Barclays "Suspend"​ My Life, Stranding me in Europe. The Dark Side Of Working Remote

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  • Kodogo
    Kodogo Posts: 17 Forumite
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    No update yet; I've been speaking to the FOC, MAS and now seeking legal guidance.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,286 Forumite
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    Kodogo wrote: »
    No update yet; I've been speaking to the FOC, MAS and now seeking legal guidance.

    Are you still stranded? And drinking Chai in Europe?

    (Next you'll be claiming to have a breakfast of croissants and cafe au lait in India!)
  • waamo
    waamo Posts: 10,298 Forumite
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    edited 2 March 2017 at 5:04PM
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    I'm slightly puzzled as how someone can say they are stranded thousands of miles from anywhere then later on say they are using the free wifi in McDonald's.

    Other than that I would love to hear how this turns out as I travel abroad regularly.
  • Kodogo
    Kodogo Posts: 17 Forumite
    edited 2 March 2017 at 6:52PM
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    waamo wrote: »
    I'm slightly puzzled as how someone can say they are stranded thousands of miles from anywhere then later on say they are using the free wifi in McDonald's.

    Other than that I would love to hear how this turns out as I travel abroad regularly.

    What does being stranded abroad have to do with using McDonald's Wifi [Which in case any of you didn't realise; was light hearted humour] - I'm remaining positive about this as I know I have committed no crime, nor has my company been involved in any fraudulent activity.

    Today I got the first bit of insight into the situation and apparently it has something to do with multiple transactions that were made through PayPal and I will get official confirmation at the latest on Tuesday. I had initially assumed it was a suspicion of money laundering and it had been referred to the SOCA, which would have resulted in them needing to give me a reply with 7 days, otherwise apply to the court for an extension - This turns out not to be the case and I had only assumed so based on the information I had discovered online and that with my company operating within several different nations; that this could have triggered a false alarm.

    The discovery that it is something so petty has done little more than anger me; as how can such a small sum of money entitle a bank to freeze my entire portfolio of cash assets. Banking Law?? A !!!!ing joke.
    Voyager2002 wrote: »
    Are you still stranded? And drinking Chai in Europe?

    (Next you'll be claiming to have a breakfast of croissants and cafe au lait in India!)

    I'm still 'stranded' but I am by no means on the street. Don't allow the dramatisation of a story to get to your heads. If I was lying on a cold pavement; trust me the last thing I would be doing was coming here. I'm keeping people up to date so that in future people have a relevant thread to refer to if an instance similar to mine happens to occur to them.

    As for the croissant...I'd much prefer a bagel. =]

    Thanks,

    Michael
  • Kodogo
    Kodogo Posts: 17 Forumite
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    metrobus wrote: »
    How much roughly per week was going through your accounts in total.

    With all due respect; I WILL NOT be discussing the assets of my company to anyone on MSE. Today or any other day. To some it could be considered a relatively large amount per day; but to other keyboard warriors it could be pocket change. So I will refrain from passing on any information as this thread has already had those with the intellect of a 10 year old and the imagination of a 5 year old.
  • Flobberchops
    Flobberchops Posts: 1,279 Forumite
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    While it's annoying, banks are permitted, and in fact required, to freeze funds they suspect are the proceeds of organised crime or money laundering.

    The fact that they're choosing to keep you in the dark is intentional as any information could be seen as tipping-off potential fraudsters. Yes, it sucks when a genuine transaction is flagged as a "false positive" but it occasionally happens.

    My best advice would be to keep an emergency fund of money held in a current account, or at least a credit card, with a completely different financial institution and, when the issue with Barclays is resolved, make sure your business relationship manager updates your details to reflect your normal business activity. (...you ARE using a business account rather than a personal one to conduct business abroad, right?)
    : )
  • Kodogo
    Kodogo Posts: 17 Forumite
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    metrobus wrote: »
    How much roughly per week was going through your accounts in total.
    Flobberchops wrote: »
    While it's annoying, banks are permitted, and in fact required, to freeze funds they suspect are the proceeds of organised crime or money laundering.

    The fact that they're choosing to keep you in the dark is intentional as any information could be seen as tipping-off potential fraudsters. Yes, it sucks when a genuine transaction is flagged as a "false positive" but it occasionally happens.

    My best advice would be to keep an emergency fund of money held in a current account, or at least a credit card, with a completely different financial institution and, when the issue with Barclays is resolved, make sure your business relationship manager updates your details to reflect your normal business activity. (...you ARE using a business account rather than a personal one to conduct business abroad, right?)

    I understand; HSBC learnt the hard way in a case in America; a mistake that cost them 1.9B. Barclays however are quite possibly the worst offender of this act and a simple google search without implying any banking institution in the search, will reveal that a query on google into this issue will show hundreds of pages of results; 90% of which are linked to Barclays PLC [aka B*asta*ds PLC].

    I have a corporate account; so yes. I am not one of these fools running a business with a personal account and pumping money through it expecting no one to notice.
  • Chalkius
    Chalkius Posts: 110 Forumite
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    Flobberchops wrote: »
    While it's annoying, banks are permitted, and in fact required, to freeze funds they suspect are the proceeds of organised crime or money laundering.

    The fact that they're choosing to keep you in the dark is intentional as any information could be seen as tipping-off potential fraudsters. Yes, it sucks when a genuine transaction is flagged as a "false positive" but it occasionally happens.

    My best advice would be to keep an emergency fund of money held in a current account, or at least a credit card, with a completely different financial institution and, when the issue with Barclays is resolved, make sure your business relationship manager updates your details to reflect your normal business activity. (...you ARE using a business account rather than a personal one to conduct business abroad, right?)


    Was going to say exactly this. These sort of suspensions, Barclays would be breaking the law if they told you why they did it. It's awful to be stranded but that's just unfortunate that you happened to be out of the country at the time.

    They could get fined large amounts if they're not seen to be doing enough to combat financial crime, so as far as they're concerned they'd rather put you out for a period of time to make sure it's all legitimate, than risk fines worth far more than your account ever will have put through it(I don't mean that in a dismissive way either).
  • Kodogo
    Kodogo Posts: 17 Forumite
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    Chalkius wrote: »
    Was going to say exactly this. These sort of suspensions, Barclays would be breaking the law if they told you why they did it. It's awful to be stranded but that's just unfortunate that you happened to be out of the country at the time.

    They could get fined large amounts if they're not seen to be doing enough to combat financial crime, so as far as they're concerned they'd rather put you out for a period of time to make sure it's all legitimate, than risk fines worth far more than your account ever will have put through it(I don't mean that in a dismissive way either).

    I understand entirely. Up until a certain degree, I could even say I agree with it. However freezing 7 figure assets over transactions totalling $459.18 and with me having no alternative but to ride the storm...that's what I found difficult to believe. It was the back of sympathy from the bank for a customer who has been extremely loyal to the bank, through all of the allegations and corruption scandals that have poured out of the bank in recent years.

    Thank you all very much for the continued support and insight. It's exactly what I came here for. I've realised that although I am by no means an expert in this field within the forum, that there are many other topics covered on the MSE forums that I could positively advise people on. So I will hang around and return the sincerity that you all have shown me. [most of you - some of those I have encountered are little more than in secure keyboard warriors].

    To all those who aren't within that category, I thank you.
  • mgdavid
    mgdavid Posts: 6,705 Forumite
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    edited 3 March 2017 at 1:43AM
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    Kodogo wrote: »
    ...... Don't allow the dramatisation of a story to get to your heads.......

    Don't dramatise then.
    Or if you must, don't be surprised when people take the mickey a bit.
    The questions that get the best answers are the questions that give most detail....
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