Monzo - We Are Closing Your Bank Account

Nasqueron

Section62 said:

bradztheman said:

If this was the case surely they would write to me to say they're reducing my overdraft limit..

Which may give you reasonable grounds for complaint and enough to cause them hassle and expense by going to the ombudsman.

Whereas closing your account for undisclosed (but likely 'business decision') reasons narrows the scope of what you can complain about, and potentially a more straightforward FoS case if it comes to that.

Why waste the bank's money which, ultimately, harms other customers by reducing profits, however miniscule an amount, by going to the FoS who will 99.99% rule the bank is allowed to close their account as they wish as a private business? OP should just move on to another account not complain based on speculation on a forum

Section62

Nasqueron said:

Section62 said:

bradztheman said:

If this was the case surely they would write to me to say they're reducing my overdraft limit..

Which may give you reasonable grounds for complaint and enough to cause them hassle and expense by going to the ombudsman.

Whereas closing your account for undisclosed (but likely 'business decision') reasons narrows the scope of what you can complain about, and potentially a more straightforward FoS case if it comes to that.

Why waste the bank's money which, ultimately, harms other customers by reducing profits, however miniscule an amount, by going to the FoS who will 99.99% rule the bank is allowed to close their account as they wish as a private business? OP should just move on to another account not complain based on speculation on a forum

I think you've missed the point.

Which wasn't an encouragement for the OP to go to FoS - but rather that by closing his account instead of reducing his overdraft Monzo might be aiming to reduce the scope for an FoS complaint.  As you suggest, the FoS are quite likely to side with the bank on an account closure, whereas an overdraft reduction complaint probably isn't quite so clear cut.

That said, consumers have the right to go to the FoS if they are unhappy with the response they get to a relevant complaint, and since this is a consumer orientated forum rather than a bank owner's forum, then if there are grounds for complaint I don't think folk should be trying to discourage other forum members from exercising their lawful consumer rights... especially where it only involves the possibility of a "miniscule" amount of shareholder profit loss.

FoS have a specific section on bank account closures.  I'm still not encouraging the OP to make a complaint to FoS if it comes to that, but they may benefit from understanding the approach FoS takes to these cases -

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/banking-and-payments/bank-account-closures

GreenScepter

I suppose with the switch service it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to move banks. Though it does seem a little concerning such a thing can happen out the blue. If you do decide to take it further, do keep us posted, I'd certainly appreciate it. I use Monzo a lot myself so it worries me a little seeing this sort of thing happen.

Nasqueron

Section62 said:

Nasqueron said:

Section62 said:

bradztheman said:

If this was the case surely they would write to me to say they're reducing my overdraft limit..

Which may give you reasonable grounds for complaint and enough to cause them hassle and expense by going to the ombudsman.

Whereas closing your account for undisclosed (but likely 'business decision') reasons narrows the scope of what you can complain about, and potentially a more straightforward FoS case if it comes to that.

Why waste the bank's money which, ultimately, harms other customers by reducing profits, however miniscule an amount, by going to the FoS who will 99.99% rule the bank is allowed to close their account as they wish as a private business? OP should just move on to another account not complain based on speculation on a forum

I think you've missed the point.

Which wasn't an encouragement for the OP to go to FoS - but rather that by closing his account instead of reducing his overdraft Monzo might be aiming to reduce the scope for an FoS complaint.  As you suggest, the FoS are quite likely to side with the bank on an account closure, whereas an overdraft reduction complaint probably isn't quite so clear cut.

That said, consumers have the right to go to the FoS if they are unhappy with the response they get to a relevant complaint, and since this is a consumer orientated forum rather than a bank owner's forum, then if there are grounds for complaint I don't think folk should be trying to discourage other forum members from exercising their lawful consumer rights... especially where it only involves the possibility of a "miniscule" amount of shareholder profit loss.

FoS have a specific section on bank account closures.  I'm still not encouraging the OP to make a complaint to FoS if it comes to that, but they may benefit from understanding the approach FoS takes to these cases -

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/banking-and-payments/bank-account-closures

This is also a money saving website, not costing the bank money on a vexatious complaint saves the lender money, means someone will benefit whether better rates, higher share price etc

A complaint also on the grounds that someone thinks that the account was closed due to the OD usage is also doomed to fail. Monzo will simply reject the complaint on commercial grounds and the FOS will agree as there is no evidence of this claim. Monzo can also defend on responsible lending grounds - OP living in the OD is expensive and reducing the OD (as other lenders have done) saves them money on interest, further helping dismiss a complaint.

Eyeful

Reading between the lines.

1. Good news is that as they have given you 2 months notice & have not stopped access immediately,
This suggests, they just do not want you as a customer anymore.

2. Stopping you using your card suggests they do not want you to increase the size of your debt.

3. The bad news is you will still be expected to pay back any money you owe them.

4. Suggest you switch banks and live with your means (no overdraft), otherwise expect this to occur again & again.

5. Times are a changing. Banks now want customers that will generate max profits without possibility of them losing money.
I think they believe you do not  fit this profile. 

Olenna

Given they appear to have given the requisite amount of notice, the FOS would be a waste of everyones time. 

I wouldn’t loose any sleep over Monzo. I've used it a few times for switching offers rather than opening a 'real' bank account with a full credit check. 

friolento

Monzo are acting in accordance with the T&Cs you have agreed to. They don't have to give you a reason for the closure, just as you wouldn't have to tell them why you would leave if you did want to leave.

I don't know how the settlement of your overdraft and card would be handled but guess they will want their money.

I am not convinced a complaint would have any merit. Better use of your time could be to get alternative banking facilities sorted out quickly.

Borodrim

Yeah as previous members mentioned most banks will have it built into their T&Cs that you agree to that they retain the right to close your account. 

Most of your queries have been answered, however just bear in mind that for your overdraft; 

- Banks also include in their terms and conditions that they can ask for immediate repayment of the overdraft in full at any time 
- If the account is closing they generally provide 30 days to repay from closure. After this time you can expect arrears & credit file impacts. 

- They will be able to support with monthly repayments , but likely will have a minimum amount to avoid defaulting. (This would still have credit file impacts regardless) 

- They will usually have the right to offset the negative balance if you receive funds into it after closure , usually by things like BACs or refunds / payment reversals. 

Banks are again heavily regulated and will offer a lot of support, if you have any worries about repaying it just reach out to them. 

You can raise complaints and escalate to the FoS however you will likely need to raise it directly first to provide them the opportunity to investigate first (FoS like this), and can do so once you receive your final response letter. But again if it’s in their T&Cs it might not get far. 

Costacat55

Just signed up so I could respond to this when it flashed on my phone as a news article. To OP, the long story short is that if you received the reason 'for legal and regulatory reasons' it is most likely (may not be but I have a strong feeling based on personal experience over 15 years ago) that you've your name blacklisted for fraud or something else, elsewhere and because financial institutions are not legally allowed to tell you this because of the prevention of possible tipping off, they use reasons like 'legal and regulatory reasons'. Realistically, once they close your account, you will not be  able to open another bank account elsewhere in mainstream financial institutions because all of them share information and the black mark will keep popping up every where you go. Nightmare, I know.
What you need to do is get a CIFAS report on your name. CIFAS is the fraud watch organisation that keeps tabs on everyone and their report will show you which financial institution has put a black mark on your name. Do a Subject Access request to them on your name which is for free, not sure if they have an expedited service you can pay for but check their website. You can then go about the long ardous process of getting the blacklist removed. In my case (personal experience) it was an error that Lloyd's bank had accidentally put during a bank transfer authentication and they had forgotten to take it off after it was authenticated. I had to live with that nightmare for nearly a year. I was very distraught that I couldn't bank anywhere else other than a prepaid account with one of those loan sharks but none of the banks would tell me what the problem was. I found out randomly online in yahoo finances forum where a very kind stranger who was a bank manager in one of the banks replied to my query and told me 'unofficially online' what the financial institutions couldn't tell me in person (everything above re the blacklisting on CIFAS). Lloyd's eventually gave me a small compensation for their mighty error that nearly destroyed my life. It's funny how something as small as a bank account cam easily hold you hostage in other areas of your life! I have also seen other people for whom the blacklist was because of identity fraud, i.e. someone else had been using their identity fraudulently without their knowledge and now they've the blacklist. As a very young lawyer back then (although not a financial law specialist), I was very disappointed to find out that our fraud laws aren't designed to protect the victims. Thankfully, I'm older and more experienced now on how to navigate the bs system. 

ChirpyChicken

Ignore the above post irrelevant for this.