Barclays cancelled my card and all direct debits, and they said they’re doing an investigation?

Selina08

Hello people of the MSE forum, 

My card suddenly wasn’t useable and I didn’t receive the usual message of “we have frozen your card”; what’s more, this morning I received emails from companies informing me that my direct debits have been cancelled. 

So I called them just now, luckily being a premier banking customer they picked up the phone almost instantly. The guy on the phone  told me that my card has been cancelled,  they’re conducting an investigation (what does that mean???) and I will hear from them in a couple days. When I asked what was that about, he said cannot disclose any details about the investigation but he advised me not to use my card nor to deposit cash into my account.

So this is actually a bit problematic for me, since I am travelling with family at the moment and most places here are cashless. I was just going to deposit cash into my account today, as I know that my balance is pretty low due to the travel expenses, car rental, hotel bookings, tickets etc. 

I didn’t cancelled anything nor did I make any suspicious transaction from my account (I think). All my other accounts are with banks like Starling, Revolut, Monzo, so it’s not that easy to deposit cash into them. 

I personally worry the most about the “investigation” and why they suddenly cancelled my card, but not my account. But I have heard stories about bank cancelling people’s accounts suddenly so I’m scared that Barclays might do that too. I am their premier banking customer, which sorta means that I do spend a lot monthly so I suppose the sudden large expenses shouldn’t be suspicious? 

Besides that, is it safe to deposit cash into my other accounts? I know that for Starling I can deposit cash via the post office but I have never done that before, which also makes me worried a bit. 

If anyone has any insights on this I’d greatly appreciate it. 

k3lvc

Selina08 said:

So this is actually a bit problematic for me, since I am travelling with family at the moment and most places here are cashless. I was just going to deposit cash into my account today, as I know that my balance is pretty low due to the travel expenses, car rental, hotel bookings, tickets etc. 

I didn’t cancelled anything nor did I make any suspicious transaction from my account (I think). All my other accounts are with banks like Starling, Revolut, Monzo, so it’s not that easy to deposit cash into them. 

 

This flagged immediately - how many is 'all' and have any of those been impacted ?

And for your travel where exactly are you and what sort of cash sums are you depositing ? And where is the cash coming from ? Surely you'd transfer money from another account rather than paying in random cash if travelling ?

Daliah

We can make guesses, such as that large cash deposits might have triggered the investigation, but this might be an entirely wrong guess. Nobody here can tell you why Barclays felt the need to investigate, and Barclays are unlikely to ever tell you, either as they are not permitted to share details of investigations.

Unfortunately, nobody here can help you with any information on how long the investigation might take - it will just take as long as it takes.

Info about Starling cash deposits: https://www.moneyexpert.com/news/starling-bank-introduces-fee-for-customers-depositing-cash-via-the-post-office

Standingstrong

They can investigate and if deemed fit they can forward a SAR onto the NCA (national crime agency )

 they have 7 days to investigate and if they want to continue investigating they can extend it. and if it’s anything dodgy they can forward it onto the authorities. 

I know this sounds cruel but your going to have to wait until the investigation has completed on Barclays side. 

Keep ringing for answers and have they told you you can only withdraw salary or benefits? 

If you do have salary or benefits going in , go to branch with proof and they’ll let you have it there and then 

If they’ve told you that then it’s definitely under “review” as they say 

Standingstrong

And also forgot to add , If anything dodgy has gone on they can close your account immediately and add a CAT6 CIFAS onto your file that stays on there for 6 years. 

So I suggest you do some digging and resolve this asap 

Selina08

k3lvc said:

Selina08 said:

So this is actually a bit problematic for me, since I am travelling with family at the moment and most places here are cashless. I was just going to deposit cash into my account today, as I know that my balance is pretty low due to the travel expenses, car rental, hotel bookings, tickets etc. 

I didn’t cancelled anything nor did I make any suspicious transaction from my account (I think). All my other accounts are with banks like Starling, Revolut, Monzo, so it’s not that easy to deposit cash into them. 

 

This flagged immediately - how many is 'all' and have any of those been impacted ?

And for your travel where exactly are you and what sort of cash sums are you depositing ? And where is the cash coming from ? Surely you'd transfer money from another account rather than paying in random cash if travelling ?

Thank you for your reply. 

I live in London and at the moment I am travelling in Oxford. 

I have one account with each of the banks I’ve mentioned. None of them have any issues at the moment. I found out that Revolut does not accept cash deposit but I can put cash into the Starling account via the post office. 

The cash is from my father, who is visiting me from abroad and has been here for a couple months. The cash is from his income and he has HSBC UK and International accounts. Due to the currency exchange policy of my home country, it is usually much, much easier to just bring cash to your relatives abroad when visiting them. 

It’s quite a large amount of money I admit, but I have confirmed with several Barclays staffs in their branches that it is fine to do so. I didn’t deposit all the cash at once. For this couple months I didn’t receive any alerts or communication from Barclays regarding the deposits being flagged or anything. 

For this trip, I did transfer some money into Revolut from my Barclays account because of the cash back benefits on hotel bookings and some other online purchases. Is that a thing that usually get flagged as suspicious behaviour? 

Selina08

Standingstrong said:

They can investigate and if deemed fit they can forward a SAR onto the NCA (national crime agency )

 they have 7 days to investigate and if they want to continue investigating they can extend it. and if it’s anything dodgy they can forward it onto the authorities. 

I know this sounds cruel but your going to have to wait until the investigation has completed on Barclays side. 

Keep ringing for answers and have they told you you can only withdraw salary or benefits? 

If you do have salary or benefits going in , go to branch with proof and they’ll let you have it there and then 

If they’ve told you that then it’s definitely under “review” as they say 

Thank you for your reply.

It does sound scary to me as I am an international student and don’t want anything to do with being investigated for financial crimes…

 I don’t have salaries nor benefits at the moment. I have been with Barclays for a couple years and they should be quite aware as I have been receiving large sum amount of money either via international transfer or cash deposits to pay for my study and living expenses. ( I know I probably  sound like an entitled spoiled kid, but I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have and my family work hard to provide me for the London student lifestyle.)

I will keep an eye on this and go into a branch to talk with someone regarding this once I return to London. 

eDicky

Selina08 said:

k3lvc said:

Selina08 said:

So this is actually a bit problematic for me, since I am travelling with family at the moment and most places here are cashless. I was just going to deposit cash into my account today, as I know that my balance is pretty low due to the travel expenses, car rental, hotel bookings, tickets etc. 

I didn’t cancelled anything nor did I make any suspicious transaction from my account (I think). All my other accounts are with banks like Starling, Revolut, Monzo, so it’s not that easy to deposit cash into them. 

 

This flagged immediately - how many is 'all' and have any of those been impacted ?

And for your travel where exactly are you and what sort of cash sums are you depositing ? And where is the cash coming from ? Surely you'd transfer money from another account rather than paying in random cash if travelling ?

For this trip, I did transfer some money into Revolut from my Barclays account because of the cash back benefits on hotel bookings and some other online purchases. Is that a thing that usually get flagged as suspicious behaviour? 

Not usually.

Barclays staff may well have told you there's no problem depositing cash, but buildup of frequent deposits are likely to have tripped system algorithms into initiating the block and investigation.

You can also deposit cash into your Monzo account at a PayPoint, I think maximum £300 with a £1 fee.

But is Oxford so cashless these days..?

Standingstrong

Selina08 said:

Thank you for your reply.

It does sound scary to me as I am an international student and don’t want anything to do with being investigated for financial crimes…

 I don’t have salaries nor benefits at the moment. I have been with Barclays for a couple years and they should be quite aware as I have been receiving large sum amount of money either via international transfer or cash deposits to pay for my study and living expenses. ( I know I probably  sound like an entitled spoiled kid, but I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have and my family work hard to provide me for the London student lifestyle.)

I will keep an eye on this and go into a branch to talk with someone regarding this once I return to London. 

No worries. 

Yes it is scary and worrying. I’ve been through this myself.

 Well you must of done something for them to lock your account down and not let you know anything. 

anything dodgy coming in from friends? Anyone asked you to transfer money in? 

Well your stuffed if you don’t have salary or benefits going into that account as they wont let you have none of that money in your account until

A. You tell them and prove where it’s come from. With paper evidence.

B. They investigate whatever has spooked them and unblock all accounts and let you go back to normal banking.

C. Worst comes to the worst they think your dodgy and they Close your account immediately and add a CAT6 CIFAS onto your name which affects banking for 6 years. 

do you have family members what can help you with funds / bills ect until this situation with Barclays is sorted?

no you need to ring them today. Not in your own time as you could be waiting months. Even years. Don’t waste any time. Ring today. And then when your back in london go to branch 

Standingstrong

The more you put your head in the sand and delay ringing them up or going to branch wont get this sorted.

 You need to act now and ask them what do they need so you can get your account unblocked. 

Selina08

Standingstrong said:

The more you put your head in the sand and delay ringing them up or going to branch wont get this sorted.

 You need to act now and ask them what do they need so you can get your account unblocked. 

Thank you… I have already called them today and they informed me about the investigation. 

Should I call them again or just go into a branch and speak to someone tomorrow