Metro Bank closed my account - need urgent help

grumbler

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

MattMattMattUK

lhwrandal said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

Possibly it's worth submitting another DSAR to CIFAS and National Hunter in a month or so, to see if anything new has been reported. That said, if you've been honest on your application then I think the chances of any CIFAS markers or the like being registered are slim.

Having just had a look over my old DSAR requests from the time, I see Barclays recorded an inconsistency on my National Hunter file (I disagree, but whatever) and this hasn't caused me any issues elsewhere in the years since.

I wonder why they didn’t decline me right away, but instead opened the account for two days and closed it, and made it sounds like I am committing a fraud here.

Not all the checks give the data to the banks in real time, alternatively something else may have thrown up an inconsistency when going through later verification. Also, have you checked National Hunter as well as CIFAS?

MattMattMattUK

grumbler said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

Regardless of suspected fraud banks can close someone's account and refuse to deal with them whenever they wish, provided they do not do so due to a protected characteristic. Generally you will find that the application process is not concluded for some time after the account is opened, usually whilst full checks take place. 

grumbler

MattMattMattUK said:

grumbler said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

Regardless of suspected fraud banks can close someone's account and refuse to deal with them , provided they do not do so due to a protected characteristic.

I can confess that I have no idea what "due to a protected characteristic " means, but unless it's "suspected fraud" or one of some other listed reasons, they must give a notice well in advance, not just close  "whenever they wish"

Generally you will find that the application process is not concluded for some time after the account is opened, usually whilst full checks take place.

Well, why not just to continue the process indefinitely - how convenient this would be? Of course, for the bank, not for the customer.

MattMattMattUK

grumbler said:

MattMattMattUK said:

grumbler said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

Regardless of suspected fraud banks can close someone's account and refuse to deal with them , provided they do not do so due to a protected characteristic.

I can confess that I have no idea what "due to a protected characteristic " means, but unless it's "suspected fraud" or one of some other listed reasons, they must give a notice well in advance, not just close  "whenever they wish"

Generally you will find that the application process is not concluded for some time after the account is opened, usually whilst full checks take place.

Well, why not just to continue the process indefinitely - how convenient this would be? Of course, for the bank, not for the customer.

Protected characteristics are things like race, religion, gender, disability etc.

They cannot continue it indefinitely, but if for example some full checks take a week to come back, it is entirely reasonable for that to be part of the application process. I think they are faster now, but CIFAS did not used to respond in real time to requests from other financial institutions. I know business banking is different, mostly because actual costs are more transparent, but when I switched my business bank account a few years ago it was made very clear that whilst the account was open, the application was not complete until all checks and ID verification was finished. As everything was in order it only took a week, but if I had dragged my feet with the passport verification etc. it could have taken longer. 

lhwrandal

Again, my application is legitimate, including all my info and documents.  They can rejected me for whatever reason but being accused of suspected fraud is very frustrating.  My CIFAS DASR is clean, and I don’t want them to put my name down in CIFAS because they believe I did something wrong, which I certainly did not.

eskbanker

grumbler said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

As OP says, it was only a couple of days between the account being opened and then being closed quickly before use, so it seems clear that the issue related to the application/opening process:

lhwrandal said:
I wonder why they didn’t decline me right away, but instead opened the account for two days and closed it, and made it sounds like I am committing a fraud here.

To me this implies either a National Hunter application anomaly issue or alternatively a negative response from CIFAS relating to something reported to them by a different institution.

As you say, once the account is fully up and running, there's a higher threshold for immediate closure, such as suspected fraud, whereas closure for less serious reasons requires notice to be given, which will be spelt out in the Ts & Cs.

lindabea

lhwrandal said:

Nothing out of the ordinary.  I moved to my new house in April, and I am already on the electoral roll at my new address.   I immediately transferred a few pounds from my other account to the Metro bank account on 5/7 right after opening just to make sure it works.  Then apparently they served a closure notice on 5/9 due to ‘suspected fraud’.  

I checked CIFAS, it is clean.  My main concern is not about the Metro account as I have other accounts.  I am nervous that Metro Bank will report this account to CIFAS as fraud then I will be in trouble.  Do you think this will likely happen?

OP - Your reference to dates as 5/7 and 5/9 implies an American format; are you by any chance an American citizen.  If so, Metro bank may be doing some further checks after opening your account regarding your tax status.  Perhaps a long shot but quite a possibility.

born_again

grumbler said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

Called Metro Bank then they said it is pending closure due to suspected fraud.

...they're perfectly entitled not to proceed with an account application even if it initially appeared successful....

I just like how easily  banks can bend the rules (T&C) that they wrote themselves.

What application? It was over - nothing not to proceed with. The account was up and running.

Suspected fraud is a different matter and indeed can be a reason for immediate closure.

System approves account. They are then reviewed by a human. Who has picked up something is wrong. Happens all the time. What is odd is that the OP was told why the account was being closed. That is a major bobo...

MattMattMattUK

lindabea said:

lhwrandal said:

Nothing out of the ordinary.  I moved to my new house in April, and I am already on the electoral roll at my new address.   I immediately transferred a few pounds from my other account to the Metro bank account on 5/7 right after opening just to make sure it works.  Then apparently they served a closure notice on 5/9 due to ‘suspected fraud’.  

I checked CIFAS, it is clean.  My main concern is not about the Metro account as I have other accounts.  I am nervous that Metro Bank will report this account to CIFAS as fraud then I will be in trouble.  Do you think this will likely happen?

OP - Your reference to dates as 5/7 and 5/9 implies an American format; are you by any chance an American citizen.  If so, Metro bank may be doing some further checks after opening your account regarding your tax status.  Perhaps a long shot but quite a possibility.

Good spot, it might also mean that residence dates, birth date etc. have been entered incorrectly and so do not match.