Yorkshire Building Society closing accounts down on people with views that don't agree with their policy

[Summer2023hasarrived]

So the story goes that if you have a view on Brexit or LGBTQ?+ that isn't inline or in agreement with the people that know what view is right at The Yorkshire Building Society then they can close your account?

AIBU - stick to the day job and provide mortgages and savings

YABU - they can decide if the values of their customers don't align to shut them down

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/barclays-bank-pays-20k-compensation-closing-account-conversion-therapy-row-tnnfzltw7

Can't vote because I'm on the app, but this is appalling. I hope all of these banks are reported to the regulators and penalised heavily Much as I'd like a world with no Nigel Farage banking services are utilities and no one should be deprived of them for political reasons

Do you know WHY it was closed down?

You know that it was closed down.

Have you any evidence why it was closing down or does the alleged reason suit your cognitive belief?

If I believed that this was the kind of thing a bank would do, maybe I would post it to tell other people - even if there was no evidence that that was the reason it happened

That's interesting. Why do pressure groups have any say on who should have an account. Why do banks follow their say so? Compensation paid out after this closure of account. So there is a basis in banks closing accounts for other than money laundering etc. Guess it's not all just froth then

Does no one remember the thread - about a year ago - from someone who had her current account closed with no warning- was an utter nightmare setting up another account with another provider? Asked repeatedly what she had done - no explanation. Can't remember which bank it was but at the time it seemed the only explanation was a suspicion of money laundering.

There are reasons why a bank can close it down.

Do you know the reason his account was closed down?
Or are you assuming something because you want the reason to be because of his views?

This seems routine if you are familiar with JK Rowkings comments, she can apparently wallpaper her home in them.

The trust claimed Barclays, which is a top-ranked LGBT employer according to the charity Stonewall, as well as one of the main sponsors of London’s Pride parade, had given in to demands from LGBT campaigners to cancel its accounts.
After a Twitter user drew attention to the accounts, the trust said it had received more than 300 nuisance phone calls and other intimidating messages, including a text to its chief executive, Dr Mike Davidson, that expressed a hope that staff members’ relatives would be raped and killed.

The threats were said to have gone on for days, until July 13, 2020, when Davidson received a letter from Barclays cancelling his account. He had banked with Barclays his whole life, opening an account for the trust in 2011 and one for the counselling federation, which operates internationally, in 2017.

The individuals that had accounts close stated why THEY believed they were closed down. The banks could always sue them for misrepresentation if not accurate. I didn't realise there were other threads on this when other people claim on TW that accounts were closed due to Brexit or non belief in ideologies.

Staff in many banks now wear he/she/the/they badges so that we don't follow our eyes anymore and accidentally say the wrong word rather than what the person believes they are. Misgendering is it appears very bad. Nice that they are helping us all ignore what we see and instead do what we are told to do.

https://www.moodys.com/newsandevents/topics/ESG-Credit-00702C

Seems we all have personal social credit scores now.

As I say if I was, or a family member of a politician, biology teacher or NHS staff, I would be bricking it. Nigel said his families accounts were closed also.

WOW hoping that family members are raped and killed so people give in now to the pressure groups to avoid the threats - not the way at all. Is that how the people that tell us how we should refer to them and how we should be referred to operate. We tolerate that? Why?

Yes you can, freedom of contract exists in the UK and businesses are free to enter into agreements based on their own judgements / preferences providing they do not refuse based on something that falls foul of a law e.g., the equality act.

Political beliefs are not explicitly protected under the Equality Act, but if a company were to refuse based in a political belief that is closely linked to a protected characteristic they could potentially be breaching the act.

But that is only for political beliefs, not political opinions or viewpoints, and to be a belief it has to meet certain criteria, for example someone with antisemitic beliefs wouldn't be able to take action against a Jewish company for refusing to work with them (well they could take action but they wouldn't win).

I'm probably fucked then 😨

Esg is just companies

For now

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/22/jk-rowling-says-will-not-intimidated-trans-activists-targeted/

These people will target biology teachers, NHS staff and the clergy, they can now ring every bank and demand you be cancelled financially.

It would be incredibly easy to create these profiles for individuals too. Especially once we've moved to completely cashless which I don't think is that far away. I think Sweden is cashless? Or was it another Scandinavian country I read this about?

I belive it would. And I think the time will come sooner than we imagine.
Wondering which country with lack of technogy I am going to😂

I agree with you.

Costa Rica seems quite popular. Definitely NOT Australia, NZ, or Canada though...

So you have started a thread designed to stir up emotions because of what someone think happened, even though they have no evidence for it?

I take it you will delete this thread and tell people that you jumped to a conclusion if it turns out not to be the case?

Or have you decided to boycott YBS and are composing an angry email now?

It seems to be here already, otherwise Barclays and others would not be cancelling accounts on request of activists.

I saw the Met police report themselves despite no complaints, due to fear of these activists after a pub incident.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5852547/Co-operative-bank-bans-feminist-group-using-services.html

Have a gander at section 10 of the Equality Act re - political beliefs and the plentiful case law based on it then come back.

Antisemitism isn't protected by the Equality Act, no. The fact you had to use such a daft and extreme example is telling.

The fact that Farage has links to individuals and organisations with links to Russia and/or Far Right groups will probably give a good indicator of why his accounts have been closed. For example, Arron Banks, FreedomWorks, FPO, Rassemblement National, Alternative For Germany, etc - he has accepted money from all of these (and probably more). It's not unheard of for banks to close accounts if they believe funds are coming from, or going to, dodgy sources.

I'd bet money that good old Nige will know exactly why his accounts have been closed and his current song and dance will be in the hope that he makes enough noise to cover up the truth.

That he's basically a racist twat ?

For those who applaud Farage's account being shut down because they disagree with his views (just for the record, I disagree with him too) - what makes you so confident it wouldn't happen to you? Because lots of people disagree with your views as well, they don't think you're on the right side of history.

Shouldn't be an issue really. That bakery who refused to make a cake for a gay couple won their court case said it was within their rights to refuse service if it went against their beliefs.

A politically exposed person is one who has a prominent public function (like an MP, or a senior government official, prominent judge, etc).

Stating an opinion isn’t going to suddenly turn you into an elected official or similar.