Monzo 60 Day Notice Closure

Gemmadilem34

Hi All,
I’m worried sick. Been a customer of Monzo for 6 years. Put my £95k a year salary into it and also have a joint account with £3k a month going in for bills. I do admit I don’t leave much in the account monthly as I tend to save elsewhere (Money Box). 

On Friday 25th I got an email to say both accounts were closing in 60 days! I am now a nervous wreck as hearing horror stories about CIFAS markers! I’ve been able to apply for Starling accounts and approved pretty much immediately so I’m hoping that nothing is registered against me … otherwise they wouldn’t have approved me?
However I’m hearing that they could still close the account if the CIFAS goes on later down the line…
I am a senior leader in the public sector so absolutely no fraud however all I can think is that I’ve raised a few too many small disputes (subscriptions etc); which I didn’t realise were a huge hassle to banks!
I also have a Flex and Overdraft with Monzo (I know - odd given salary) but just sharing this detail because perhaps I am not profitable enough to them or annoying them with the management of my account.
I am worried sick…. Would a notice of closure be a good sign in that no fraud suspected just randomly closing… or am I being naive here?!
PS have done a DSAR to CIFAS. Awaiting. 

grumpy_codger

IMO, 2 months notice means that it's not some imaginable suspected fraud.

Some recent thread - Re: Monzo - We Are Closing Your Bank Account

And that's one of the posts there:

akm2018 said:

... The Monzo Community Forum has a regular supply of people complaining at having been told by Monzo that their custom is no longer welcome. It's Monzo's business, they get to decide who they have as a customer.

...

And don't even try to make sense of their decision.  It's difficult to find a black cat in a dark room, especially when there is no cat.

Gemmadilem34

Thank you so much as I’m worried sick about markers; I’ve read that they’re an absolute nightmare! Just hoping they’ve decided to get rid of me for not being too much of a money maker for them; I can just about live with that but if they start applying wrongly accused fraud markers I’ll not be happy!

friolento

Gemmadilem34 said:

...... all I can think is that I’ve raised a few too many small disputes (subscriptions etc)......

How many disputes did you raise, in what period?

Gemmadilem34

Quite a few unfortunately within a 12 month period, nothing huge, all small amounts - subscription issues or refunds coming in. I do purchase significantly on my account so although it might seem a lot I am buying a lot! Did not realise what a hassle this is for the bank… foolishly thought it was some sort of fast track kind of service. 

GreenScepter

Did you try to resolve the subscription/refund issues with the retailer/supplier/whoever before going directly to the bank?

I had (or have, might still be on going) an issue with a recurring card payment but I tried to resolve it with the company first. Though they sadly seemed a bit incompetent and didn't even know who was processing the card payment, and didn't know the difference between card payments and direct debits, so they told me to cancel with Monzo directly.

Hopefully a one off won't be enough to tick Monzo off, but I keep hearing more and more stories of accounts being closed. Even high earners such as yourself aren't safe it seems.

Gemmadilem34

Hi there, sometimes I went directly to the retailer and sometimes I went through just the disputes feature. I have since been told that this can be a bit concerning to banks as it looks like you are trying to get refunds for things that might not be justified. If I had known this I would not have ever bothered - but in my defence I was always due the refunds and any advances were always then paid back if cancelled as refunds came back quicker than Monzo's dispute team etc. I guess I am incredibly impatient. I am now hearing horror stories about CIFAS markers for things like this. I have now escalated to the execcomplaints email address, their Director of Fraud and my MP. I know that sounds overkill but if you read 'STAY AWAY FROM MONZO' facebook page - my goodness, there's some terrible things going on. I hope it's just hyperbole but a lot of these markers seem to get dished out and once you get them, you're scuppered for years unless you fight for an overturn. One lady who worked in bank compliance did allay some of my fears by telling me the standard of proof is set very high to do this - they would need to prove you have been fraudulent to the point of being able to take evidence to the police so fingers crossed. My advice is don't use Monzo for disputes/charge backs unless you have had fraud committed etc as it seems to add a bit of a marker for them to justify closing accounts.

daveyjp

Unfortunately the likes on Monzo and other 'new kids on the block' Fincos and banks have had to attract customers from somewhere.

If an individual has had money issues in the past and is now largely turned down by the well known high street banks they will go and find an alternative.  That alternative is now available and it is likely the Fincos will attract customers they maybe shouldn't be doing business with, but take a risk, find out too late and have to move to taking action to comply with regs and protect their business.


A facebook page means nothing as members who believe Monzo are doing them a great injustice won't reveal their financial history.

born_again

60 day notice is just a "We no longer want you as a customer"
If they had any worries. It's a immediate closure.

Switch away, take a bit of a bonus.

GingerTim

Before writing to your MP etc, have you actually checked if you have a CIFAS marker? It would be a total waste of youe and their time if you don't have one.

Gemmadilem34

Hi All,
Yes, I have done a CIFAS DSAR, came back clear, but people say they apply them AFTER the bank closures, anyway, Monzo have this morning confirmed that they are not placing a marker - that is all I care about as that is a real pain to sort. I have moved everything to Starling and to be honest, it is probably not a bad thing, I was probably using too much functionality - flex, etc. So, will make sure I have 100% habits with Starling, certainly won't be doing charge backs as suspect this has been the reason, which I kind of get as is a resource going into it. Thanks for your help.