Barclays closing and froze my business account

[Pieh0]

Hi all, been reading the forums to see I'm not the only one with this problem with Barclays.

 

On the 3rd of Jan, Barclays removed £9.6k from my account to "TO RECONCILE", reading the forums shows that this was an AML check, but I got a call on the 9th to say that the money is back in my account, and no we aren't going to tell you why it happened.

 

I asked if there were any issues on my account that I should know about, and was told everything is fine, carry on as normal.

 

Then the 13th comes along, and all access to my account gets cut. I call up and find out that my account is under investigation, and the now £21k in my account is frozen in there until they finish investigating. I am also told they sent a letter on the 9th to inform me that they are closing my account, and I get that letter a few hours later.

 

So I go through the complaints system, and ask why was my account being closed, and what is being doing about the money in there, seeing as I can no long run my business until this is sorted. I get a letter telling me that they can close accounts for any reason and they don't have to tell me, but they seem to ignore the question of the money, the main point of the complaint.

 

So I complain again saying it hasn't been dealt with, and 2 days later, it gets closed as a duplicate complaint, and that I have to go to the Ombudsman, which I since have.

 

But I end up speaking to someone on the 29th who says that if i can prove the money is mine, then I should be able to remove the money from my account, and that i need to take this proof to my branch who will fax it over.

 

So I print out all the transaction logs (PoS Business, so no invoices), and take it to the bank. The branch manager takes it, and disappears for an hour, comes back and tells me that head office is happy with the proof, and I can take my money out now, although they will need to order the money in. I asked if they can do a bank transfer, not wanting to walk out of the bank with £21k in my pockets, and they were more than happy with that.

 

So, here I am, thinking this will have a happy ending, right?

 

Nope, I go to transfer the money out, and i'm told that i can't remove the money due to the block on my account (a T2 block).

 

I have sent the paperwork off to the Ombudsman today, after calling them saying it's an urgent case due to the fact my business is my only form of income.

 

The only saving grace is the standing order I set up on my account is still paying me into my personal account, so I can at least pay my bills, up until they close the account in March.

 

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to speed this up, I don't fancy having to walk into the job center in 2 months stating i'm unemployed due to the bank holding £21k for an undisclosed amount of time.

 

The fact they said it was an investigation makes me think that it isn't an AML check, as i would have thought this would be classed as a tip off, but who knows.

 

Thanks for your help .

[slick132]

Hi Pieh and welcome to CAG

 

Firstly, you should make sure you have an alternative a/c set up and ready to use asap. Regardless of the outcome with the Barclays a/c, they may still refuse to let you run an a/c with them.

 

If your business is legitimate and lawful, I have no doubt you will get all your money back when investigations are complete.

 

I suggest you speak again to the FOS saying the banks' actions are putting your business at risk and causing you serious Financial Difficulties (if this is the case).

 

I would also say to the FOS and to the bank that their actions appear to be a clear breach of the BCOBs Regs. Even if the bank is acting under Money Laundering Regs, they have a duty to treat you fairly, and I would argue that this would extend to telling you:-

 

1. Why you cannot have access to your funds.

 

2. How long their investigations are going to take.

 

[Pieh0]

Hi and thanks for the reply.

 

I've put in my letter which I included with the letters from Barclays about it harming my business and the financial difficulties, but i will certainly speak to them about BCOBS, after i've had a quick read up on it so i can quote passages from it.

 

Thanks

[slick132]

The bank is likely to hide behind the Money Laundering Regs or refuse to give you any info at all.

 

Tell the FOS by phone about any Financial Difficulties this is causing. This is the only way you're likely to get a faster response.

 

[Pieh0]

Just a quick update, Barclays are still holding my money and the Ombudsman is taking their usual time to deal with things.

 

Got to love how banks can just hold your money up like this without even saying why :/.

[slick132]

Although we normally advise against contact by phone, call the FOS to chase this if it is causing you difficulties.

 

Also, chase the bank for an update.

 

[Pieh0]

Well I finally got a reply from the ombudsman.

 

Long story short, they see no problems in what barclays did. They feel that removing £9.6k from my account for 5 days without notice is fine, even though Barclays can't explain to the ombudsman why it happened, which i've asked them to investigate further. Same thing with the £21k, while i was able to pull most of it out via paypal using/abusing direct debits, i wasn't able to pull all of it out, and the ombudsman, despite being able to see the balance of my account, ignore the remaining money in there, and instantly judged that Barclays has done no wrong.

 

In my reply letter, i asked about the money left in the account, and now she is asking the bank about it, hopefully she will come up against what i had and get told i can't have that money due to the investigation, as it would show how long i would have to wait to get a single penny back if i did not use paypal.

 

Oh well, i'll post back when i get the Ombudsman's next reply.

 

Pieh0

[renegadeimp]

Was it the actual ombudsman or an adjudicator

[Pieh0]

Adjudicator.

[slick132]

Hi Pieh,

 

If an Adjudicator gives you no decent result, appeal and get an Ombudsman to rule. You may find the Ombudsman's decision is more favourable.

 

Did you get access to your funds of £9K and £21K. If so, how long did this take.

 

[Pieh0]

Back again, the Adjudicators love to take their time.

 

So their letter starts off by trying to change history, Barclays has no evidence to show that my access to my account was blocked during the period in question, however I think they are looking at the wrong dates and mixing the separate points up as it goes on about how i made payments on the 6th and the 9th.

 

"On the 9th of January 2014, a £xxxxx International payment was made which would suggest that there weren't any restrictions on the use of the account."

 

But they do mention that while the account wasn't blocked, the debit card was which might have confused the branch staff, which is nonsense as i spent well over an hour in the branch trying to get them to transfer the money via faster payments, not using my debit card, so for that, they are offering £200. They also mention that if it was a blocked account, direct debit & standing order payments would have been blocked.

 

So they have mixed up the £9.6k that went missing for 5 days, and the £21k they stopped me from accessing.

 

I managed to pull the most of the money out using paypal, and it left about £500 in there which i couldn't pull out in time, but the bank refused to give me it until the ombudsman poked them about it.

 

Oh well, time to have a think about how i'm going to reply to this

 

Thanks.

[slick132]

Hi Pieh,

 

You should have already been told by the FOS that an Adjudicators decision is based on several factors, but not necessarily on Law or Regulation.

 

For a more realistic ruling, you often need to appeal and seek a review by an Ombudsman.

 

[Pieh0]

But is it worth it?

[slick132]

Hi Pieh,

 

No, in your case, there's probably nothing to be gained by a request for it to be reviewed by an Ombudsman.

 

I wasn't suggesting you seek a review - I was merely saying that the Adjudicators decision can be based on all sorts of stuff but not necessarily Law or Reg'ns.

 

Did the Adjudicator or Barclays mention any compensation regarding this matter.

 

[Pieh0]

Yes, Barclays offered £200 for the branch getting confused and refusing to let me have my money, even though the call center said the same thing.

[slick132]

In the circumstances, £200 is probably a decent result.

 

It goes nowhere near to making up for the anguish this caused you but you'd be unlikely to be compensated for the bank following the Anti Money Laundering Regs.

 

[campeanu19bis]

Hello,

 

I was reading your message as I am in a similar situation but with our personal accounts, I must say it is utterly depressing to see what banks are allowed to get away with - or is it only Barclays who does this sort of thing?

Are you still banking with Barclays?

[Pieh0]

No, they won't let me have a bank account after this incident.

 

Turns out a 90 y/o man allowed him self to be the victim of identity theft, and in Barclays infinite wisdom, this makes me the criminal.

[citizenB]

I think you should be making complaints to the FCA - they don't act on behalf of individuals, but they do act when they get sufficient complaints.