NatWest Closed account and won’t allow access to money

Tiddles1991

I found out my NatWest current & savings accounts were closed as of Monday the 27th of April.

I wasn’t notified by NatWest the only reason I found out because online banking said I had been locked out and to ring to unlock it. The customer service agent on the phone notified me that my account had actually been completely closed as of the 27th and to ring the accounts closure team in the morning to discuss about accessing my money.

I called the accounts closure team the next day (being Wednesday the 29th) and a very rude women told me I couldn’t access my money and there was nothing I could do about it. I explained to her I had 4 children to feed and bills etc and she said simply
there is nothing we can do.

I made a trip to my local branch to speak to an actual person and she tried to help and told me to be “realistic” about what I needed out of my account to feed my kids etc for the next 14 days. I told her an amount, she disappeared to ring somebody and came back and told me that I couldn’t access any money from my accounts and she couldn’t help.

I rang the citizens advice bureau for some advice and guidance and they couldn’t help but recommended me to ring the financial ombudsman which I did.

A very helpful chap advised me to go back in and make a formal complaint and explain the urgency and that he will do the same. 

I called the accounts closure team again speaking to a different women who again said they can’t do anything and I can’t access my money, I explained my situation again and she suggested I borrowed money from somewhere. 

I understand some people are going to assume i have done something wrong or something untoward but I can guarantee you that is not the case. 

I have been in work all my working life and for the past couple of years have been self employed. Unfortunately I was “laid off” due to the coronavirus outbreak and the firm I did regular work for closing down so was advised to make a claim for universal credit which I did so. 

We just received our first payment from universal credit after being off work for 5 weeks and NatWest have just done this to me leaving me with access to absolutely no money whatsoever wether it be my savings or our universal credit payment.

is this legal? Can they legally deny me access to my own money? How am I actually supposed to feed my children and pay my bills? I don’t know how a bank should be aloud to do this, do they have more powers than the government? 

To clear things up, it was my main account I don’t have another bank with other money in it i have never heard of this happening before so didn’t seem reason to “spread money” as I’m sure many people don’t.

I’m not expecting someone to come and solve this for me just a bit of guidance if anyone has had the same thing happen or knows it isn’t legal, any advice would be much appreciated.

thank you 

xylophone

 
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/natwest-blocked-my-account-without-noticewarnings 
See reply from David Winch (11Jan) which begins
Have they closed your accounts or have they 'frozen' them? There is a difference!

A bank can (and will) 'freeze' all your accounts without warning and without providing any explanation if they suspect 'money laundering'. Such a suspicion may be based on nothing more than unusual activity in your account.
Unfortunately they cannot explain their reasons for that suspicion to you without risk of 'tipping off' (which would be a criminal offence by the bank). That is also why they did not seek any information from you before freezing the accounts.
These matters are usually resolved within a week or two...................

notveryeducated

Yes, it's legal. Unfortunately if they close your account immediately with no notice then they will hold your money for 60 business days. You will soon receive a fund reclaim form in the post from NatWest, send this off ASAP so you can get your money back quicker. 

You need to get your finances reorganised, go and open another bank account (I personally recommend Nationwide or Barclays) and have your salary/universal credits now paid into the new account. Also sort out your direct debits and standing orders (water, gas, broadband, rent).

colsten

 You could also ask your MP for assistance https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons

Tiddles1991

Thank you for your reply’s, I beleive they have closed it. I have been told contradicting story’s from different customer service agents. 

One has told me that it was shut with immediate effect, one has told me it will be shut within 2 weeks. 

Luckily we don’t have many direct debits only insurances i,e life insurance, car insurance etc. 

I will ring again tomorrow and every day after that to ask for updates but tomorrow I will ask for clarification on if it’s frozen or closed. 

I will also be contacting my local mp regarding this and see what he can do if anything,

I appreciate all the replys

Tiddles1991

Just an update,

I have spoken to my local MP who has raised it with their contacts at NatWest, I have also spoken with Stuart Randell the Manager at RBS group chief executive office who has passed it on to his colleagues in the relevant team to respond. I have also emailed Dawna Ewington the NatWest chief executive but still awaiting a reply. 

I have sent an email to Jeff Prestridge the personal finance editor for the mail on Sunday as he wrote a piece on NatWest recently and mentions account closures. 

I have received a letter notifying me I have 14 days to find alternative banking as NatWest have made the decision to not provide me with banking services anymore and issued a funds return form in which I have filled out and taken to my branch. The letter says my funds will be released within 28 to 60 business days.

again this is absolutely disgusting, 60 business days takes me to the end of July to access any of my own money.

If anybody thinks that NatWest need to review this procedure they take then please help by signing this petition and sharing it with as many people as you can. I thought we lived in a country that was innocent until proven guilty and if what everybody is saying is true that NatWest do this to accounts they deem fraudulent or involved with money laundering then why do they get so long to return your money?  they can’t give you a reason as to why it’s closing for risk of “tipping you off”, I’m afraid if you are actually committing fraud or money laundering then closure of your bank as probably enough to tip you off already and you would probably on the next train to Spain not seeking justice and doing everything humanly possible to be able to access your money.

The petition is here. You just need to put http in front of it or if you’ve been a member longer please post the full link.

//chng.it/jQHry7f5y

thank you so much 

Robin9

OK so you have 14 days.   Use the switching service and switch NOW.

Then open a second bank account , similarly with credit cards.

notveryeducated

Robin9 said:

OK so you have 14 days.   Use the switching service and switch NOW.

Then open a second bank account , similarly with credit cards.

He can't. His accounts were immediately blocked, meaning he cannot withdraw money, use his debit card or log into mobile/online banking. The account will be closed in 14 days. The letter also mentions you cannot switch the account as I've seen the generic letter from another person on another thread. 

Tiddles1991

Notveryeducated is correct, no access to funds, no switching service.

Yorkshire_Pud

The rash of NatWest/RBS account closures recently suggests either they have been negligent in the past or they are being over zealous in the present. 

No doubt they have set up a ‘hard hitting’ incentive driven team with quotas to meet to satisfy their sorry existence.

If ever there was story for mse/Martin to cover especially in these covid-19 times of hardship this situation is it?

colsten

Yorkshire_Pud said:

The rash of NatWest/RBS account closures recently suggests either they have been negligent in the past or they are being over zealous in the present. 

There is no evidence that Natwest are closing/locking more accounts than they did before. All we can say with certainty is that

1 - there has been a recent flurry of reports on MSE. I haven’t counted them - were there 4 or 5 over the last week?

2 - the reported cases are a minute percentage of Natwest’s 8m customers

All the rest is speculation.