Account Closure and Cifas marker

byj5803

Thanks stclair. Read some horror stories online about what banks do after they close the accounts and probably scared myself too much... I will do two more checks in 2021 to be safe though... Thank you.

cymruchris

byj5803 said:

cymruchris said:

Have there been any transactions in or out of the account that would make you feel like they will put a marker in place? Whether or not they are legitimate transactions is another question - but for the moment - is there anything that you suspect might have made them make this decision?

Thanks cymruchris. There have been some gambling transactions (have permanently self-excluded from all bookies now) and money transfer from my parents overseas and my other accounts. 

It's unlikely that those would produce a CIFAS marker as no doubt all the funds from your family would be traceable - it's likely they decided that you no longer fitted the profile of being a customer - possibly linking sums out linked to gambling, and sums back in to replace the funds from overseas. It's good you're working towards keeping off the bookies websites, and that should help 'keep' wherever your next account happens to be. I'd probably take it more as a warning that if you repeated the same behaviour - you might find yourself back to square 1 in a few months. If you feel the urge to go back on a gambling spree - it might be worth looking into professional support to help you through. 

stclair

byj5803 said:

Thanks stclair. Read some horror stories online about what banks do after they close the accounts and probably scared myself too much... I will do two more checks in 2021 to be safe though... Thank you.

You don’t have anything to worry about on the CIFAS front, if it was anything major they would have closed the account immediately. 

byj5803

stclair said:

byj5803 said:

Thanks stclair. Read some horror stories online about what banks do after they close the accounts and probably scared myself too much... I will do two more checks in 2021 to be safe though... Thank you.

You don’t have anything to worry about on the CIFAS front, if it was anything major they would have closed the account immediately. 

Dear all,
I hope you are well and happy new year (albeit a late one). Not sure if I can get good response by responding to an old thread, but I had some quick questions I could use your help with...

60 days after I received the original letter notifying me of the account closure, I have received another letter dated 11 January 2021. At this point, I had already closed my personal account at the end of Dec 2020 and my joint account closed fine on 11 January 2021.

It was a letter from a team called Fraud & Chargeback Operations and they were requesting that I return my debit card immediately, cut in half. Also, they mentioned that "my "current balance" may continue to be repaid under the terms of our agreement, at least the minimum payment amount, as described in your Credit Agreement, until the debt is cleared". Weird thing is that I have no outstanding balance on my now-closed account. I have a money transfer debt with Tesco Credit Card, but no outstanding debt with NatWest whatsoever. My questions are:

1. Is it normal practice for the Fraud & Chargeback Operations team to request me to immediately return my debit card, cut in half, after 60 days' notice?
2. I have actually cut up my debit card and disposed it safely when I closed my current account in December 2020. I will phone them this coming Monday, but would this be a problem?
3. Do you have any idea what NatWest is referring to as my current balance that may be repaid?

Thank you ever so much for your help...

[Deleted User]

1. Yes.
2. Probably not.
3. Any debt that you owe them. If there is no debt, then obviously there is nothing to pay.

byj5803

Deleted_User said:

1. Yes.
2. Probably not.
3. Any debt that you owe them. If there is no debt, then obviously there is nothing to pay.

Thanks a lot @Deleted_User. I think I just panicked when I saw that the letter was from the Fraud & Chargeback Operations. Although assured by others, not quite over that Cifas marker anxiety yet...

Not sure how long they take to close my account down for good, but hoping that day is soon so that I can leave all this behind and start a fresh 2021...

byj5803

Hey @Deleted_User, sorry to bother you, but do you think because the Fraud and Chargeback Operations team sent me the letter, my closure of accounts, albeit with 60 days notice, were triggered by the Cifas markers basis? 

Thank you...

Fighter1986

byj5803 said:

Hey @Deleted_User, sorry to bother you, but do you think because the Fraud and Chargeback Operations team sent me the letter, my closure of accounts, albeit with 60 days notice, were triggered by the Cifas markers basis? 

Thank you...

With the greatest of respect these questions have already been answered.

I appreciate you are anxious but from what you have described your account was closed due to NatWest not wanting custom from someone who gambles with overseas funds, it's not a matter of suspected fraud just a matter of them not liking the choice of transactions.

You have to contact CIFAS to see if you have a marker. I have been subject to CIFAS markers in the past and IME:

1. It results in the immediate closure of accounts, not delayed

2. The markers have been recorded on the CIFAS database within 24 hours of the financial organisations suspicion. They do not delay. If anything is going to be there, it will be there already for you to check.

But seriously, just relax. NatWest did you a favour. Find a better bank. 

byj5803

Thanks a lot @Fighter1986. I’m a worrier and when I saw that the letter was from the Fraud and Chargeback Operations team, not the Account Closure team, I started to panic... Thanks for the reassurance - hope all is well with you...

DCFC79

Any news OP ?