EBay managed payments may have caused my bank accounts to be closed

Rotti

I have banked with HSBC for 48 years and been on eBay for 18 years with no problems.  Paypal processed payments until I was forced into eBay managed payments 6 months ago and the payments were diverted to the bank.  I wondered at the time if the banks might kick off at small payments suddenly pouring into sellers' bank accounts and know of some people who were not willing to allow eBay access as they have the right to take money back for refunds if necessary.  As we are selling things from the house that we no longer need and thinning down collections, we use eBay and enjoy the selling experience but today both received letters from HSBC telling us our accounts and credit cards were being closed in 2 months!  No discussion and no reason given, a fait accompli leaving us as pensioners in a pandemic to sort out the ensuing mess apparently with no right of appeal.  We are being turned down for credit cards on pre-checkers due to low income and cannot find another account to suit us as we are not into using apps and bank on desktops.  I have been on the phone to the bank but they are not able to help until the review team are in work on Monday. My husband's bank is linked to the eBay and Paypal accounts and he had an extra paragraph in his letter saying "Third party access to your account has been removed" which presumably means eBay and Paypal but I have no way of knowing.  If they have removed Paypal access then we have no backup payment method if the balance drops so this will also cause problems.  I wonder how many others have had this happen?

RFW

I don't really understand what has gone on here with the bank. Whether the bank decide to allow your account to continue or not I'd be very concerned that someone you've had a relationship with for nearly 50 years would just toss you aside on an apparent whim.

You have a legal right to a bank account irrespective of your status. So have a look at this on basic bank accounts on this site. Of those I'd probably pick Santander or Co-op, whichever has the closest branch. That said, you should be able to do most of it online. You shouldn't need one of the paid for accounts mentioned. If you have one of those banks nearby and can get out I'd go in and tell them the story and get their help. Failing that you can do it online. 

What I'd do is open the basic bank account and then open a savings account with the same bank. You can then use that to put all the Ebay payments in. You will get a debit card with the bank account that you can link to Ebay/Paypal.
I'd consider reporting your original bank to the banking ombudsman.

Rotti

RFW said:

I don't really understand what has gone on here with the bank. Whether the bank decide to allow your account to continue or not I'd be very concerned that someone you've had a relationship with for nearly 50 years would just toss you aside on an apparent whim.

It's really frustrating and we have no idea what would have done it to both accounts at the same time.  I have written to the CEO, copied to my MP and the FCA and hope to get a call in the morning to explain their actions.   The only thing that's changed recently is the eBay managed payments going in so it is top of my list of reasons.  There are 12 reasons for closing an account in their T&Cs but none of them fit.  I called Paypal regarding the third party access and they would not be notified so the first they would know about it would be if the balance dropped below zero and we tried to use either of our backup payment methods which have already been removed according to the letter.  Loyalty counts for nothing these days and the the "Listening Bank" is definitely dead and buried!  I may decide to go elsewhere eventually anyway after this but at a time of MY choosing and without the stress this is causing us!  So far no luck with any other credit card provider even without stating a limit as I have no credit history to speak of, old school, always lived within my means, no overdraft or loans.  Looking around at accounts the Bank of Scotland looks pretty good but I really would like a local branch like I have now, plus they turned me down for a card.  Having been shielding for almost 2 years due to COPD and totally reliant on online shopping, himself broke a shoulder last year and we lost the dog, so we really don't need to start 2022 this way.

MrFrugalFever

Sorry to hear of your troubles and if it genuinely is just relating to the eBay managed payments process then I would certainly create a big enough fuss to get heard loud and clear - 48 years with the same bank is no small achievement.

At the risk of sounding curt, perhaps it’s time to join the 2022 online revolution and start desktop/app banking. Personally, I would never want to step foot in a physical bank building again unless absolutely necessary.

soolin

I’m not convinced that managed payments have anything to do with it otherwise all the various forums would be flooded with sellers who have lost HSBC accounts, 2 of my managed payment accounts pay into an HSBC account with no issue.

You imply you are a private seller, are you perhaps taking a lot of money into your account via managed payments, enough to make HSBC think you are a business and therefore misusing your account? 

Rotti

You imply you are a private seller, are you perhaps taking a lot of money into your account via managed payments, enough to make HSBC think you are a business and therefore misusing your account? 

No implication - I am a private seller thinning out CDs, kitchen stuff, books and all the other accumulated stuff we no longer need.  I am selling less gradually as it dwindles but maybe the bank just don't like eBay having access to the accounts?  None of it is high priced and eBay is getting so bad these days I am getting more interest on Facebook locally so there are no fees or packing.  Various measures brought in over the years and an increase in dodgy Chinese sellers have driven people away from the site so the buyers are not there like they used to be.  There is no way anyone could look at the activity and think we are a business.  There seem to be a lot of people around with similar problems, not only with HSBC, but I was kicked off the boards 10 years ago for a very minor infraction so can't even see what others are saying about it.  There seems to be quite a bit on Google though and I have a friend looking around on the boards.  If it does turn out to be down to eBay then although I enjoy selling having had my own shop for years, I will dump it and find another hobby and the local charity shops will do well.  

Rotti

At the risk of sounding curt, perhaps it’s time to join the 2022 online revolution and start desktop/app banking. Personally, I would never want to step foot in a physical bank building again unless absolutely necessary.

We've been banking online for years but having a branch close is handy sometimes and there is still one in our little market town if we need to see the lovely manager Mary for anything.  We haven't set foot inside anywhere for almost 2 years due to ill health and do absolutely everything online with everything delivered and collected, but on a desktop with good security, would never do anything important on the phone and dislike apps. We're lucky we have fibre but in the depths of the countryside online banking is not a luxury available to all due to poor broadband provision so many rely on the branch, especially the older people.  The more customers they lose the less viable they become so I will try to get Mary in on it tomorrow to see if she can find anything out from her end.  

tomvox

Rotti said:

At the risk of sounding curt, perhaps it’s time to join the 2022 online revolution and start desktop/app banking. Personally, I would never want to step foot in a physical bank building again unless absolutely necessary.

We've been banking online for years but having a branch close is handy sometimes and there is still one in our little market town if we need to see the lovely manager Mary for anything.  .................. The more customers they lose the less viable they become so I will try to get Mary in on it tomorrow to see if she can find anything out from her end.  

As it appears that you have a good relationship with your local branch manager then this would be my first point of contact. They will know the internal systems much better and will be better placed to get the situation resolved. I hope they can resolve the situation to your satisfaction.

martindow

Could the ebay payments be a red herring?  Have either of you sent to or received a payment from a country that might ring alarm bells?  There have been stories of people having their accounts frozen because of quite innocent payments.

This one in the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/23/lloyds-froze-bank-account-of-charity-that-helps-poor-students

relates to a charity that had their funds frozen after sending a payment to Zimbabwe.

If banks are found to be complicit in sanctions busting or money laundering they face huge fines.  It seems that some are closing accounts where something has triggered an alarm rather than investigating.

Rotti

tomvox said:

As it appears that you have a good relationship with your local branch manager then this would be my first point of contact. They will know the internal systems much better and will be better placed to get the situation resolved. I hope they can resolve the situation to your satisfaction.

I tried but the only phone number available is the generic customer service number and to get past them to anywhere you have to have a telephone banking number which we have never set up!  Getting past the initial jobsworths to any other team or person is just about impossible!  

jon81uk

What sort of value have you been selling on eBay? I think anything under £100-200 a month wouldn't even be noticed by the bank. But if it went on for a while and you got over a few thousand a year it could look like business activity.
If you didn't want lots of small payments you could have turned on weekly payouts with eBay so you only receive one lump sum on a Tuesday. That would basically be the same as previously with regular withdrawels from PayPal.
I took money out of PayPal once a week so weekly payouts are similar. But then my total selling is only a few hundred a year clearing out stuff.