Bank account suspended. Can't get another

[Probsaoneoff]

Around 2 years ago my daughter bank account got suspended it was with Halifax. Did not understand why . But they also would not explain anything. Thought it was odd. Managed to open one with metro had that for a while then the same thing happened. They told her they can't tell her anything and to write to head office.

Daughter managed to get a bank card which is done on line. Its not a maim stream bank and has a few cons to it . She can do basic stuff but she can't get credit checks done ect.

Anyway she did not contact head office at the time . Because she had so much on her mind. Was in the process of fleeing domestic violence. Had no fixed address due to keep being moved from one temporary to another dye to safety. She had social services involved . Them there was all the court and prison stuff linked to her ex. So she had so much going on that she just did not sort the bank stuff.

So basically it's been roughly 2 years since the bank situation happend. She has no idea why it happend. But something dodgy must have been going on for it to happen twice. Anyway even though its bed 2 years cam she do anything? She desperately needs a proper account.

Also has this happend to anyone if so what did you do ?

‘Not sure how to explain it’ means she does know, but is afraid to tell you.
Possibly drug / crime related money laundering?

Unfortunately as it’s her account, ultimate she’ll be held liable

I had a bank account closed on me many, many years ago (20?). I was able to go to another bank and get a basic cash card account (direct debits etc., but no debit card) and had to manage with that for a few years before I was able to upgrade to a normal account.

She’s played a part in money laundering. It sounds a very difficult situation and probably linked to the abuse she suffered, but banks cannot take the risk of dealing with someone who might do this again.

She can probably open a ‘basic bank account’ (search for that exact term), but it will affect her ability to get credit ect.

By law, the banks involved will be very limited in what they can tell her, in case it gets back to others involved in the crime. That’s called ‘tipping off.

It sounds like they suspect her of being a money mule - having a bank account which someone uses to funnel the proceeds of crime. It's shit but if she allowed him to use her account like that then she's going to struggle. I note you said it was an abusive relationship; I saw HSBC have campaign at the moment about financial abuse so it may be worth speaking to them. I recommend she gets her CIFAS report though. I'm pretty sure she's got a marker against her that will flag up every time she tries to open a bank account.

Ohhh this is a difficult situation - she’s been flagged as being a beneficiary of fraudulent funds. Doesn’t matter that it wasn’t hers as she let them use the account.

as someone else advised the first thing to do is contact CIFAS and speak to them - they are the ones who apply these markers usually and can advise on next steps and if there is anything she can do.

It isn’t a matter for the Financial Ombudsman as they see there to mediate issues with banks if you have a complaint - if you believe a bank have wrongfully refused her an account or that it was applied incorrectly you need to contact the bank first then if you don’t get the answer you want you can go to the FOS, however the bank have acted in accordance with their T&C’s (from the limited info I see here)

I think she will struggle for a proper bank account and to get credit but worth looking at ‘basic’ accounts with banks that don’t offer lending etc as that might be a way she can at least operate a proper account

Sounds like she knowingly allowed her ex to use her bank account to launder money.

She needs to apply for a basic bank account, probably. It matters what sort of bank account she’s trying to open. They’re not all the same, she needs to open one that is deliberately restricted e.g. no overdraft facilities etc

Your daughter has clearly been up to no good, either fraud or money laundering. She hasn't got much chance to get this sorted if I'm honest. Her details will be blacklisted everywhere.

Bearing in mind that your daughter was fleeing DV, it might be wise to ask MN to remove the second screenshot you posted. It includes two male names so could possibly identify her. Even though it's just first names, the combination of the two might make it clear who she is.

She won’t be able to get credit for a long time if her details are flagged with money laundering.

It used to be the case some years ago that you could open certain basic accounts with a CIFAS marker, eg Monzo, but not any more. They won’t touch you so the marker has to be removed before she can do this-it’s very difficult and not straightforward

Happened to me and I never found out why, it will be six years ago in March and apparently I should be able to open up a bank account then.

This happened to myself and son with the Abbey/ Santander bank .I received a letter stating that because no transactions had been going in or out for 2 years the account would be suspended unless a payment went in. They gave us 2 months to sort it , I just deposited £10.00 into each of the accounts,. It was said on the letter that I would have to take ID to access the monies in the account has it would be closed and any cards I had to that account would not work.

Well you've got your answer now OP.

Op I used to work for Santander and this usually happened with fraudulent activity.

How would there be proof she 100% knew 🤔

Has she told the bank about her DV situation?

Agree that the issue is with the account misuse. But the bank should have policies and procedures to cover victims of financial abuse, there is a code of practice that some banks have signed up to.

www.hsbc.co.uk/help/money-worries/financial-abuse/

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09zmvcp

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zsx4

These are links to two MoneyBox radio shows on money mules.

Invariably people who end up being money mules are often victims. They may benefit from being paid to let money go through their accounts but it's generally teens who are susceptible to being taken advantage of.

The problem with your daughter saying that she only did it because she was in an abusive relationship is that it will be difficult to prove.

Does your daughter have any messages that might support the fact that she was coerced into doing it? Has she reported the abuse to the police? Maybe, that might help.

Ffs yes makes sense she trusts to easily and used to give him her bank card 😔

From the content of that message, it’s due to money laundering.

Erm it's not simply shes been uo to no good .. there was DV involved

Did she say anything when she saw the money go through her account?

Because of the difficulty in demonstrating that someone definitely knew something, liability generally operates on a threshold of actual or constructive knowledge, i.e. you knew or ought to have known.

I am a little surprised to read that basic bank accounts with no debit card facility exist. I'm not sure how long that'll be tenable with many shops switching to contactless payments only.

From working in this area, this is my take on what you’ve said and the screenshots:

• your daughters accounts have been closed because she is suspected of being involved in some sort of fraud
• there is likely a Cifas marker against her which means that she won’t be able to get any mainstream bank accounts, phone line, mortgage etc while that’s on there
• it will remain on her file for 6 years from the date it was applied

She needs to find out what exactly has happened though.

• Tell her to contact cifas in the first instance to find out if they have any markers against her name. They will send out the information to her
• if she has been a victim of DV there is a chance (not a guarantee at all) that those circumstances could influence the decision to remove the marker and get your daughters credit file back on track but it would involve a full investigation and your daughter being very open and honest about what happened, when, dates, etc

i hope this helps.