co-operatve bank has taken my life savings

jim170175

I was trying to invest my life savings into Crypto, which is legal for me to do so; I know and understand the risks involved. I have 2 bank accounts. The main one being a Barclays account and a Co-op account. Barclays will not allow you to add funds to any crypto account via account or credit card. So i used my basically unused co-op account that was setup probably 10 years ago as a gambling account for williamhill, coral etc etc.

My circumstances changed (I became ill and on and off have been ever since) so the account never really got any transactions. Fast forward to now, I deposited £4000 into the account via the post office with Cash that i have been saving for years (funnily enough I’ve never trusted banks, hence why it was under the bed). I checked the web and it seemed that co-op would let me deposit into a crypto account. Co-op proceeded to block all transactions, in fact i cannot even log into my online account. They had already transferred the money out of the account. They wanted proof of where the cash came from. How do i prove cash came from under the bed savings for ten plus years? I cannot and so, I believe they are investigating me. Because of several things A) I’m on sickness benefit (I’m entitled to have £6000 before I need to declare it) deposited a large cash sum in cash (I researched that £4000 is under the limit) for automatic red flag transactions c) trying to put the money into a crypto account.

I have broken no laws by either saving cash, actually having the money or depositing it into an account to transfer to crypto. And yet here I am unable to get my money (I’m fine with them not transferring it into crypto) at this point in time I wish to take out my money and close the account, because they have treated me appallingly .

I totally understand they are within their rights to question where the cash came from, As I cannot prove ten + years of saving, can anyone suggest my next move?

Will I get a police visit? Will the DWP get a letter, legally can I do anything? I was told to inform the police of theft by a common law friend? Will that help?

Do they literally just want a receipt made out for the cash?

As I cannot prove the money isn’t legit, is that it? Have they literally got away with theft of my savings?

I’m so flipping angry and scared that I have no idea where to turn. As I’ve said the money is legally life savings and an amount that I can legally have, and what I was trying to do (invest in crypto) is legal. I’m just smashing my head against a corporate wall.

Any advice would be greatly welcomed. Thank you

[Deleted User]

jim170175 said:

As I cannot prove the money isn’t legit, is that it? Have they literally got away with theft of my savings?

No, of course not.

They're bound by regulation not to turn a blind eye to potentially criminal behaviour - and dropping a bag full of notes into a bank and then trying to convert it to crypto is high on the 'what's this fella up to?' scale.

Ignore the friend who told you to report it to the police as theft. He clearly has his own issues to deal with.

Explain to the Co-op where the cash came from (cash in hand job, gifts, whatever the truth is) and let them complete their investigations. 

jim170175

are they really going to make me account for every single penny? which is frankly ludicrous and unacheivable. Don't suppose you know how long investigations take do you?

thanks also

TheMilkmansDad

jim170175 said:

are they really going to make me account for every single penny?  No - just tell them where (in general) it came from. If they want more details they'll ask/follow up.

which is frankly ludicrous and unacheivable. Don't suppose you know how long investigations take do you? Investigations usually are a lot quicker when fully cooperating on both parties - better of asking them how long they think it'll take,

thanks also

see comments above

[Deleted User]

No, they don't need you to account for every penny. They just want a plausible reason for why you have so much cash.

The investigation will take as long as it takes, as all cases are different.

jim170175

ok thankyou, much appreciated, I never realised how horrible the banks are to deal with. i will update this thread with details as and when in case anybody else finds themselves in this situation

The_Fat_Controller

Hardly surprising that this has been flagged for attention.

Unused account suddenly has £4000 deposited in cash and immediately trying to use it for what is seen as a risky transaction.

You may need to show that you have been withdrawing cash from your Barclays account in cash to put aside.

Best of luck.

jim170175

again thanks. i can show that i have been withdrawing cash from barclays account. being naive is a dumb mistake i'll never make again. its bloody terrifying to think this does happen though. After doing some reading, I'm not suprised they flagged this either, wish I'd have done that research earlier, having avoided banks as much as i could, i would have saved myself a lot of grief.

Ed-1

jim170175 said:
Investigations usually are a lot quicker when fully cooperating on both parties - better of asking them how long they think it'll take,

Best hope the Cooperative live up to their name then.

[Deleted User]

RBS allowed me to send cash to Crypto.com via faster payments. 

I would perhaps look at Revolut once you get the money back. 

jimjames

jim170175 said:

again thanks. i can show that i have been withdrawing cash from barclays account. being naive is a dumb mistake i'll never make again. its bloody terrifying to think this does happen though. After doing some reading, I'm not suprised they flagged this either, wish I'd have done that research earlier, having avoided banks as much as i could, i would have saved myself a lot of grief.

It's not really terrifying although it's obviously not very convenient for you, it would be more worrying that banks allowed possible fraud (as their systems see it) to happen without any checks.