Santander fraud team

[Berry642]

My two siblings and I have inherited some money from a deceased relatives house sale. It is to be split three ways. As the next of kin the money from the house has gone to eldest sibling.

They had phoned the bank and explained that the money had to be transferred to two other accounts. There seemed to be no problem with this.
Santander have now put a hold on the money ,they said it would be 48 hours but that deadline has passed.

They are saying it's to stop fraud,whereas I can understand this to a level it is very clear the money has come from a solicitors ,so I cannot see what is taking so long?
For context you are talking below 40k each so not hundreds of thousands although I appreciate it is still substantial.
I've read lots of horror stories involving this sort of practice at Santander, can anyone tell me their experiences ?

@Patineur see above post .

I wasn't being goady at all. You hadn't previously said that the eldest was the executor. I merely pointed out why the fraud team may be looking at it.

There’s a staff shortage in a lot of companies - they are trying to recruit. It’s unfortunate but these things take time.

The exact same thing happened to me. Took a few days then money was cleared. I wasnt bothered, they provided good communication to update me and im glad they do these checks than not. Dont worry it will all be fine.

Thats right, it goes to the executor to divide . The bank will ask how you know the person and what the money was for. Just tell them. Honestly by the end of the week the money will be cleared and fine.

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/09/santander-uk-fined-108m-over-anti-money-laundering-failings

They've recently been fined a massive amount for not doing checks properly so they're probably a bit more cautious at the moment

This. The would have been dispersed to the beneficiaries by the solicitor/executor. It’s very irregular to have gone to one person to disperse. And the next of kin thing is bullocks, if you’re all the same relative (child, niece/nephew, sibling) then no one takes precedence unless the will stipulates that. If this is true then I can see why Santander are concerned at the irregularities. I transferred money (just under £18,000 sooner than I expected to my son, due to house sale moving quickly so didn’t get chance to arrange it first. One phone call and it was sorted.

@Berry642 sorry for your loss, you are grieving, but posters on here are giving you advice and being helpful and you are coming across very angry and defensive.

I am going through similar with Santander at the moment with my divorce settlement
although I’m utterly annoyed
I’m so glad I’m not the only one!

No its not. It goes to the executor to disperse, thats their job.

It seems the confusion has arisen from you assuming the transfer would be instant? I have had issues with Santander before but It is reasonable that something like this would take time to resolve. You say you don't have an issue with checks being done, but it is the checks being done that are the cause of this. You say you've never heard of it before. When was the last time you were waiting for the proceeds of a house sale to be split between 3 siblings?

I don't think that was "a load of shit". People are trying to help you. Yes your query was about the fraud team but you've raised another potential issue on the thread and people are trying to make you aware of it.

That's completely different to your whole next of kin thing.

I would be patient. It should get resolved. They have to do checks.

Your replies to people who are giving good advice are coming across as angry and argumentative. Just be patient and let the bank follow their processes, these are in place to protect customers. Surely you can wait a few more days.

They did this over £50! It's just a process if they aren't sure where it's come from.

@Cath667 post is exactly right. Nothing goady about it. Fraud and money laundering checks on out of the ordinary transactions take time.

If everything is above board it will happen.

It is annoying but I assume that they are fed up of paying out for fraud so can't really blame them.

It's a reasonable security measure.

Not all solicitors will do this, or some do but charge additional fees for more transfers. It is the job of the executor to ensure distribution of the estate.

It's annoying but you just need to wait
They aren't supposed to discuss any investigation with you
I guess the total sum being over £100K has triggered this
Once the money clears you can ask them to backdate any interest due

Banks are very cautious these days - I rang HSBC to set up a £14 standing order to the scouts the other day and had a full fraud conversation around did I trust where the money was going and was I being coerced to do so! So yes I’d say normal practice

There you go...that explains it!

Can I suggest your sibling tells Santander that they wish to raise the delays and poor communication on this as an official (Ombudsman) complaint, and that they are seeking compensation for themselves and for you due to the delay.
It costs firms a fee if these complaints reach the Ombudsman (as much as £750 now I think). They will usually pay out a sum to avoid the £750.

In dealing with my mother’s affairs I have learnt to do this at the slightest problem. We have had a number of payouts. The last one was £450

Just as a note - it’s £750 per case for companies who are expected to receive less than four complaints a year. For big companies, like all of the big banks, they pay annual fee instead - it’s not per complaint.

You also need to exhaust the banks complaints procedures before the FCA will steer an investigation, although the threat of one might scare junior members of staff who don’t fully understand the process.

(FCA qualified)

In my experience they roll over pretty easily. I’ve never had to go through difficult procedures. Just had to explain the problem clearly and be very clear that it’s an official complaint. And it costs you nothing to initiate the complaint.