Barclays fraud team blocked account

TaniaTalks

My 80 year old mother has been with Barclays since she was 16. She has recently decided to close her accounts as the local branch was closed and the nearest Barclays was too far to travel. As an online customer she tried to move money into her new Santander account and also into my account as she wants to give me a gift. Barclays then blocked the account. When we rang fraud they told us to attend the branch with her ID. We have attended this morning and as my mother had her driving license and power of attorney forms. We were advised they wouldn’t accept the POA letter as valid ID. The account is still blocked. They advised us to attend again tomorrow with a passport and Driving license. My mother was treated appallingly and during the interview I asked why the fraud team has blocked the account and now refuses to unblock it leaving an 80 year woman without funds. They said the POA wasn’t on their list of approved docs. Has anyone advice on how to unblock the account and how to complain. Thank you 

lr1277

This page states what ID is acceptable:

https://www.barclays.co.uk/help/accounts/opening/what-id/ 

As you can see for ID, they require a passport OR a driving licence. However if you use your driving licence to prove your ID (because you don't have a passport), then you need to bring along something else to prove your address e.g. utility bill or bank statement.

Further on down, it says if you have problems proving your ID, there is a number to call.

DullGreyGuy

TaniaTalks said:

My 80 year old mother has been with Barclays since she was 16. She has recently decided to close her accounts as the local branch was closed and the nearest Barclays was too far to travel. As an online customer she tried to move money into her new Santander account and also into my account as she wants to give me a gift. Barclays then blocked the account. When we rang fraud they told us to attend the branch with her ID. We have attended this morning and as my mother had her driving license and power of attorney forms. We were advised they wouldn’t accept the POA letter as valid ID. The account is still blocked. They advised us to attend again tomorrow with a passport and Driving license. My mother was treated appallingly and during the interview I asked why the fraud team has blocked the account and now refuses to unblock it leaving an 80 year woman without funds. They said the POA wasn’t on their list of approved docs. Has anyone advice on how to unblock the account and how to complain. Thank you 

Typically banks want two proofs of ID:

1) That proves what your name is, this typically needs a photo to show the name and image matches

2) That proves your address matches what they have on file. Unless you have the rarest of names there are probably a dozen other people or more that share your name. As people can change address with relative frequency there is normally a time limit on the age of the evidence used for 2. Given they want two proofs of ID you cannot use the same item for both. Frequently produced documents often need to be within 3 months and less frequent letters (eg council tax demand) within a defined period (same tax year for council tax demand)

A valid/current driving licence meets the requirement for 1. Cannot ever remember seeing PoA as an acceptable proof for 2 even if it's less than 3 months old. If anything it worsens the situation because you'd need 2 proofs for the customer plus 2 proofs from the attorney to show it all hangs together. 

An elderly customer who's had a PoA registered against them because they may no longer be fit to make their own decisions sending a load of money to an account in someone else's name? Seems perfectly reasonable that they check that the account holder was happy with the transaction.

eskbanker

Probably too late now but it would have been far simpler for her to have simply instructed Santander to switch her Barclays account to them via the Current Account Switching Service, which would not only have moved the balance but also any payment mandates, etc, while redirecting any stray inbound payments, and closing the old account - any gifting could have been sorted out once complete.

mr_stripey

it sounds like this has triggered more red flags to the bank than May Day in Moscow.

I'd be glad and reassured that the bank aren't just letting her move her money without checking.

It is frustrating but they are protecting her and her money.

p00hsticks

TaniaTalks said:

 We were advised they wouldn’t accept the POA letter as valid ID. 

When you say PoA letter, do you mean the actual PoA document, or simply the letter (to you or your mother) saying that a PoA has been registered ?

From memory the letter makes it clear that this is not a substitute for the PoA itself and that the original document needs to be shown when registering a PoA (a bit moot as whatever it was it sounds as if you were trying to use it just to prove either your or your mothers id, which is not what it's intended for). 

If you are wanting to help you mother handle her financial affairs ,then you need to ensure that Santander have had sight of the PoA document - if it has been set up recently and you used the activation code that came with it in the letter then you shou lbe able to share a digital version of the document with them. 

Ponsienella2

TaniaTalks said:

Has anyone advice on how to unblock the account and how to complain. Thank you 

Just take in two documents that are on the approved list and forget complaining as the bank has done nothing wrong. 

brianposter

Ponsienella2 said:

TaniaTalks said:

Has anyone advice on how to unblock the account and how to complain. Thank you 

Just take in two documents that are on the approved list and forget complaining as the bank has done nothing wrong. 

Barclays have not been very clever either. In practical terms they have received enough information to allow them to unblock the account.

TheBanker

brianposter said:

Ponsienella2 said:

TaniaTalks said:

Has anyone advice on how to unblock the account and how to complain. Thank you 

Just take in two documents that are on the approved list and forget complaining as the bank has done nothing wrong. 

Barclays have not been very clever either. In practical terms they have received enough information to allow them to unblock the account.

No they haven't - they require two items from their lists but have received one item from the list and one item that is not on the list. These lists are designed to minimise the fraud risk and branch staff cannot simply over-ride them. 

Barclays have been clever enough to spot potential harm to a vulnerable customer, and intervene. 

I wonder if the 'please come back tomorrow' was actually not because of ID, but because the branch staff were rather concerned about the gift being made to the attorney and wished to seek further advice. Wrong ID is a convenient reason not to process the transfer. 

As is often the case, the OP came here for a rant and hasn't returned to answer any questions - e.g. what exactly was the PoA letter... I doubt we'll hear from them again. 

brianposter

TheBanker said: 

 No they haven't - they require two items from their lists but have received one item from the list and one item that is not on the list. These lists are designed to minimise the fraud risk and branch staff cannot simply over-ride them. 

 

Which, in this case, happens to be totally stupid.

The account holder has gone into the branch, presented their passport, and asked for the account to be unblocked. For some things it is rational to ask for more ID, but in this case it is senseless (unless the bank staff happen to believe something untoward is going on).

This must happen fairly frequently to people who are away from home and cannot present proof of address, or to people who simply have no proof of address, and the bank needs a procedure to get around their own regulations.

sheramber

It is reasonable for the bank to be suspicious when an elderly, long standing customer  transfer all her money out to a new account and to another person. 

Never heard of scanners taking a vulnerable person into their bank after persuading them to transfer all their money to a new account set up in another bank?

Banks are on the line to reimburse people who have been scanned. It is no wonder they put strict checks in place.