KYC Santander

RG2015

TheBanker said:

RG2015 said:

TheBanker said:

BooJewels said:

The most glaring issue to me (assuming that there aren't loads of other details you've not included) is that your rental income is seen as a business transaction and Santander's terms explicitly state in point 2.1 on page 8:  "You must not use the account for business purposes."  It seems that a lot of the requested documents related to this rental property.  They usually charge a £12.50 monthly fee for businesses so by putting business transactions through a personal account, that's how much you're avoiding paying.

I don't know how exactly Santander work, but no bank I've worked for would have blocked an account for this. Initially the customer would have been contacted to explain it was not allowed, and invited to open a business account if appropriate. If they still continued to use their personal account for business purposes, then they would be given notice to close. 

It was not blocked at the time of the original post. This appears to have happened 7 days later.

I know. I was replying to BooJewels who suggested the block was due to using the account for business purposes. I was saying in my non-Santander experience, this wouldn't result in a block. It would result in a request to stop doing it (which the OP hasn't mentioned), followed by an account closure notice. No need to block the account as it is not unlawful to use the account in this way, it's a breach of contract. 

I would suggest the block is because either the bank has not received all the information they asked for, or they have received it and have some concerns about what's been provided.

How are these rental payments being made? Are they direct from the tennant's personal account, coming from a lettings agency, cash deposits? And is there just one monthly payment, or are there multiple payments each month?

Hypothetically, let’s say it was about business banking and over 21 days and Santander felt they were being uncooperative. Would you still have expected Santander to be more open in their communications with the op rather than blocking the account without explanation?

BooJewels

I've no direct experience of this with any bank, but there have been a number of threads on here over time, where accounts were blocked and business transactions were the only identifiable factor.  I did have a comment in initially contemplating why they hadn't therefore invited the OP to open a business account for those transactions, but edited it out.  Hopefully the OP will keep us updated.

TheBanker

RG2015 said:

TheBanker said:

RG2015 said:

TheBanker said:

BooJewels said:

The most glaring issue to me (assuming that there aren't loads of other details you've not included) is that your rental income is seen as a business transaction and Santander's terms explicitly state in point 2.1 on page 8:  "You must not use the account for business purposes."  It seems that a lot of the requested documents related to this rental property.  They usually charge a £12.50 monthly fee for businesses so by putting business transactions through a personal account, that's how much you're avoiding paying.

I don't know how exactly Santander work, but no bank I've worked for would have blocked an account for this. Initially the customer would have been contacted to explain it was not allowed, and invited to open a business account if appropriate. If they still continued to use their personal account for business purposes, then they would be given notice to close. 

It was not blocked at the time of the original post. This appears to have happened 7 days later.

I know. I was replying to BooJewels who suggested the block was due to using the account for business purposes. I was saying in my non-Santander experience, this wouldn't result in a block. It would result in a request to stop doing it (which the OP hasn't mentioned), followed by an account closure notice. No need to block the account as it is not unlawful to use the account in this way, it's a breach of contract. 

I would suggest the block is because either the bank has not received all the information they asked for, or they have received it and have some concerns about what's been provided.

How are these rental payments being made? Are they direct from the tennant's personal account, coming from a lettings agency, cash deposits? And is there just one monthly payment, or are there multiple payments each month?

Hypothetically, let’s say it was about business banking and over 21 days and Santander felt they were being uncooperative. Would you still have expected Santander to be more open in their communications with the op rather than blocking the account without explanation?

If Santander's only concern was that the OP was using a personal account for business purposes, and therefore breaching the terms of the account, I would expect them to have told the OP, so that the OP could make other arrangements for his business banking. There is no legal risk to Santander from someone using an account in this way, it is a commercial matter. If the customer continiued to breach the terms of their account then I would expect a notice of closure to be issued. There would be no reason to block the account, and no reason not to tell the customer what the problem is. And such a concern wouldn't have needed sight of documents such as rental agreements.

I am not familiar with Santander's procedures but I am familier with how these things work in other banks. The fact that Santander asked for documents implies that something linked to the rental payments has triggered their interest. The fact they have applied a block after the OP says they submitted the information suggests that either the information wasn't received, wasn't what was asked for, or has caused additional concerns to Santander.

BooJewels

I only mentioned the business/rental payments, as whilst the response by Santander might be extreme for that particular transgression (if that's indeed the case), it is the only thing posted that is clearly against their terms - which do say that they can close your account, with or without specified notice for breaching their terms.  I think it also said without notice for a 'serious' breach and something about 'not remedying issues they'd brought to your attention within a specified time frame'.  I can't just open them now to check the wording, but I linked to the document earlier. 

The problem with these threads is that we often don't get the full story and sometimes the bank can see something else that maybe even the OP isn't yet party to - like maybe the financial link to their tenant.

RG2015

Clearly, we hope the op will obtain a positive solution quickly.

However, from a purely selfish perspective, I believe that these threads give valuable insights into the the banking system.

TheBanker

RG2015 said:

Clearly, we hope the op will obtain a positive solution quickly.

However, from a purely selfish perspective, I believe that these threads give valuable insights into the the banking system.

For me, these threads remind me that there's always a person at the end of a decision. I've worked in roles in the past where I've had to freeze or close accounts (I don't any more) and it was never a decision taken lightly. There is always a reason, even if we can't tell the customer what that is. But as others have said, banks are subject to very strict regulation (I am told the UK Financial Services sector is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the world), and the consequences of getting things wrong can be eye watering. On the other hand, there were times when the freezing of an account enabled stolen funds to be returned to their rightful owner, so it's not all bad. 

It's also a reminder to everyone that it makes sense to have access to an alternative account, just in case. There are all sorts of reasons why you could lose access to your account, not just if it's frozen but if there's fraud, if there's a system problem etc. Having another account, with a completely different bank (and for belt and braces, the 'opposite' card i.e. a Visa card if your main card is Mastercard), with enough money in to last a week or so, is really important. 

pnw72

Sorry to butt into this thread, but my wife & I have had these similar requests. I had an inheritance a couple of years ago. They wanted evidence of that, and payslips, both of which I didn't mind providing.

I invested pretty much all of the inheritance into shares & also some crypto. The money for this came from my Santander accounts. They now want statements of my holdings in both. This seems outrageous. 

If I were to close my accounts, which bank would people recommend?

My mortgage is also with Santander. Could they ask us to pay it back if I do leave?

Nasqueron

pnw72 said:

Sorry to butt into this thread, but my wife & I have had these similar requests. I had an inheritance a couple of years ago. They wanted evidence of that, and payslips, both of which I didn't mind providing.

I invested pretty much all of the inheritance into shares & also some crypto. The money for this came from my Santander accounts. They now want statements of my holdings in both. This seems outrageous. 

If I were to close my accounts, which bank would people recommend?

My mortgage is also with Santander. Could they ask us to pay it back if I do leave?

I would caution that any bank has the possibility to do this, particularly with crypto

Leaving your bank account, unless there was some weird condition that you had to keep your main banking with them, shouldn't force them to make you repay

boingy

Unless it's an offset mortgage then you are almost certainly free to move your current account to a different bank whilst leaving the mortgage where it is. However, they may well continue with the KYC because your mortgage is still with them.

Incidentally, don't close the current account(s) - use the CASS switching service. 

johnthebaker

FINALLY RESOLVED 

quick update 

After weeks of phone calls I have now found the answer that Santander wanted 

Please Close My Account 

all of a sudden I was no longer a fraudster or a money laundering pensioner 

my funds were released and my account of 40 years closed