“My sister shares my surname, yet the bank decided this was so suspicious it immediately locked down all my accounts and turned off my internet banking access,” Alex says. He was told to call a number to discuss why, and was told there had been suspicious activity and his account had been locked. He only found out when he tried to make a £2,000 bank transfer to his sister last year, and it wouldn’t go through. This was the case for Alex, a reader who contacted FT Money in desperation when his savings account containing an inheritance of more than £100,000 was frozen. Most customers never find out exactly why their account caught the bank’s attention. Not only are banks and building societies allowed to freeze accounts without any notice if they see fit, they do not have to tell customers their reasons for doing so. Customer - or criminal?īanks can freeze an account without notice and do not have to tell the customer © Filippo Bacci/Getty
Here, FT Money looks at the steps you can take to avoid being frozen out by your bank, and your rights if it happens to you. Yet at the same time, Covid-19 has limited access to in-branch services, putting increased strain on telephone helplines as customers attempt to resolve problems and ‘unfreeze’ their accounts. Under lockdown, financial fraud has risen sharply, and banks are on high alert for suspicious transactions.
They are caught between the need to prevent money laundering, and their duty to look after their loyal customers. The reason? Banks find it hard to distinguish between unusual account activity and criminal behaviour. Customers suddenly find they have no access to cash their direct debits and standing orders are suspended. The decision to freeze an account often happens with no warning or explanation.
The greater your bank balance and your international connections, the more likely you are to match the profile. Do you look like a criminal to your bank? Thousands of people a year now fit this description, judging by the number of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman about frozen bank accounts.
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