Nationwide Blocked Me

phillw

cloud_dog said:

I think we might be ignoring the reason why NW felt the need to take action.

If so, NW won't respond to information requests, and are legally not allowed to do so.

There are basically two reasons you get locked out. One is if they think your money is being stolen, the second is if they believe you are involved in some kind of financial crime.

I've been locked out of my accounts a fair few times, however it's always been when transferring money into an account in my own name. I can't say for sure the reason why they blocked the transfers or the account, but in every situation I was given the run around.

However by dogged persistence I have so far got them unblocked in the same day. I usually have to make three calls. The first never gets anywhere but I try to make them give an excuse that I can complain about or put me on hold, which ends up getting dropped. Then the next call I make a complaint about the previous call, this will probably also end with the call being dropped or I'm put in a queue that never gets answered. The third call I then complain about that and then finally they deal with it.

I kinda figure that most criminals put accounts being blocked as a cost of doing business and don't want the extra scrutiny of repeatedly phoning in to complain.

I may of course be entirely wrong and just lucky.

Always be polite and never threaten, even when making complaints you should make it about the banks procedures and training and not about the people. If I catch myself becoming angry, then I apologize immediately. And always tell the truth.

Section62

SevenOfNine said:

If you choose to phone (though for formally complaining I always write, twice with NW & once with NatWest & Barclays).

Always, always, for every phone contact when things are going wrong I don't start off with a formal complaint, but I note the number I've called, date, time, ask & note the name of the person I'm speaking with.

It has proved very helpful to have my ducks in a row on a few occasions (N/W, NatWest & Barclays), particularly when dealing with financial organisations. When they've given me the runaround I can direct them to their phone recordings, every one of them, because things shouldn't have to reach 'formal complaint' stage. 

cloud_dog has made a valid point, the "why" may never be answered (I had that with NatWest, but it was unravelled & compensation paid).

With banks and building societies I've found that most of the time it is better to start the complaint process with a phone call.

CSA's are typically empowered to offer goodwill up to a certain level as a way of closing the complaint down during the first contact.  In the OP's case the complaint will centre around the failure to call them back as promised (NW were probably Ok in holding the payments and with the account blocking, as a normal part of their processes).

If you phone and speak to a CSA to make a complaint they will have immediate access to the call logs/interaction records and would be able to tell from a glance that promises were made which weren't kept.  They will know this is a complaint that will have to be resolved by some form of goodwill... as soon as they accept that the service has been below par it is easier to persuade them that the other things that have gone wrong need looking at more carefully.  One of the advantages of a verbal rather than written complaint is it is possible to establish rapport with the complaint handler and get immediate feedback on whether there is understanding and empathy with your complaint.

With written complaints it is possible for the complaint handler to get the wrong end of the stick or miss important details.  If you start on the wrong foot because the complaint handler doesn't understand what you are complaining about then it becomes difficult to turn things around.

I completely agree with the points about making detailed contemporaneous notes about each and every phone call though.  If the bank/BS don't uphold the complaint then any vagueness about who said what/when will be used by them to wriggle out of the complaint, and if the complaint goes to FOS then the lack of 'evidence' may count against you.

Mark_Lion

They are closed today, so I will phone on Monday.
Writing to Swansea seems time consuming and as Section62 said, if the complaint handler doesn't understand what you are complaining about then it becomes difficult to turn things around.

I do have the NW fraud email address. They replied to my first email. So maybe persistent emails from me might get them moving.

BooJewels

When the initial payment (2nd to this bloke you've known 5 years) was stopped - did you not get a warning through the app telling you to ring them?  I had one recently with another bank as that was the second payment to the same person on consecutive days (beneficiary of a will I'm executing) and I did get a big red exclamation mark in the app and a message to ring their fraud department within 48 hours or my account would be locked.  

So if there was such a warning and you didn't ring in a timely manner, might that be why you were locked out?

Mark_Lion

BooJewels said:

When the initial payment (2nd to this bloke you've known 5 years) was stopped - did you not get a warning through the app telling you to ring them?  I had one recently with another bank as that was the second payment to the same person on consecutive days (beneficiary of a will I'm executing) and I did get a big red exclamation mark in the app and a message to ring their fraud department within 48 hours or my account would be locked.  

So if there was such a warning and you didn't ring in a timely manner, might that be why you were locked out?

I transferred the money using my laptop on NW website. I did not get a warning.
The friend receiving it said several times on whatsapp, he had not received it.
It was a Sunday, so maybe NW were closed.
I then found I had been blocked, then much later found this email from them...

Transaction Monitoring Reference:  WI_0001xxxxxx

 

We need to speak to you about some recent activity on your account ending 089, however due to the time of day we reviewed the activity it was too late to telephone you.

 

Please call our telephone number on 0800 464 3051 option 2 option 1 quoting the following reference number: WI_0001xxxxxx or if you prefer you can attend your local branch.

 

In order to protect your money, we may need to put a temporary block onto your account. While the block is in place, you may not be able to use your card, online banking, or mobile banking. This block could be in place until we can get in contact with you.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transaction Monitoring Team

cloud_dog

phillw said:

cloud_dog said:

I think we might be ignoring the reason why NW felt the need to take action.

If so, NW won't respond to information requests, and are legally not allowed to do so.

There are basically two reasons you get locked out. One is if they think your money is being stolen, the second is if they believe you are involved in some kind of financial crime.

I've been locked out of my accounts a fair few times, however it's always been when transferring money into an account in my own name. I can't say for sure the reason why they blocked the transfers or the account, but in every situation I was given the run around.

However by dogged persistence I have so far got them unblocked in the same day. I usually have to make three calls. The first never gets anywhere but I try to make them give an excuse that I can complain about or put me on hold, which ends up getting dropped. Then the next call I make a complaint about the previous call, this will probably also end with the call being dropped or I'm put in a queue that never gets answered. The third call I then complain about that and then finally they deal with it.

I kinda figure that most criminals put accounts being blocked as a cost of doing business and don't want the extra scrutiny of repeatedly phoning in to complain.

I may of course be entirely wrong and just lucky.

Always be polite and never threaten, even when making complaints you should make it about the banks procedures and training and not about the people. If I catch myself becoming angry, then I apologize immediately. And always tell the truth.

There are others; improper use of the account, for example business transactions within a personal account.  Not saying this is the case here but there are other reasons.

BooJewels

Mark_Lion said:

BooJewels said:

When the initial payment (2nd to this bloke you've known 5 years) was stopped - did you not get a warning through the app telling you to ring them?  I had one recently with another bank as that was the second payment to the same person on consecutive days (beneficiary of a will I'm executing) and I did get a big red exclamation mark in the app and a message to ring their fraud department within 48 hours or my account would be locked.  

So if there was such a warning and you didn't ring in a timely manner, might that be why you were locked out?

I transferred the money using my laptop on NW website. I did not get a warning.
The friend receiving it said several times on whatsapp, he had not received it.
It was a Sunday, so maybe NW were closed.
I then found I had been blocked, then much later found this email from them...

[snipped pasted email content]

If it was a Sunday and you didn't read and respond to the email sent to you in a timely manner, as per the bit I've emboldened, it's possible that it's just a timing matter and you can hopefully resolve it.

grumbler

cloud_dog said:

I think we might be ignoring the reason why NW felt the need to take action.

Do we know the reason?

If so, NW won't respond to information requests, and are legally not allowed to do so.

Only if it's suspected ML.

Swipe

grumbler said:

cloud_dog said:

I think we might be ignoring the reason why NW felt the need to take action.

Do we know the reason?

If so, NW won't respond to information requests, and are legally not allowed to do so.

Only if it's suspected ML.

According to the email posted, it was to protect his account so hopefully he should have it all sorted soon.

Mark_Lion

BooJewels said:

I transferred the money using my laptop on NW website. I did not get a warning.
The friend receiving it said several times on whatsapp, he had not received it.
It was a Sunday, so maybe NW were closed.
I then found I had been blocked, then much later found this email from them...

[snipped pasted email content]

If it was a Sunday and you didn't read and respond to the email sent to you in a timely manner, as per the bit I've emboldened, it's possible that it's just a timing matter and you can hopefully resolve it.

I hope it is a timing thing.
I emailed NW Fraud with the details. NW Fraud have had plenty of time to reply.

grumbler said:

cloud_dog said:

I think we might be ignoring the reason why NW felt the need to take action.

Do we know the reason?

If so, NW won't respond to information requests, and are legally not allowed to do so.

Only if it's suspected ML.

The reason is, I transferred £350 to my friend. Then same day, transferred £600 to him.
He was setting me up in an investment.
NW were trying to protect me from sending money to what they thought is a scammer.
I emailed NW Fraud with the details of my friend and the investment.
The £600 has been returned to my account from NW.
I gave him more money in cash withdrawal from ATM. I have completed my investment payment. I do not need to pay any more.