Natwest frozen account

sveni

Hi

My business bank account with NatWest has been frozen.

I am confident it is due to AML concerns the bank has as my business sector is deemed high risk.

NatWest may have filed a SAR (which they won't tell me as that's "tipping off") and as such, I may have to wait the statutory time period for the NCA to give consent or to investigate.

I am no concerned about an AML enquiry, I have all paperwork to demonstrate the source of funds and reason for payments.

Current line from ALL corners of the Bank is:

"We don't have access to your account. Someone from the bank central team will contact you in due course"

On repeat.

My sense is they do have access, but there is a Note on the system that instructs all staff to give me the above line until further notice.

I have written to the Complaints Team and pre-emptively told them to return my funds and close my account, as my trust in them now is zero. I don't want to be a customer if they treat me like this.

If you have experienced something similar and been through this till the end (ie got your account reactivated or got your funds unfrozen), how was your case resolved??

Many thanks!

SVENI

wizzywig27

What sector is your business in?

[Deleted User]

And another one.

Minimal information about ones “high risk business” and little else.

jonnygee2

If you have experienced something similar and been through this till the end (ie got your account reactivated or got your funds unfrozen), how was your case resolved??

You've kind of answered your own question here. If a SAR has been submitted, then the bank cannot tell you anything, and they will not know anything until the NCA have completed their investigation. They have to stick to some sort of line because that's all they are allowed to say.

You will not be able to do anything either. You can only talk to the bank, who have little more power in the process than you do after the SAR has been put in.

You just wait. The NCA take their merry old time and eventually (hopefully) decide you are innocent and tell the bank, who unblock your account and tell you it was some sort of technical error or something.

maas

Yea jonnygee2 hits the nail on the head (and should be bookmarked for all these types of posts).

It's suspected AML (money mule, recycling money, undeclared funds etc) and you have to wait for the bank to complete its enquires. They cant divulge the details of their actions and you have to wait until they complete their enquiries (as vague and as unhelpful as that is).

They'll happily take a complaint from you over a potential hefty fine from the regulator every day of the week.

sveni

Thanks. Initially, when my account was frozen, I was directed to the bank's fraud team. They asked me about the transaction in question. I explained, sent invoices etc to show the source of funds and proof a payment. Also, the transaction was not a one-off, existing beneficiary/payee.

Now the matter I'm told is not with the fraud team but what one staff member called account services. I assume they are satisfied it is not a fraud and have not filed a SAR.

The account is still frozen for now as they probably want a controlled unwind of my account.

My gut feeling is I'll get a letter stating they want to close my account and for me to take my funds and business elsewhere. I assume the compliance costs outweigh the commercial benefits.

[Deleted User]

Still no insight on what the transaction was though....

sveni

Precious metals business

jonesMUFCforever

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or a currency that you cannot actually touch?

sveni

I have received correspondence from the bank's complaints team (please see below). Any thoughts would be appreciated. Does it sound like a SAR has been filed? Can they confirm the account is frozen without "tipping off"?

Thank you for contacting us and for bringing this issue to our attention. I am sorry to hear that you are not happy with the service that we have provided and I do appreciate your patience whilst I have been investigating your complaint.





My understanding of your complaint is:





• You are unhappy as you cannot access your Business account and no one can provide you with further information. You want compensation as you are losing business due to this. This is also affecting your health, as you can’t sleep at night. You have sent the necessary paperwork to show the reason for payment and proof of funds.





I regret I am unable to agree with your complaint regarding the Bank temporarily leaving you without access to your funds on your account. It has been confirmed that the account has been frozen, but the Bank is not obliged to enter into any discussion or provide a reason for our decision. I appreciate the frustration and inconvenience this has caused, however, we have reviewed our rationale behind the decision and this remains unchanged.





I am sorry we are not in a position to provide any further information at this time. Regrettably I am unable to consider compensation or refunding of charges for this matter as no Bank error has occurred. The Bank will not be contacting you in regards to this matter.





Although I hope it won’t be necessary, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter. If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances (for example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances).

[Deleted User]

sveni wrote: »

ICan they confirm the account is frozen without "tipping off"?

Yes, they can. You already knew if was frozen.

What they can't and won't do is give you any information about why.