Natwest letter received "ceasing banking relationship" - what on earth is going on?

[SWnewstart]

I've banked with Natwest for approx 45 years, same current account and more recently a little saver account with less than £30 in it. Came back from holiday 2 days ago to a pile of post amongst which was my salary slip from part-time job, a new bank debit card to replace the current one expiring at the end of June and a letter from Natwest starting off "were you aware that we couldn't make some of your payments because there were not enough available funds in your account" - NOT TRUE.

I immediately went online and checked - there was approx £800 and I don't have any regular payments more than £40 a month (retired and mortgage free). The strange bit is that under the heading of What Items Have Not Been Paid were details of my employer and salary which obviously goes into the account, not out of it! The online statement didn't show my salary at all for May. I contacted the virtual assistant at Natwest who could only advise me to speak to my employer. I did this the next day, only to be told the payment had been returned and had I changed account details or anything? No, nothing changed at all. This morning my employer advised they had again made a BACS payment for my May salary and to let them know if it worked. I checked and the payment was in my account.

However, in the post today was another letter from Natwest stating that "we regret to inform you that following a recent review we have decided to cease our banking relationship with you as from 1 August 2022". I immediately tried calling the Shared Services in Manchester on letterhead but number just rang out. The letter also says this decision is final and they are not able to discuss the decision with me or provide any further information in relation to the decision making.

Are there any Natwest people out there who could shed any light on this (or any other bank staff). What on earth is going on? I'm worried sick.

Investigate directly with the bank as much as you can.

However, I have read several accounts of this happening due to anti-money laundering processes - and they don't have to tell you what triggered it. If you look up Consumer Affairs/ Money sections in the Guardian etc, there have been a few over the years. However, the angle in these examples is that there are links to other countries - have you anything like that?

www.theguardian.com/money/2018/feb/03/natwest-closed-my-account-with-no-explanation

www.theguardian.com/money/2021/dec/09/hsbc-suddenly-closed-account-for-our-charity-helping-people-in-kenya

In your situation I would go to my local branch and insist on answers - and then open an account at another bank and close the NatWest account. I might not do that it they were suitably apologetic and grovelled, but otherwise they could go whistle. It's not so much the fact that they have obviously made a mistake - that happens - but the bit about the decision being final that would annoy me.

Blueshoes - I'm not sure about freezing account as I've been on holiday for past 3 weeks in Italy and paid for everything with euros. I used the debit card to withdraw 50 euros one one occasion and this appears correctly on the online statement, so no indication of account problems 2 days before I came home.

Make a formal complaint, they have to respond to that.
www.natwest.com/support-centre/how-to-complain/complaint-form.html
And if you are not happy with their response you escalate to the financial ombudsman:
If you've gone through your bank or building society's complaints procedure and they haven't been able to help you, you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can also contact the Financial Ombudsman Service's consumer helpline on 0800 023 4 567 or 0300 123 9 123

You can insist all you like but it will get you nowhere.

That is dreadful. How can they decide this and then decide they won’t give you your money back?

OP, we also received a similar letter and went through a similar process. Very little help or information given. We are in another country, and we could only assume that they suspected some illegal activity due to recent transfers between our home country and where we live (we bought a house). It involved a lot of hassle, and we ended up closing all accounts with this bank.

My point - worth changing your bank!

Best of luck and patience, OP.

Bloody hell…did you go to financial ombudsman or press? That’s outrageous

Make a Data Protection Act request for all the records they hold about you and your account.

I should add that DH thinks it had something to do with international transfers and suspicion of money laundering.

Thank you everyone for comments and suggestions - my head is spinning now but I've taken everything on board and will start actioning tomorrow (after a sleepless night, worrying).

ceasing relationship can happen if you have been abusive to staff too.
but mainly suspicion of fraud.
have you made or received several small payments from one person followed by a large one?
it could be that your employer is the risky one and receiving funds from them has compromised your account

Also check your credit file using something like Clear score or Credit Karma.
totally free to see if your bank or any other companies have logged a cifas against you

OP there are a couple of Facebook groups “NatWest closed my bank account” both private, that might be worth joining. Someone may be able to give you advise on where to start.
I does seem odd that it happened while you were abroad.
I have noticed that my NatWest credit card has been blocked twice in the last 6 months when it triggered the computers fraudulent use criteria. The first time was at an outdoor market where vendors were using mobile card readers. I suspect the computer doesn’t recognise the location and assumes the card has been stolen, who knows what algorithms they work on. It’s also possible that some vendors are actually up to no good and are scanning your card.
The second time was when my DS thought he’d beaten the payment system on an app. He didn’t have enough funds to make an in app payment but it still went through. He didn’t realise that it had defaulted to my card. The bank computer obviously picked it up and immediately blocked my card.
It is a massive pain but it does reassure me that they block the card then text you.

I was going to add that it could be your employer that’s under investigation.

I agree with PP about going into a branch.

You may also want to do a subject access request to CIFAS. This will tell you if your bank has flagged you as a fraud risk. If they have, you're more likely to have difficulty opening accounts elsewhere.

www.cifas.org.uk/dsar

Came here to say look into CIFAS markers. Download your credit file with Experian, Equifax ans whatever Call Credit call themselves these days asap.

In this situation it is almost certainly guaranteed they suspected you and have very good supporting evidence that you were money laundering (intentionally or not).
In that situation they have to immediately close your accounts and retain any funds they beleive were acquired through illegitimate means and are by law blocked from discussing with you, as they could then be seen to be "tipping off" and become a party to the crime.

A flag is then put against your name with all banking institutions for 6 years, sometimes indefinitely as a means to avoid you continuing laundering money, or processing the proceeds of crimes.

Unfortunately some people get caught up in the system by allowing others to use their accounts to deposit and transfer money from, thinking its innocent, so a "mate" may say, oh I've locked myself out my Internet banking, do you mind if I use yours for a while til I get it sorted. You then innocently/naively hand over your bank account and they launder proceeds of crime through it.

Another way it can happen is that you receive money innocently or not from an account you know/or do not know is being used for suspicious activity and is on a watch list so once you receive the money you become (again innocently/naively/knowingly) involved in money laundering and are sanctioned.

I don't know your circumstances but if any of that sounds familiar OP or OldTinHat you are scuppered, as OTH k ows to her detriment, and may have never known she had been caught up in criminal activity, as OP may also not realise.

You'll never be told the reason. They will never talk to you, as theyatre legally not allowed.
Other banking orgs will open an account and immediately close it as soon as the fraud checks are carried out and you will be on a black list for a minimum of 6 years.

Yes have a look at Cifas. If you have been given a marker you need to act fast as you could be banned from every bank for 6 years.

This could also effect your ability to get loans/mortgages. It is awful getting caught up in suspected money laundering.

Also sign up for clearscore and credit karma, both free and should show any accounts you may not be aware of and any searches that gave been made with your details.

I can't see any mention of this- but it could be related to your employer! Are they a big company? If not, perhaps it's those payments they think could be fraudulent or money laundering? That would explain them blocking it the payment and the closing the account when you had the payment reset.

You’re retired but you have an employer and a salary going into the account?

I've seen this a few times but in the matched betting community and when people use the identity of their household members and family and friends. Matched betting itself isn't illegal but pretending to be someone else is and some people are running ten sets of accounts with all the money being transferred back to just a single account, the multi accounting matched bettor. Some people use a friend or family meme hers identity with their permission but it still doesn't make it legal.

I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Back in May, didn’t all the major banka have a massive IT issue to do with payments over a Friday/Saturday? Could this have caused an issue with wages etc (being payments). I wonder if NatWest have a computer gremlin in their bankings drawers ??

They don’t keep it. Once fraud checks have been completed the money will be returned.

Lots of people retire, claim pension and then take on a small part time job or turn to consultancy work. Not unusual.