transferred from my saving account £1200 as i believed this is what was needed as the initial deposit.

Yesterday late afternoon, i received a call from the bank asking if i had recently opened an account i said yes, H2B. The guy on the phone said due to my application my account has been referred to CIFAS and my account with them would be closed in 30 days.

I was obviously taken aback by this and literally thought !!!!!! is he on about. He refused to give me any other information but told me i could go into branch with ID and take out any money i need. I should contact CIFAS and they would send me a report.

I am totally baffled so looking for advise on what to do. I called the bank back as i needed clarification, if my account was on hold pending a investigation the advisor said no the investigation is complete and all accounts will be closed.

Now I understand CIFAS is fraud related but I absolutely have not done anything relating to fraud.

I am going into branch this morning, but should i withdraw my money? Its not a huge amount. Approximately £7k but still not an amount i want to walk home with with a 5 month old baby.

If relating to H2B Application, is 2 days long enough for them to do an investigation and close my account leaving me totally screwed up.

As i have 30 days, should i transfer my account to another bank or will this nonsense be linked?

I have done a request of information form from CIFAS, they say they aim to respond in 10 days. This for me is such a long time. Is it likely to be longer?

Thanks

BoGoF

Are you registered with any of the 3 credit reference agencies? If so, does anything show under CIFAS?

If you havent registered then Clearscore is the most user friendly imo.

beckstas-money

Hi, yes. Registered with all of them. Nothing showing as yet. Only cancelled the paid service with Experian in April as i thought i wouldn’t need my full report again until next April when i was planning to apply for a mortgage.

BoGoF

Are you a first time buyer?

beckstas-money

Yes, never had a mortgage. Been in the same council property for 10 years.

Was going to do R2B earlier in the year but after an initial approved decision in principal decided not to move forward with the application as our service charges would be too high. The aim was to save more and apply for a help to buy mortgage in 2020. I should note the DIP wasn’t with this bank.

Ed-1

beckstas-money wrote: »

Yes, never had a mortgage. Been in the same council property for 10 years.

Was going to do R2B earlier in the year but after an initial approved decision in principal decided not to move forward with the application as our service charges would be too high. The aim was to save more and apply for a help to buy mortgage in 2020. I should note the DIP wasn’t with this bank.

Which bank was the H2B application with?

Nasqueron

beckstas-money wrote: »

Hi, yes. Registered with all of them. Nothing showing as yet. Only cancelled the paid service with Experian in April as i thought i wouldn’t need my full report again until next April when i was planning to apply for a mortgage.

You don't need the paid service, all the data is available free on the MSE Credit Club website, the paid service just tells you how to "improve" the score that the company provides you with, so they have a vested interest in keeping you paying

muhandis

- Depending on the type of marker, CIFAS warnings can show up on credit reports but can also be of the kind that are only visible to lenders.

The only way you can find out for sure is to submit an online Subject Access Request to CIFAS, free of charge, as you have done.

From recent experience, their turnaround time was about 10 days (although they are allowed to take up to 1 month), assuming they are able to verify your ID online and don't ask for anything in the post.

beckstas-money wrote: »

I have done a request of information form from CIFAS, they say they aim to respond in 10 days. This for me is such a long time. Is it likely to be longer?
Thanks