Bank closed my £9k account until further notice, with my uni loan in there. Please help!

aqeeb

Bank closed account and retained funds until further notice with university loan, please help or advise

I’ve decided to come on here and just explain everything that has happened for help or advice. I’m 18 years old and started my first year at university. I provide an online course which is how I make my money, I’ve been doing this for about a year now, I’m also self employed and registered with HMRC, when making my bank account I also put in I’m self employed. 

So on the 14th of October 2020, I logged into my banking app and seen that my account was frozen, the only reason why I logged in was to check if I received a payment from my client who purchased the service that I offer. Now I didn’t expect this freeze on my account. 

So I decided to contact my bank via email and didn’t get no response from the customer service. I read on the website that when my account gets frozen I receive an email explaining the status of my account which I didn’t receive nothing for a week. I decided to then put a formal complaint in because I literally have no access to funds, to purchase essential items for university to carry on my studies. I’ve literally been left just like that with no guidance or help. 

I received an email from the customer care manager for my phone number so the head of complaints can contact me. I got a call on Saturday 24th October and I explained the situation and obviously she just told me that the compliance department was going through my case. I was also told that I can’t accept payments into my bank as a business BUT I’m self employed and haven’t registered as a business so this was pretty confusing. 

Following the phone call, on the same day I received an email from the head of complaints to explain everything which she said on the call, she also said that the compliance department will write to me within 15 days for a response which should settle the matter and she also stated it can take 35 days if needed be, so today I received an email from my bank, it said that my account would be closed immediately due to allegations of recent fraud activity, That my funds in my account will be frozen and will be retained until further notice. 

Now if I’m being totally honest I haven’t dealt with any fraud activity, I’ve just received payments from people who have purchased my service and nothing else, the only thing that leaves my bank account is just direct debit‘s and my mobile phone top up. I can obviously prove everything with regards to money coming in with receipts and invoices etc. 

Now I just need help and advice about what will happen to my funds because I don’t know what else I can do and I’ve been affected so much, I’ve read online that they can’t just keep your money or close your account with money in it, are they doing an investigation before they release anything??

Like since the account has been frozen, I’ve had no access to funds, I can’t purchase any software for my university degree, I’ve been thinking so much about it that it’s affecting my mental health and I can’t get any sleep because it’s on my mind. I’ve had no decent contact from my bank to explain anything, each time I contact my bank I just get the same message from the customer service, When you email the customer service they take two days to respond to you which makes it even worse. We’re in a pandemic and literally it’s the worst possible timing as I’m also clinically vulnerable  

Honestly, any help or any guidance will be appreciated because I’m really, really stuck and just need some kind of reassurance

Yahoo_Mail

You should not use a personal bank account for business purposes and I'm guessing that's what you were doing. And there's a non-zero chance that one of your clients claimed fraud.

You'll get the money back eventually.  Next time use a business account for your business and a personal one for your personal transactions.

penners324

Get new accounts set up with another bank ASAP. Including a business account.
And you've been using a personal account for business use which is why it's been frozen.

colsten

Do not use your personal account for business purposes

[Deleted User]

This very scenario is happening such a lot these days, why is this ?????
Is it the same poster under multiple guises or are more people naive in the world of money - be it personal or business ?
I'm not making criticisms (for once 😉 ) but genuinely in amazement.

DCFC79

Yes OP the bank will be doing an investigation, they will get Big chris onto it who look into every part of your life, the real nitty gritty stuff.

No they wont do that but account closure is possible. Why did you not have a business account for the self employed work ?

NottinghamKnight

Banks are scrutinising accounts in more detail, and people who have happily used personal accounts for business, often for years, are now being caught up with and accounts closed. 

Zellah

aqeeb said:

 I was also told that I can’t accept payments into my bank as a business BUT I’m self employed and haven’t registered as a business so this was pretty confusing. 

Errrr being self employed DOES mean you're running a business. Nothing to be confused about. Next time use a business account for your business dealings, otherwise you'll end up in the same position again.

Dr_Crypto

The fraud stuff means I wonder if a disgruntled client has claimed your course is in some way fraudulent and made a complaint via their bank? 

YorkshireBoy

aqeeb said:

I received an email from the customer care manager for my phone number so the head of complaints can contact me. I got a call on Saturday 24th October and I explained the situation and obviously she just told me that the compliance department was going through my case. I was also told that I can’t accept payments into my bank as a business BUT I’m self employed and haven’t registered as a business so this was pretty confusing. 

Following the phone call, on the same day I received an email from the head of complaints to explain everything which she said on the call, she also said that the compliance department will write to me within 15 days for a response which should settle the matter and she also stated it can take 35 days if needed be, so today I received an email from my bank, it said that my account would be closed immediately due to allegations of recent fraud activity, That my funds in my account will be frozen and will be retained until further notice. 

Did you mean to publish your story next week?

Penguin_

Am I the only one who wants to know what service OP offers?