How to complain

Nasqueron

Section62 said:

Nasqueron said:

Section62 said:

Stma123 said:

I released £80k from my named savings investment account into a my named TSB account by faster payment , and the money is now being held for further checks .
i telephoned  and was told they needed a further 24 hours , I don’t get it … I answered all their questions , passed security info etc and still being held .
I am at a loss of what to do . Annoyed because , 1) they didn’t inform me of the hold up and I had to make a phone call 
2) a faster payment from the same bank account has been coming into my account from the same company for over 2 years .
3) the time this is taking .
it seems banks can do what they want under the guise of following FCA rules.
the lady in complaints , just said all the right words .

This is TSB holding the incoming payment?

You've probably got some grounds for complaint on 1 and 3.

With 2, although you've got a pattern of receiving payments from that source, the bank won't necessarily know that the next payment isn't fraudulent/criminal in some way.  So no matter how many payments you've had from there, the bank can reasonably argue it needs to check each one, in accordance with its procedures.

Not telling you the payment has been held is poor customer service.  Whether the time taken is poor service or a failure depends on what the terms and conditions of the account say.  You need to look through these and see whether there is anything which limits the amount of time a payment can be held for checks.

The easiest way to complain is to phone the bank and say you want to make a complaint.  Don't be fobbed off with them saying you can't complain, or that the issue will be logged as 'feedback' or 'dissatisfaction'.  Ask for a complaint reference number, and say you want them to issue a final response letter if they don't resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

A complaint reference and final letter will make it easier to take your complaint to FOS if you remain unhappy.

A complaint that the bank is following the legally required AML process seems petty.

As I said in respect of point 2 - the bank doing what it has to do is not likely to be a justifiable complaint.  But how it does what it needs to do, might be.

Nasqueron said:

I doubt also any bank has the time to ring up and tell people their money is held for security checks,

I don't think anyone mentioned "ring up".

Modern banks tend to use SMS, emails and push notifications to let customers know what is going on with their accounts.  These can be automated, so the bank doesn't need to employ people to do so.  Some banks will notify you every time a payment goes into or comes out of an account.

Nasqueron said:

indeed, it's quite possible they cannot to cover themselves under the tipping off rules.

You think an automated SMS or push notification saying something like "Your incoming payment has been delayed for legally required checks" would amount to tipping off?

What about the CSA who told the OP checks were being done and they needed a further 24 hours?  Could that be tipping off as well?

Banks sending an automated notice on any held funds would highly likely to be problematic yes. Similarly, depending on what the CSA said, it could be ok, such as "we need to carry out some checks" or not "your money is being held as we suspect money laundering"

I'll quote the law, leave it with you if you want to comment further but it's a grey area, 

If you work in the regulated sector, it’s a criminal offence under section 333A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) to tell a person that:

• a report has been made (if you know or suspect that you’re likely to prejudice an investigation by disclosing this information)

• an investigation into money laundering is being considered or carried out (if that disclosure will prejudice the investigation)

Stma123

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions . The money was held by TSB for over 48 hours , I could see it in my account , but could not move it . It has been released now , I will be taking this further as I have lost , another I investment  opportunity , with another company .