Chase Bank - Denied Access to Phone App

BVI_EXPAT

Greetings to the Forum. I'm having a big problem with Chase. Went to check my bal on Sun 21 in the phone app only to find access was denied and directed to contact them. Put a call in on Monday only to be told my account is under review and I cannot access the app while they do so. This is puzzling to me so I lodged a formal complaint. I could not speak to anyone in authority to discuss the matter. I have done nothing wrong, my account is in order, I have nothing to hide and I have a significant chunk of money saved with them. Phoned again today Wed 24 and got told the same thing. To say I am fuming is an understatement. I have a family to feed, bills to pay, a car to run and a life to live. I now cannot function without access to my money and is causing stress and worry. They did not have the courtesy to advise me in advance so I could make alternative arrangements. This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Any advice from members is welcome.

Thanks. BVIEXPAT

born_again

Clearly something has triggered them to check the account. 
If they gave you a warning, then they would be in trouble with the FCA for this. Tipping off is the phrase & can lead to staff member being either sacked or end up in jail upto 5 years....

Going to a higher authority will not get you anywhere. Banks have to run these checks where they have good reason. banks can receive big fins for not doing so.

This is why you always need more than one bank account @ different banks

Given your username, can we take it that you do not reside in the UK & maybe are using a UK address while living in the British Virgin Islands?

BVI_EXPAT

born_again said:

Clearly something has triggered them to check the account. 
If they gave you a warning, then they would be in trouble with the FCA for this. Tipping off is the phrase & can lead to staff member being either sacked or end up in jail upto 5 years....

Going to a higher authority will not get you anywhere. Banks have to run these checks where they have good reason. banks can receive big fins for not doing so.

This is why you always need more than one bank account @ different banks

Given your username, can we take it that you do not reside in the UK & maybe are using a UK address while living in the British Virgin Islands?

Thanks for the reply. Was resident in the BVI for 25 years, came back to the UK permanently 7 years ago.
How long do these checks take ? This is my main account !

Hoenir

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

Nasqueron

BVI_EXPAT said:

born_again said:

Clearly something has triggered them to check the account. 
If they gave you a warning, then they would be in trouble with the FCA for this. Tipping off is the phrase & can lead to staff member being either sacked or end up in jail upto 5 years....

Going to a higher authority will not get you anywhere. Banks have to run these checks where they have good reason. banks can receive big fins for not doing so.

This is why you always need more than one bank account @ different banks

Given your username, can we take it that you do not reside in the UK & maybe are using a UK address while living in the British Virgin Islands?

Thanks for the reply. Was resident in the BVI for 25 years, came back to the UK permanently 7 years ago.
How long do these checks take ? This is my main account !

Frequently 1-2 weeks 
Get a new bank account setup immediately for wages and bills

BVI_EXPAT

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

wmb194

BVI_EXPAT said:

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

Deposits from or transfers abroad? some jurisdictions are scrutinised more than others. Lots of debit card chargebacks in a short space of time? Any selling or purchasing of items from individuals where you've used bank transfers? Often the case with e.g., Facebook Marketplace. Transfers to/from crypto brokers?

born_again

BVI_EXPAT said:

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

Could be that if they do not know the source of funds.

BVI_EXPAT

wmb194 said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

Deposits from or transfers abroad? some jurisdictions are scrutinised more than others. Lots of debit card chargebacks in a short space of time? Any selling or purchasing of items from individuals where you've used bank transfers? Often the case with e.g., Facebook Marketplace. Transfers to/from crypto brokers?

Only deposits and transfers from UK banks and Revolut. I had 2 debit card purchases declined in a week due to low funds but topped up immediately then went through ok within minutes. No Facebook, Marketplace or Crypto, just a couple of PayPal purchases that went through OK. I have a BVI pension that's paid in USD into my UK Barclays USD account, just under £1k monthly goes through Revolut to exchange into GBP that's then tipped into my linked Chase Acc, been doing that since January so nothing unusual there ?

BVI_EXPAT

born_again said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

Could be that if they do not know the source of funds.

Could be but they have never asked. If they needed to know, a phone call would have answered any questions they might have !

wmb194

BVI_EXPAT said:

wmb194 said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

Hoenir said:

BVI_EXPAT said:

 This is a disgusting way to treat a good customer. I want to make sure there are consequences for them doing this so can I complain to a higher authority ?

Something has tripped the internal AML system.  You need to determine what this could possibly be. As normal banking activity wouldn't.

 
Thats the thing that puzzles me. Its been normal banking activity since I opened the account 2 years ago ! I cant think of anything that might have triggered it. I have a big chunk in savings due to the 5.1% interest and I drip feed the linked Chase current account daily for my needs in the app .... I'm bl..dy fuming !!

Deposits from or transfers abroad? some jurisdictions are scrutinised more than others. Lots of debit card chargebacks in a short space of time? Any selling or purchasing of items from individuals where you've used bank transfers? Often the case with e.g., Facebook Marketplace. Transfers to/from crypto brokers?

Only deposits and transfers from UK banks and Revolut. I had 2 debit card purchases declined in a week due to low funds but topped up immediately then went through ok within minutes. No Facebook, Marketplace or Crypto, just a couple of PayPal purchases that went through OK. I have a BVI pension that's paid in USD into my UK Barclays USD account, just under £1k monthly goes through Revolut to exchange into GBP that's then tipped into my linked Chase Acc, been doing that since January so nothing unusual there ?

It could be Revolut. Some people think that the reason the authorities won't give it a banking licence is because it has weak AML controls.

https://www.ft.com/content/2faf1799-78d9-4316-8e1d-590d2c601ac6