A major bank has been refusing to let me withdraw £10k of family savings for over one month

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  • eskbanker wrote: »
    ... although don't recall what was said in the post that was deleted (or indeed if I ever actually saw it!).

    The removed post said something along the lines of, 'oh no, not another post about a blocked bank account - perhaps the Mods could review these threads before allowing them to be posted'.

    This had come after a rash of other similar threads. Perhaps what the forum needs is one of those locked threads at the head of the list called, 'Blocked Account Problems - please read before posting'? That could then contain information as to likely causes and why the banks often don't give any information etc etc.

    To be honest, there is little point in ever posting these threads because no one (as Ben says) can really add anything meaningful to the debate, other than to offer sympathy (if appropriate) and to let the situation run its course, or complain to FOS etc.

    From my perspective, so many of these opening posts give out very little information that is relevant or useful in diagnosing the possible solution. When asked for info, the posters don't answer. In many cases, there are powerful emotional triggers in the opening posts. Without prejudice, or casting aspersions, this one has several:- money saved over 10 years - it is family savings - it is for the first family home, which will be likely lost now - OP has a public sector job.

    None of those factors increases our ability to diagnose the solution (if there is one) but they all pique our interest because they pull at our heartstrings. Nothing wrong with eliciting sympathy, of course, because it makes for a more compelling read and will grab more attention, but it can arouse suspicions if other necessary information is either withheld or just not offered when requested.

    Should any of us suspect a post is not genuine, are we to just ignore it (and why, please), or tell the poster (politely) that we don't believe it, or should we report it as not in the spirit of the forum?
  • polymaff
    polymaff Posts: 3,903
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    Perhaps both questioners and answerers could heed the words of Sherlock Holmes:

    It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.

    That might persuade questioners just to provide pertinent facts, and answerers to eschew speculation.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 30,400
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    The removed post said something along the lines of, 'oh no, not another post about a blocked bank account - perhaps the Mods could review these threads before allowing them to be posted'.

    This had come after a rash of other similar threads. Perhaps what the forum needs is one of those locked threads at the head of the list called, 'Blocked Account Problems - please read before posting'? That could then contain information as to likely causes and why the banks often don't give any information etc etc.
    I found the deleted post in the Google cache and it wasn't that sort of weary objection to a repetitive subject but an unnecessarily aggressive accusation, in my opinion (and evidently that of the admins), including 'pull the other one'.

    There is potentially some merit in more sticky threads for common subjects but to be honest I'm not convinced that this one is really that heavily repeated to warrant this.
    In many cases, there are powerful emotional triggers in the opening posts
    It's hardly surprising that those deprived of access to their money are often emotional - it's easy for those of us who see this frequently (and who aren't directly affected) to look at such matters dispassionately and logically but personally I don't see it as a huge deal that such posters will often include more of the (wrong sort of) detail than is strictly necessary, so would usually be tempted to err on the side of caution and cut them some slack.
    Should any of us suspect a post is not genuine, are we to just ignore it (and why, please), or tell the poster (politely) that we don't believe it, or should we report it as not in the spirit of the forum?
    I can't see much point in the middle option, which simply antagonises and is hardly going to prompt posters to say 'OK, it's a fair cop, I made it all up'!

    As above, my preference is to seek clarification for anything relevant to providing more accurate guidance, rather than the point-scoring 'aha, I've tripped you up here' style of responses - suspicion is a very subjective matter and some are noticeably more sceptical than others, but if there's enough evidence that a post doesn't comply with forum rules and etiquette then reporting it does seem the most appropriate response to me.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546
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    eskbanker wrote: »
    It's hardly surprising that those deprived of access to their money are often emotional

    Some years ago I recall dealing with an "emotional" individual who had a sizable trading account with the Company I worked for. Constant monitoring was required in order to reduce the debt owed while continuing to supply goods. What I determined in the end was that his priority was to pay the private school fees for his 4 children. Trade creditors were well down the list. His view being that as a large company we could afford to wait.

    Nothing ever surprises me.
  • eskbanker wrote:
    It's hardly surprising that those deprived of access to their money are often emotional.
    .

    Agreed, but you have misunderstood me. I wasn't saying the 'deprived' posters are emotional, I was suggesting that they appear to be trying to elicit or incite an emotional response in the readers.
  • Ben8282
    Ben8282 Posts: 4,821
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    I have also noticed how so many of those reporting problems, surprise ccj's, surprise defaults, blocked bank accounts etc are about to get a mortgage. It is disproportionate.
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