Urgent- Santander closed my account

cymruchris

eskbanker said:

cymruchris said:

OP - From where did you apply for the Santander account?

It may very well be that even if it was opened while in the UK - the app logins/transactions could have indicated that you weren't actually living in the UK - and that could be the trigger that's closed it. But to be fair, we're all second guessing.

You seem to spend a lot of time abroad - is the UK your primary or secondary home?

Both questions answered earlier:

lhwrandal said:

eskbanker said:

lhwrandal said:

I then opened a current account last week so I can pay my card easier. 

[...]

I am traveling in Asia now

Were you already abroad when you opened this account?  That wouldn't necessarily be an issue in itself, but on top of opening multiple other accounts recently might have raised suspicions....

Yes I was aboard when I opened the current account.  But I am a resident in UK, just traveling now.

I missed the point where the OP had mentioned being abroad - so it looks like it's the same thing over again.

The secondary question still remains though - they may be a resident, as in they have an address and are on the electoral roll, but it may not be their primary residence. It could be that they spend 11 months out of every 12 in another country, which is in fact their primary residence. If that was the case, it may have an impact on how UK financial institutions manage their accounts. If accounts are opened from country X, then accessed regularly from country X, and any transactions are carried out in country X - then they might take the view that the UK isn't their primary residence potentially?

These days more and more 'data' is used to analyse things - a few years ago it probably wouldn't have been monitored/noticed, but do wonder as we progress in the digital age whether people who do have multiple bases will have greater difficulty persuading banks that they are in fact a UK resident. 

lhwrandal

I am usually out of the country for about 5-6 months in a year due to business needs.  The definition of residence in the UK is not to be outside of UK for more than 185 days in a year, which does not apply in my case.   The other one is the tax residence status- only pay tax in the UK, which applies here.  I only do my banking in the UK, and there isn’t a term in the TC saying that the applicant cannot apply for financial services while overseas.  I did have a similar issue with Metrobank (which although resolved, I decided not to bank with them) but Santander is more international and I have checked their TC beforehand.  I applied for their service because they offer a card with no foreign exchange rate which could save me a lot when making transactions overseas.

Hope this clarifies the situation.

etienneg

OP,

You say there's nothing in the T&Cs saying that you cannot apply from abroad. That may well be true. But neither will there be anything that says they cannot refuse to open an account, or that they cannot close one already opened, without having to give you a reason.

We have heard on this forum instances of account closures where the most likely reason is gambling transactions or crypto currency transactions. And the poster will plead that these aren't illegal. Well, no, they're not, but they do tend to spook banks.

I would suggest that you stop looking from the point of view of what YOU think should be allowed (because it isn't specifically excluded), particularly as we have learned that this has happened to you before.

Next time you are in the UK for a reasonable time, set up whatever accounts you want and use them whilst in the UK. Then, when you go abroad, transactions will probably be seen in the context of travel rather than suspect residence abroad. It's all about probabilities, not certainties. For your own sake, look at it from the point of view of the bank and what is least likely to spook them.

cymruchris

etienneg said:

OP,

Next time you are in the UK for a reasonable time, set up whatever accounts you want and use them whilst in the UK. Then, when you go abroad, transactions will probably be seen in the context of travel rather than suspect residence abroad. It's all about probabilities, not certainties. For your own sake, look at it from the point of view of the bank and what is least likely to spook them.

As this thread evolves, and having seen the fact it's a repeat scenario of a previous application - I'd go along with this. I don't think any of us will get to the ACTUAL reason as to why they've done what they've done, but as a best guess, I would go with the fact that you weren't in the UK at application, and haven't been so since opening. They've likely considered you as a non-valid application as a result. (Not a customer they want). And as much as you do satisfy the residency criteria now that you've kindly clarified it, it's still something I'd be wary of when opening future accounts.

lhwrandal

cymruchris said:

etienneg said:

OP,

Next time you are in the UK for a reasonable time, set up whatever accounts you want and use them whilst in the UK. Then, when you go abroad, transactions will probably be seen in the context of travel rather than suspect residence abroad. It's all about probabilities, not certainties. For your own sake, look at it from the point of view of the bank and what is least likely to spook them.

As this thread evolves, and having seen the fact it's a repeat scenario of a previous application - I'd go along with this. I don't think any of us will get to the ACTUAL reason as to why they've done what they've done, but as a best guess, I would go with the fact that you weren't in the UK at application, and haven't been so since opening. They've likely considered you as a non-valid application as a result. (Not a customer they want). And as much as you do satisfy the residency criteria now that you've kindly clarified it, it's still something I'd be wary of when opening future accounts.

Thanks.  I am thinking to send them a letter to at least clarify my situation.  I don’t want then to blacklist me.  Do you think this is necessary?

eskbanker

lhwrandal said:
I am thinking to send them a letter to at least clarify my situation.  I don’t want then to blacklist me.  Do you think this is necessary?

I don't see any value in writing to them, they've made their decision and IMHO are highly unlikely to do anything else - if by 'blacklist' you're fearing that they could cause you future problems with other institutions, you could check with the likes of CIFAS and National Hunter that they haven't triggered any markers there, but, as mentioned earlier, there's nothing inherently wrong with applying when abroad, so it's not something notifiable in the way that fraudulent activity would be.