Monzo Bank getting a kicking on 'Watchdog'
Comments
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I also have a Monzo account and have had no issues with them. I have used the account for holiday and travel saving and spending money, primarily.
Only thing was glitch a couple of months ago where balances were appearing out of date, and I thought I hadn't saved enough. But it was a service wide glitch (not just me) and sorted within a day or two.
All that said, I also have a Starling Account/Card, and have just moved my travel savings across to that account. The main reasons being, Starling has no monthly restriction on ATM usage, and they pay (a small) interest on normal balances, whereas Monzo only pay interest on pots without instant access.
I do have sympathy for those affected by the problems caused by Monzo highlighted on Watchdog.0 -
What injustice do you see? Serious question.
Someone who's opened an account in good faith, has transferred money in from their own wages/savings, done nothing unusual and then had their account frozen and access denied for no reason.
It's as if no one believes this can happen, without something potentially dodgy having gone on.
Banks can and do make mistakes.How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.31% of current retirement "pot" (as at end March 2024)0 -
Banks can and do make mistakes.
This is true! But there has to be some account behaviour that has triggered these checks in the first place- I only saw a brief clip of watchdog last night in passing but didn't one of the complaints say that she was having her husbands wages paid into her account (as a consequence couldn't pay their rent) that could be classed as an account being used by a third party which will probably go against the T&C's and will therefore trigger a review.
There are many things that go on in the background that a customer may not be aware of- they may have had a transfer of funds to them which was owed legitimately but the funding account could have been under review and the link would then put their account under review- but the genuine customer would never know this. There are powerful sophisticated systems in place that monitor account activity- unless you've seen it working with your own eyes etc etc.0 -
So are you saying one should never accept a payment into your account from anyone, even close family, in case that account has "markers"??How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.31% of current retirement "pot" (as at end March 2024)0
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I understand the argument that banks are not freezing accounts willy-nilly, but are complying with regulation etc.
But the fact remains that Monzo is getting a disproportionate amount of complaints from people with frozen accounts.
So either their on-boarding process and checks like KYC (Know Your Customer) are too lax. Or their system is too "trigger happy" giving to many false positives. Either way it's within their remit to fix.
Sure there are plenty of troll posts and people omitting their faults, but give them the benefit of the doubt first, before dismissing with "I have no problem with XXX, so it's must be you, who have done something wrong"0 -
worried_jim wrote: »This is true! But there has to be some account behaviour that has triggered these checks in the first place- I only saw a brief clip of watchdog last night in passing but didn't one of the complaints say that she was having her husbands wages paid into her account (as a consequence couldn't pay their rent) that could be classed as an account being used by a third party which will probably go against the T&C's and will therefore trigger a review.
The fact that a person is using her wife account to pay salary, trigger contentious question ??
Avoid tax ? Proceed from illicit activities ??
Ordinary people could easily question this behaviour, let alone the bank official who are well trained. This is not to suggest crime have been conducted but it it reasonable to suspect which trigger an investigation.0 -
The fact that a person is using her wife account to pay salary, trigger contentious question ??
Avoid tax ? Proceed from illicit activities ??
Ordinary people could easily question this behaviour, let alone the bank official who are well trained. This is not to suggest crime have been conducted but it it reasonable to suspect which trigger an investigation.
The alternative would be what? Husband has salary paid into own account, and then he makes an identical monthly transfer to her account every month, if that's where their bills come out.
Surely this is something that lots of people do on a regular basis. All they've appeared to have done is request the salary be paid "direct".
Is it widely not allowed, to have your salary paid into an account, not in your name? Genuine question.How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.31% of current retirement "pot" (as at end March 2024)0 -
Someone like that is highly unlikely to have their account frozen.Someone who's opened an account in good faith, has transferred money in from their own wages/savings, done nothing unusual and then had their account frozen and access denied for no reason.
I totally agree, and so do Monzo in their blog in which they discuss why they block some accounts. That does, however, not mean that all the complaints are from innocent people. Some don't see anything wrong with passing money from total strangers through their accounts, i.e. they don't realise they are money laundering. This is not to say that all those who had their accounts locked are money laundering.It's as if no one believes this can happen, without something potentially dodgy having gone on.
Banks can and do make mistakes.
We are in no position on here to judge whether someone had their accounts blocked for good reason, or for no reason. It is the job of the banks and the NCA to investigate and conclude. Upon completion of the investigation, people who feel they have been wronged by it can take their issue to the FOS, or to Court.0 -
Upon completion of the investigation, people who feel they have been wronged by it can take their issue to the FOS, or to Court.
Which is fine, but of cold comfort if they are left without any access to their money in the meantime. Or money saved for a specific purpose.
Yes, they shouldn't have all their eggs in one basket, but many people do. Not everyone follows financial forums like this one.How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.31% of current retirement "pot" (as at end March 2024)0 -
One common reason for totally innocent person to have their account suspended is if they receive a payment from a third party whose account is under suspicion
This could be at one end of the scale a payment from your son or daughter who unbeknown to you has been drawn into money muling and whose account is being looked at
at the other end of the scale it could be a payment form a complete stranger for something you have sold on eBay
Either way the source of those funds have come from a suspicious account and so your account will be blocked while it is investigated
In this day and age the safest thing to do is to have one separate account where all your household direct debits etc come out of and the money that goes in there is from a source that you trust for example your salary. This account is ring fenced and is never ever under any circumstances to be used for anything else
you then have a completely separate account with a completely separate institution for all your 'other spending'0
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