early withdrawal

mattjacko

i have 3 fixed term accounts with atom bank and i requested that i be able to withdraw whats in the account with the least money to put towards future bills that this living crisis situation will no doubt cause trouble for, they still say they need documents to prove things, am i the only person here that thinks this is absolutely ridiculous on their part? i know they are fixed term accounts but they were opened 3 years ago when things were fine, now the world is how it is and i believe people out there should be able to withdraw early for this without proof

Pompeydave1967

How long did you fix for ?

mattjacko

5 years back in 2019 and 2020, i know when they will finish i dont need telling but i cant ask energy companies etc to let me off for another 2 or 3 years, the living crisis is now 2022 not 2024/2025

artyboy

mattjacko said:

i have 3 fixed term accounts with atom bank and i requested that i be able to withdraw whats in the account with the least money to put towards future bills that this living crisis situation will no doubt cause trouble for, they still say they need documents to prove things, am i the only person here that thinks this is absolutely ridiculous on their part? i know they are fixed term accounts but they were opened 3 years ago when things were fine, now the world is how it is and i believe people out there should be able to withdraw early for this without proof

Unfortunately, what you believe isn't relevant - it's a question of what the terms of the fixed account say. There are usually very few ways that an account can be closed early (death of the account holder being a common one), and financial hardship isn't generally a valid reason. When you opened the account, the information you were provided would have made it very clear that you would not have access.

From what you've written, it sounds like they may be willing to consider your circumstances on a discretionary basis - in which case you are entirely reliant on their goodwill, and I'd suggest you provide whatever they are asking for.

As an aside, part of the reason you get better rates on fixed term accounts is that the bank has the certainty that it has your money to be able to loan out or invest for a fixed period, ie they can make money from doing so. If people could just take their money out for whatever reason, it would break that business model (fixed rate ISAs are an exception because the rules say you have to be able to access your money, but doing so will come with hefty interest penalties)

Pompeydave1967

Agree with artyboy unless extreme circumstances very unlikely they will release your funds.

I’m with Atom as well as I can’t see anything about early release even with a penalty .Same with Shawbrook they are the same. 

mattjacko

i  know the terms and conditions, back in 2019 was russia invading ukraine and causing bills to go up? no they werent, bills were down and prices were manageable and i was perfectly happy with it all, now 2022 russia invaded ukraine causing prices to go crazy

Pompeydave1967

You could certainly express your opinion to the bank direct in writing with the issues you mentioned , you never know they may consider your request or agree something with you.

Pompeydave1967

I do agree that this energy hike is an extreme case and maybe banks could be a bit more lenient with regards to what you are saying . 

Daliah

Are you expecting the banks to take the money back early from the people they lent your money to? 

I echo the suggestions already made: give the banks the documents they have asked you to provide.

ColdIron

By fixing you got an enhanced rate and now want to break the terms of the agreement

How would you feel if the bank broke the the terms of the agreement by halving the rate or returning the money early because their costs increased or their profits were down?

These things work both ways

artyboy

Daliah said:

Are you expecting the banks to take the money back early from the people they lent your money to? 

I echo the suggestions already made: give the banks the documents they have asked you to provide.

Banks will typically be receptive to cases of genuine and extreme financial hardship, there's a mixture of regulation, not wanting bad publicity, and stated 'corporate social responsibility' aims that ensures that door generally stays open - but yes it's very much discretionary...

Although it doesn't help the OP, one thing that might come out of the latest energy crisis is people reassessing the amount of free cash savings they need as a buffer versus how much they feel they are safe to tie up in fixed term accounts. Although that's only relevant to the people that have savings to start with.