Father blames me for closing his UK bank account

[Nindaelita]

Ok bare with me cause this is really making my anxiety come back and I'm just so stressed since they've arrived I can't even sleep properly. There's more to this than just an accusation that's why my anxiety has come back.

My father and his partner after living in the UK for many years decided to leave last year to go back to their home country and eventually retire there. The problem is my father left an opened bank account in here with some left over money to pay off any debt (I don't know amounts) and was not in contact with the bank at all for a year, (he said he was but I doubt it).

I use to live with them so after they left the house the tenancy contract was put in my name and I still live at the same adress. For a year after they left I've received countless of letters in their names that they didn't bother to ask for, nor cancel them by informing banks, NHS, GPs etc that they were no longer living here. Which I found wrong since their place in the GP could go for another local person for example.

Eventually after a couple of months of opening their letters, I decided to send letters back with "return to sender" since they no longer had any intention of coming back to the UK.
A month ago they announced that things are becoming really bad back home in terms of jobs and rising prices so they want to come back.
They said they would come for around a week this month to check how things were doing over here ( not very good, prices are sky high as well) and apparently they are fixed in coming back again. No problem with me, it's their decision.

Now here's the problem, since they arrived my father went to the bank and found out his account was closed and is now not allowed to open any other with them.
I have no idea about the details, if he owed money, if it went on overdraft and the fees and the inactivity made them close his acount, I have no idea. He doesn't tell me things properly. The bank told him that they've sent letters to my adress prior to closing it and that's where he came to me and pointed his finger.

Bare in mind after he left the country he had online banking (his words) so he could easily contact the bank and keep his acount checked every day.
Now because he was so fixed in not coming back he tro away his UK mobile number, the one that was linked to his bank account, which apparently unabled him to access his online banking again.

I am absolutely stressed cause he now says that I ducked up his credit score along with his name with the bank because I didn't keep his letters and didn't inform him they wanted to close his account! What the actual duck???

Please someone tell me I am not crazy and this whole ordeal is because he didn't take responsibility for his affairs?

But why would he think letters being sent to his DD’s would be an issue?
All OP had to do was NOT send them back ‘not known at this address’.

why is it even a big deal - cant he just get a revolut account or another bank account - there's not just one bank. total non issue

if he owes them money or went in his overdraft his credit score is fucked up because of his doings - he would have been in that financial position had the account been closed or not.

You shouldn't have returned the post to sender. I would have told my dad about the post and asked him if I could open it and send him a photo of the letters. The only reason I would return clearly marked bank letters to sender is if I had gone no contact with the person who moved out and didn't give a toss if their accounts were cancelled.

Because it’s illegal to have a bank account with a deliberately fake address attached to it per money laundering laws.

By knowingly traipsing off to another country and knowingly leaving the old address on there, he’s got a fake U.K. address attached to a U.K. bank account.

This ^

Happened to me and I was in regular contact with my bank. I wasn't overdrawn, they just decided they didn't want my custom anymore. Not your fault OP

He went abroad and didn't sort out his admin (or deliberately made it look like he hadn't moved) it is his fault. He didn't even have phone /bank login to do any kind of vague check (which is more than a bit lackadaisical for banking!).

However you probably should have messaged him to say you are returning his mail if he doesn't sort it out. You really shouldn't open other people's letters without permission. By saying you knew he would be taken off GP list (completely reasonable if he had emigrated) you knew there would be consequences to returning mail.

It is still his fault for not being organised.

don't think UK high street banks will send your mail to you internationally?

As long as you had your ducks in a row and had registered your address with them many UK high street banks have been Ok sending mail internationally for years, facilitate phone/on-line banking etc, certainly if you were within the EU, even if you didn't have any address in the UK.

As others upthread have mentioned things are changing and many UK high street banks are closing such accounts.

You haven't screwed it up - he did it himself. He could of updated his address, could of made sure he used the account so it didn't close, could have talked to them and notified them that although he wasn't using it he still wanted it. Up to him, not you. The bank obviously won't take your instruction and will close many dormant accounts that are not used (whether or not they receive statements returned to them).

I would have opened and photos and whattsapped him or emailed them to him. But ultimately its his fault for not sorting his admin out before or after he left

I also agree. Why wouldn't you tell your own father that there was post he needed to deal with? It's really odd that you decided to return to sender as though you didn't know him or where he was.
You are both to blame in this.

Mine does. They even send me new cards although I have had about 60p in my UK account for three years.

I think I would be upset too . You could have simply asked him if he needed his bank account before sending back and unknown . My parents left after a few years , doesn’t mean i Don’t help them with stuff like that . I would never close something without asking them . They will probably need go sort out pensions etc and having a U.K. account makes it easier .Maybe help them open a new one ?

Given OP says 'Eventually after a couple of months of opening their letters, I decided to send letters back with "return to sender" since they no longer had any intention of coming back to the UK.', I would give OP the benefit of the doubt that she was opening letters and discussing them with her parents.
They did nothing, so I don't think OP has responsibility here at all.

^ This. I don't understand why the DF chucked the mobile phone. If it was because he never intended to return to the country and didn't give a toss about what happened to the account that's his problem. He couldn't be arsed dealing with the issue and now he's paying the price. I really hope they don't want their tenancy back OP.

Since Brexit, banks have been closing accounts for people who don't have a UK address. It's happened to lots of people I know. I expect that's what's happened here

Not your problem.

I have a very old bank account. Frankly, it began as my "running-away account"; held ever since I was a teenager. Since then, I've occasionally parked money in it but it's very modest today. A few years ago my bank wrote to say it was so long "inactive" and a type of account they no longer offer, they had decided to close it and wanted to know where to transfer the balance.

I replied "I am the client, you serve me. I do not intend to close that account. If you do, I will close ALL my accounts and find another bank that obeys my instructions".

I still have the account they didn't close, and the same bank continues to serve me .

YABU and mean. But you clearly don't like this man at all so not sure why you care.

I find it very strange that you returned letters to sender. Yes, your father should have handled his bank account but he is your father after all - why couldn't you keep his post and let him know it is there? You handled situation as if you are not related to him, just returning post of previous owners.

Before he went away I kept his and his partner letters for a couple of months, I would open them, tell him he received such and such from X and Y. I even sent him a check that came in the post of money owed to him. The letters from the bank (which don't say it's from a bank btw) only must have came a couple of months ago since the acount was closed very recently.

Having my adress attached to his bank acount is not legal whilst he living elsewhere. I can not call the bank and tell them his details nor I can write his adress on the letter only the person with the acount can personally change details. That's also his responsibility.

I have online banking and check it every day, the bank contacts me by email as well and rarely by letter. He also went paperless so his monthly bank account letter ceased to be sent.

I even received kits from the NHS, appointments for checks at the hospital that I also mentioned to him but he said just leave it, "we are not there".

My relationship with my father is not the best we are not very close and he does things impulsively. Why would I keep letters from them both if they specifically said they had no intentions of coming back? I didn't let him guilt trip me I said you shouldn't have thrown away your uk mobile phone, I'm almost sure the bank contacted his email before any letter but he says no.

There's also details he doesn't tell me so I can only go by what he says the bank told him. I think it's very unfair to blame me.

I’m surprised they bank closed it. I have an isa with sainsburys from god knows how many years ago, balance zero, and they still haven’t closed it (got a letter advising me of a rate change last week).

His account had my adress on it instead of the one he was living in, which is illegal. I can not change his details for him specially in a bank you have to do it yourself in person or after security checks online.

The tenancy was not transferred to me. They left. I had to have a few words with the landlord and check if I could be the next tenant since my child attends school nearby, and we solved this between us as well as the state of how the house was left. My father wouldn't communicate with the landlord about house repairs and problems so after they left I had this whole trouble about why the house needed so much to do.

Whether he is guilt tripping you or not, you should realise that returning letters to sender without telling your father is not nice - you saw from envelope they were from bank so why return them and not tell your father? I am also not sure why you keep saying it is illegal to have your address on bank letters. Many banks allow correspondence addresses - my DS sends all bank letters to my address as he lives in block of flats and some letters gone missing - he informed bank and that was absolutely fine with them, nothing illegal about that.

His account had my adress on it instead of the one he was living in, which is illegal.

I don't think a bank customer who doesn't notify a bank of a change of address has committed a crime. Can you say why you think otherwise?

It is not my responsibility in being up to date with his bank affairs. I sent letters back because he had no intention of coming back here after months and months of him repeating the same thing.

If he was going to retire there why would you keep an account open with still debits coming out and not check regularly? Atleast keep in touch with it!
Was also my responsibility to contact the NHS and tell them he wasn't here? Was my responsibility to tell tv licence, his credit card, revenue and customs, his private pension that he was not here anymore? Why didn't he solve it?

He should have informed his bank his living adress, these bank letters must have came after they tried to contact him directly by phone and email as he opted for paperless contact. I can not take blame for this.

Yes your son informed the bank it would be an alternative correspondence adress. My father didn't. I had to take his name out of pretty much all the rest that concerns water, gaz, electric as well before he left cause he would get too worked up while doing it.

It's very unfair to be blamed for this.

This is my first post. You must be confusing me with someone else's post.

I even received kits from the NHS, appointments for checks at the hospital that I also mentioned to him but he said just leave it, "we are not there".

My father wouldn't communicate with the landlord about house repairs and problems so after they left I had this whole trouble about why the house needed so much to do.

What awful behaviour from him. To not even bother to cancel NHS appointments is reprehensible.

And not letting LL to maintain the property is also terrible.