Outrageous Santander closing account without notice or explanation

MattMattMattUK

km1500 said:

It is absolutely wrong that a bank can summarily close an account without any explanation whatsoever.

It may be in their T&C but that doesn't make it right.

Most often the reason where they do not say why is that the account holder has somehow obtained a fraud marker, the amount of people on here who first claim "no reason", the come back asking what CIFAS markers are demonstrates that.

km1500

No problem with them closing an account for fraud. The problem is them not telling you why.

Also there is no right of appeal, so they are judge, jury and executioner.

GenieBoy

ForumUser7 said:

brassbound said:

I should like to bring to your notice what I think is a egregious example of mistreatment by a bank.

I have banked with Santander (in its various iterations and takeovers) firstly as GiroBank, then Midland, then Alliance Leicester, and finally as Santander, since about 1955.

During those nearly seventy years I would claim to have caused the bank no trouble, with accounts always in credit and my credit cards always paid off in full each month. I also used Santander for my business banking until about 2018.  At present there are credit balances, arising from sales of my business and property during recent years.

On 3rd May my wife and I received without warning four identical letters, one for each account. (Not unusually for this bank, they were dated no less than ten days earlier, 24th April!)

---

"We regularly review our customers' accounts and need to let you know that unfortunately we can' offer you banking facilities anymore (sic).

....[then followed Notice of closing on 26th June]..... "Unfortunately we are not able to give you further information about how we made our decision"

---

REDACTED NAME AND POSTCODE

OP, if that’s your full name and postcode they should be removed from your original post.

3. Protect yourself.

Be aware – do not share any personal details and always respect the privacy of others. This makes the Forum safer for everyone.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/forum-faqs/

The name and postcode at the bottom of the letter is Santander, obviously.

molerat

GenieBoy said:

The name and postcode at the bottom of the letter is Santander, obviously.

There is no Santander branch or office at that postcode, it is a purely residential street.

eskbanker

Middle_of_the_Road said:

Seems everyone thinks this kind of treatment is ok. A sad reflection of the times we now live in.
We're just expected to not take it personally, and accept this is the way banks can behave, dismissing years of patronage, with a pathetic standard letter, and that's the end of it.

Unfortunately, this is how things are, and this can happen to anyone, anytime. If it were to happen to you, I wonder if you'll be so understanding and not feel the slightest aggravation. 

Not sure anyone's saying it's OK as such, and no doubt anyone having this happen to them will feel more strongly about it than those who are more detached, but it's obviously only one side of the story that is ever posted on threads like this, and it doesn't seem a particularly likely prospect that Santander just randomly decided to be awkward.  In other words, the fact that they haven't provided the (soon to be ex-) customer with an explanation doesn't mean there isn't one....

Bridlington1

Middle_of_the_Road said:

Seems everyone thinks this kind of treatment is ok. A sad reflection of the times we now live in.
We're just expected to not take it personally, and accept this is the way banks can behave, dismissing years of patronage, with a pathetic standard letter, and that's the end of it.

Unfortunately, this is how things are, and this can happen to anyone, anytime. If it were to happen to you, I wonder if you'll be so understanding and not feel the slightest aggravation. 

You may remember that in March I received 3 letters from each of the LBG banks telling me that they will be closing all my accounts next week.

Although I agree it would be nice if the banks provided some sort of explanation as to why they are closing your accounts, a bank has a right to stop banking with you at any time as you have to stop banking with them. It does mention in the Ts&Cs that the bank can close your accounts subject to the appropriate period of notice. The bank has done this. 

OP. Reading between the lines my suspicion in this case would be Santander suspected you were using your current account for business purposes resulting in them getting slightly rattled but it could be for any number of reasons.

There usually is a reason behind account closures, in my case I strongly suspect it was because I'd opened too many short-lived donor accounts with them in a short period then opened several savings accounts for the YouGov finance points.

Your best bet now would be to switch your current account elsewhere, preferably to somewhere offering a large switching incentive and ensure you have at least one other current account held with a different banking group.

MattMattMattUK

km1500 said:

No problem with them closing an account for fraud. The problem is them not telling you why.

Also there is no right of appeal, so they are judge, jury and executioner.

If it is a fraud marker they are not allowed to tell you specifics, though they will often point those who query it to check with CIFAS.

The fraud process is strictly governed by regulations, one can also appeal based on the facts, but they will not entertain things along the lines of "I didn't realise being a money mule was wrong". Too often people do breach the rules, get a fraud marker then claim that it is "unfair" because they did not realise they were breaking them.

Futuristic

Santander really going down hill for last 2 years, I've had 2 compensation payouts in the last year. You could try raise a complaint but may not go far with the decision to close your account assuming you have nothing left out of your post.

If you have the app you can raise complaint through the live chat where you leave a message and someone will get back to you in a week or so. Might work once logged into the site as well. 

dealyboy

Hi @brassbound (OP) ...
Sorry to read this ... on your first post as well.

Of course this is a setback, a kick in the doodahs, but as you know ... turn it into a positive, see it as an opportunity, you can do better than Santander and make some money from switching those accounts.

After all it's business for Santander, it's nothing personal.

ForumUser7

GenieBoy said:

ForumUser7 said:

brassbound said:

I should like to bring to your notice what I think is a egregious example of mistreatment by a bank.

I have banked with Santander (in its various iterations and takeovers) firstly as GiroBank, then Midland, then Alliance Leicester, and finally as Santander, since about 1955.

During those nearly seventy years I would claim to have caused the bank no trouble, with accounts always in credit and my credit cards always paid off in full each month. I also used Santander for my business banking until about 2018.  At present there are credit balances, arising from sales of my business and property during recent years.

On 3rd May my wife and I received without warning four identical letters, one for each account. (Not unusually for this bank, they were dated no less than ten days earlier, 24th April!)

---

"We regularly review our customers' accounts and need to let you know that unfortunately we can' offer you banking facilities anymore (sic).

....[then followed Notice of closing on 26th June]..... "Unfortunately we are not able to give you further information about how we made our decision"

---

REDACTED NAME AND POSTCODE

OP, if that’s your full name and postcode they should be removed from your original post.

3. Protect yourself.

Be aware – do not share any personal details and always respect the privacy of others. This makes the Forum safer for everyone.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/forum-faqs/

The name and postcode at the bottom of the letter is Santander, obviously.

It isn’t, a quick google shows lots of businesses on companies house which OP appears to be linked to/have been linked to