National Westminster Bank blocks accounts and can't get to speak to anybody to sort it.

Zellah

Thrugelmir said:

Banks are required to investigate unusual transactions and report as neccessary. Failure to do so leaves them exposed to fines with regards to money laundering activity. Inform your bank in advance if you are expecting a large amount of money. Solves the problem. 

Informing your bank in advance is likely to have zero effect as its the bank's automated system algorithms which decide which payments to flag up. I'm pretty sure no staff member is able to manually override such systems. Otherwise criminals would simply be phoning up their banks in advance and telling them not to block certain fraudulent transfers.

Eco_Miser

eskbanker said:

Eco_Miser said:

Retiredwelshman said:

Eco_Miser said:

Fighter1986 said:

They have a legal obligation to tell her nothing about this, it would be illegal for them to give you any detail whatsoever - as this could be classed as the bank "Tipping Off" if fraud or money laundering were to be discovered.

Which is stupid - any fraudsters or money launderers have been tipped off by the account being blocked.

How>? They are unable to spend it until the bank is happy about its legality.

But they do know that they are under investigation, and may decide to skip town.

Whereas an innocent account-holder is also unable to spend it, but has no idea of what is happening.

I don't see that a simple statement that an account is under investigation for possible illegality is telling a crook anything they wouldn't deduce from the account being blocked, so is no more 'tipping off' than blocking the account is. It would however provide a better explanation for the innocent than the silence or lies they apparently get at the moment.

But the law is what it is, and section 333A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is clear that even disclosure of the existence of an actual or contemplated investigation contributes to the defined offence of tipping off, regardless of opinions about what someone can do with that information or how much can be deduced from an account being blocked:

(3) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person discloses that an investigation into allegations that an offence under this Part has been committed is being contemplated or is being carried out; [...]

The law is indeed what it is, and I would concur in this case with Mr.Pickwick's opinion of the law.

BrownTrout

I had this over a payment less then £20 with Starling (incoming payment) (yes less then £20!) and it took 2 days for it be sorted, all good in the end