HSBC has frozen all my accounts - high earner left penniless

grumbler

ent_moot said:

gt94sss2 said:

Regardless, HSBC are not allowed to tell you why it happened or how long it will take to resolve.

.... we must have some incredibly poorly thought-out legislation....

We do. Why does this not surprise me?

pridehappy

This is really disappointing in HSBC and I don’t blame you for moving to Lloyds (although hint, they aren’t much better). I’d always recommend having multiple current accounts if you don’t like credit cards in future, as it means in a case like this you have an alternative method of payment. Same as spreading savings out across providers. There’s not really much you can do other than wait for HSBC, although they do need to eventually give you your money back by law unless you actually have committed fraud, although there’s no limit on how long it can take.

Grumpy_chap

adamp87 said:

In the case for this thread, it seems very over the top to freeze the entire account (and one of these reasons advice is always to not have all money in one bank just in case) and they should surely allow withdrawals whilst they investigate for rent/food and such in the meantime at the very least. 

IftiBashir said:

Its good that the bank freezes an account when it senses fraud, but they should have some kind of system in place whereby someone's life isn't placed on hold while they investigate - even if it means physically going into a branch with your passport, or other such ID, so that certain direct debits, payments, or incoming's could be authorised......

I'm really not sure how that would be administered.

I absolutely understand the massive inconvenience of having the account frozen and the impact this has on everything.   The bank sees some activity that flags for whatever reason as being potentially suspicious.   The bank cannot say anything, though, in case it let's an individual inform their network of what is happening.  Even when the individual who had the account frozen is entirely innocent, they could pass on a comment to someone they think is entirely unrelated to the matter.

You can absolutely imagine the tabloid headlines if a bank flagged and blocked an account, but allowed the account holder to withdraw just enough funds to flee to some random country where they are now beyond the reach of the law but it turned out the individual was the top crime-lord of the century.

If there is any movement in these procedures, I can only imagine it will be to something more stringent.  Possibly something that links across institutions in some way.

From speaking with my friend who is a Police Officer, he often comments on how absolutely normal people are that are involved in underhand activities.

[Deleted User]

As many have said, it's good to have multiple accounts. In addition some cash at home to last you a few weeks. And to not have a credit card is a hole in your financial security. All banks are the same, if you make the same transfers from lloyds they will do the same.

ent_moot

>>All banks are the same, if you make the same transfers from lloyds they will do the same.

I don't believe this. The inefficiency would be immense. Given the theory of six degrees of freedom, everything would grind to a halt pretty quickly if banks froze every bank account with a tenuous link to a suspected fraudster. 

We have approximately 25 million dogs or cats in the UK, with (I estimate) more than 1.5 million pet purchases each year, plus 7.5 million used cars are sold each year. 

How have I never heard of this (frozen bank accounts) being a thing before? 

gt94sss2

ent_moot said:

How have I never heard of this (frozen bank accounts) being a thing before? 

The National Crime Agency receives over 460,000 Suspicious Activity Reports each year.

See https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/money-laundering-and-illicit-finance/suspicious-activity-reports

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/money-laundering-regulations-report-suspicious-activities

Banks are also hit with very large fines when they fail to follow the rules: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/2021-fines

[Deleted User]

ent_moot said:

>>All banks are the same, if you make the same transfers from lloyds they will do the same.

I don't believe this. The inefficiency would be immense. Given the theory of six degrees of freedom, everything would grind to a halt pretty quickly if banks froze every bank account with a tenuous link to a suspected fraudster. 

We have approximately 25 million dogs or cats in the UK, with (I estimate) more than 1.5 million pet purchases each year, plus 7.5 million used cars are sold each year. 

How have I never heard of this (frozen bank accounts) being a thing before? 

I should hope if someone sends money to a fraudster it would result in a check on the account, the time and delays it takes put aside.

It is a fact as all banks are required to follow the same UK regulations. Their interpretation may be ever so slightly different, but at the end of the day, most follow the same principles. Sending money to a fraudster should result in some kind of response.

But you have heard of it, you are reading this thread, threads which are almost daily. And most people don't come and post on MSE.

grumbler

ent_moot said:

 The inefficiency would be immense. ...   everything would grind to a halt pretty quickly 

It's going in this direction - and very fast. However our authorities have more importamt things to work on, e.g. Partygate.

How have I never heard of this (frozen bank accounts) being a thing before? 

Welcome to the club. That said, I've never had my accounts frozen (knoking on wood).

Spaceace

born_again said:

ent_moot said:

gt94sss2 said:

Regardless, HSBC are not allowed to tell you why it happened or how long it will take to resolve.

Does anyone know what the legislation actually says? Either we must have some incredibly poorly thought-out legislation, or the banks have implemented it poorly.

Tipping off, is the phrase.

You are not allowed to even hint at any issues. Any employee caught can face the sack, a large fine & up to 5 years at HM pleasure.

The irony is that anyone involved in nefarious activities would be well and truly tipped off by having their account frozen with one bank and would be readily able to warn any accomplices or take action on accounts with other institutions.

The Tipping Off rule seems to unfairly impact 'innocent' parties who would likely welcome the opportunity to explain any concerning transactions rather than having their financial world suddenly thrown into turmoil for an indefinite time.

But, of course, we are where we are....

Marchitiello

ent_moot said:

>>All banks are the same, if you make the same transfers from lloyds they will do the same.

I don't believe this. The inefficiency would be immense. Given the theory of six degrees of freedom, everything would grind to a halt pretty quickly if banks froze every bank account with a tenuous link to a suspected fraudster. 

We have approximately 25 million dogs or cats in the UK, with (I estimate) more than 1.5 million pet purchases each year, plus 7.5 million used cars are sold each year. 

How have I never heard of this (frozen bank accounts) being a thing before? 

I believe Lloyds Banking Group has had the highest amount of reports for account suspension and actually closing without explanation, reported on these pages…