Tax rebate caused account to be blocked!

byrnez92

Hi my bank account has been frozen now for 10 days due to a tax refund going which the bank flagged as suspicious activity they have asked me to provide evidence of where the payment came from which I have produced 7 days ago. Alls I get off the bank when I contact is it will be sorted tomorrow but it still not sorted what else can I do?

byrnez92

The bank is santander btw 

Willing2Learn

It sounds like the bank is carrying out an investigation of your account activity.  It would not have anything to do with your tax refund and will be just a coincidence.

Do you have a backup current account you can use in the meantime?

And welcome to the forum 

eskbanker

Was the tax refund a direct electronic (or cheque) payment from HMRC - it seems odd that the bank would be needing any evidence to support that?

byrnez92

Thanks it was a bacs transfer directly into account the payment showed up on account balance but not my available balance. I thought it odd myself I have sent them my sa302 (tax calculation) do you think this will be sufficient evidence 

byrnez92

Plus now I cant even view my balance now or log on online banking 

eskbanker

byrnez92 said:

Thanks it was a bacs transfer directly into account the payment showed up on account balance but not my available balance. I thought it odd myself I have sent them my sa302 (tax calculation) do you think this will be sufficient evidence 

No idea to be honest - I can't understand why "they have asked me to provide evidence of where the payment came from", as they'll be perfectly able to recognise the source of a BACS transaction from HMRC.  Questioning the amount doesn't seem particularly relevant to me (unless it's freakishly high perhaps, e.g. tens of thousands), did they specifically say that it was this one transaction that triggered the check and that they wanted to know where it came from?

byrnez92

eskbanker said:

byrnez92 said:

Thanks it was a bacs transfer directly into account the payment showed up on account balance but not my available balance. I thought it odd myself I have sent them my sa302 (tax calculation) do you think this will be sufficient evidence 

No idea to be honest - I can't understand why "they have asked me to provide evidence of where the payment came from", as they'll be perfectly able to recognise the source of a BACS transaction from HMRC.  Questioning the amount doesn't seem particularly relevant to me (unless it's freakishly high perhaps, e.g. tens of thousands), did they specifically say that it was this one transaction that triggered the check and that they wanted to know where it came from?

It is just under 4k  and they did say the block was because of this transaction they said they need evidence of where it came from and that its genuine. I have explained to them it has really put me in a bad situation as it's my only account and it is completely unusable I have 2 young children and a child 3 weeks old the banks reply was to go to a food bank 

colsten

1. raise a formal complaint with Santander https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/customer-support/how-to-complain
2. ask your MP to assist you on the matter https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
3. you might also want to contact your local paper, or even a national paper

Other than that, I can suggest that you get yourself a second account, plus a credit card or two - relying on a single current account is bound to lead to problems with any bank at some stage.  Same goes for your partner.

byrnez92

Other than that, I can suggest that you get yourself a second account, plus a credit card or two - relying on a single current account is bound to lead to problems with any bank at some stage.  Same goes for your partner.

I have raised a complaint with Santander that is when I got told to use a food bank 🤔
This has also stopped me being eligible for any benefits as the rebate is classed as income to which the bank just said that's not there problem 

Willing2Learn

byrnez92 said:

This has also stopped me being eligible for any benefits as the rebate is classed as income to which the bank just said that's not there problem 

A £4,000 tax refund should not impact upon your benefit entitlement.  Your benefits start being effected if your savings are over £6,000, gradually reducing until you get to £16,000, at which point your benefits will stop completely.

Have you advised the DWP about what has happened?  What did they say?

Edit: The Universal Credit DWP page states:

"Any capital/ savings you have under £6,000 is ignored.

Any capital/ savings you have between £6,000 and £16,000 is treated as if it gives you a monthly income of £4.35 for each £250, or part of £250, regardless of whether it does or not. So if you have £6,300 in a savings account, £6,000 of it will be ignored and the other £300 will be treated as giving you a monthly income of £8.70.

If you have capital/ savings over £16,000 as a single claimant or as a couple you will not be entitled to Universal Credit. Some capital can be ignored when working out if you are entitled to Universal Credit.

If you are a member of a couple but have to make a claim as a single person, your partner's capital/ savings will still be taken into account."