Bank Insisting I tell them why I am making a Payment to my Daughter

[Gaggley]

I usually do my banking online but thought it would be easier to set up a standing order by calling First Direct today. After going through security, I was asked a number of questions about whether I had been forced to do this, had I been told to download software, was anyone watching me online etc. This is irritating, as it is incredibly unlikely that anyone who was being scammed would say yes, but I answered them none the less.

I was then asked how I had been given the bank details. I said that I had made the transfer before, but still had to give specific details as to how my daughter had given me the bank details, that I had successfully made manual transfers to multiple times over many years. After we'd got past this, I was then told I had to tell them why I was paying money to my daughter. I declined to answer, and was prevented from setting up a standing order. Complaints department confirmed that this was their procedure and they were knowingly preventing me from moving my own money around.

I asked them how much fraud they could quantify had been prevented by these arbitratry measures, they could not answer. But if I had done this myself online, then I would not have to justify my own decisions, could just do it at the drop of a hat. Bloody annoying. But a real problem for people who can't manage to use online services, who are forced to give up their privacy by rules like this.

Does anyone have a bank that will allow you to make transactions over the phone without justifying how they spend their own money, as I would like to switch to them?

Nonsense.

You paid out over £60k in 24 hours from what sounds to be from your current account? No wonder bank staff were asking questions.

Believe me the Banking world is full of scammers that is why you are asked the questions. Even if you set this up online, it may still be investigated..I know coz I work for a bank. They will stop the payment until they can speak to you to make sure all is in order. It is for your own security not to annoy you. The world we live in I'm afraid

For what it’s worth, where I live it’s a govt regulation to be asked this last question and online there is a drop down list of possibilities. Gift, holiday, repayment etc.

you dont need to go into detail..

Good luck switching but all banks follow the same process so it's pointless.

You're using banks to process transactions so they have every right to ask questions & deny your transaction if you don't answer.

If you want to move you money without question, you'll need to pay her cash

Nice post. Good to see people care and make a stand, and not just anti Lockdowners.

If you have the funds in your bank, answer the security questions, say you want to continue with the payment and confirm it is at your own risk then you should be able to spend your money (it’s your money not theirs) how you choose.
Yes the banks should do their checks but after that it’s your own decision and at your own risk.

Hundreds of millions of pounds are lost in the UK each year due to scams or financial coercion.

Look at the FOS website for examples of the complaints people raise with their banks.

'Why did you let me send the money? You're my BANK, YOU should have stopped me/questioned me/noticed I sounded nervous' is one that comes up over and over.

People always want totally unfettered access to their money until they lose it. Then they expect the bank to pick up the tab.

This is the result 🤷‍♀️

I bank happily with the Halifax.

"Bank happily with the Halifax" sounds like a jingle 😄.

Not if you’ve made regular gifts out of income. You can give away as much of your income as you like, as long as it doesn’t impact on your regular living costs. You can also use the £3k annual exemption, the £5k (for a child) wedding gifts exemption and unlimited gifts of £250 or less. The scaremongering around IHT and gifts really is off the scale here!

But the OPs very valid gripe is that it wasn’t a new payment. It was just that the banks app wouldn’t let her use the existing payment details stored by the bank to set up a standing order to her own daughter. Which is madness. But even if one is willing to accept that madness, when told it was to her daughter they still wanted more info on why. And the actual answer doesn’t matter. They just want an answer to tick a box. Society is really being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, and I for one am with the OP in thinking that the unnecessary barriers in accessing one’s own money are pointless. And worse than that, will lead to people taking even less responsibility for their own actions.

You have absolutely no evidence to make such an alarming statement.

Jesus, the scrutiny 😂 yes they were….customers love being left in tears over having to explain their private business fml grow up!

However for my own convenience, I wanted to set up a regular payment, which I couldn't do online.

Is your daughter outside the UK, because if not, you absolutely can do this on the website version, I've literally done it myself five minutes ago. You just need to go to Move Money then scroll down to Regular Payments and New UK Standing Order. When you enter the payee details it might say it can't verify the bank details, either be cause you've typo'd it, or it's an account type they can't check, but they'll still allow you to continue at your own risk.

I agree with @Keepitrealnomists. Those that are most outraged have no idea how much money banks put into keeping money safe, and still how much is pissed out the door by people who are not vigilant! Or even aware of any issues!

Most banks have adverts on tv about how to prevent scamming and fraud. They'll have something on their website - a lot of info. There's countless articles online from different papers and websites detailing these scams; whenever a new, sophisticated one starts to become more common it's reported on the news. I'm not sure why posters think this information isn't readily available and more that it's just not what people want to read UNTIL it has an effect on them?

Fraudsters and scammers have managed to steal life savings out from under the noses of people who didn't think they were vulnerable. And there's some here who are so stubborn they won't just tell the teller that the money is a gift for my child or whatever.

You'd also be surprised how much money going to terrorist organisations is stopped by your friendly neighbourhood bank that is basically being laundered through oblivious 'normal' folk. Fraud, scams, money laundering - it's literally big business.

Same.

I set up a standing order to my sons NatWest bank account from my First Direct account using the phone app yesterday.
I have made many one off payments to this account.

This sounds exactly what you wanted to do OP. Where did it stumble?

It's £50k if the money is going to direct descendants, i.e. children or grandchildren. It's £100k if it's being left by two people say DM and DF, i.e. in the case of a joint property. I am sure someone else will explain this better than me.

Sorry, senior moment. I meant £500K and £1,000,000 respectively.

Just say it’s an allowance, looks like you’ve got your knickers in a twist over nothing! 😊

We had the same issue with Santander. My husband wanted to transfer money from his account to mine and the guy kept trying to dissuade him and telling him he should transfer to another account in his name instead. It was truly bizarre!

I would be absolutely astonished if these members of staff had no formal AML training. It has been compulsory for all client facing & back office staff, at every level, in every single bank I’ve ever worked in.

OP I know it’s irritating but the AI scam where your loved ones’ voices are lifted from social media vids and used to create scripts so they can have genuine sounding conversations are a real thing. That’s why they push you to find out why you’re sending the money.

TLDR: Whether it’s to protect their own profits or to protect the client, banks are obliged to ask eleventy bajillion questions before you can spend your own money. If it stops one truly vulnerable person from getting ripped off, isn’t it worth it?

They are absolutely terrible - well if you do a technology related job and want to buy technology related items from a very well-known UK retailer who you have bought similar items from before.

A few years ago my husband was moving £26,000. The bank phoned me and asked if I knew anything about it. I said I would get my husband to speak to them and they said they were keeping him talking on his mobile phone while they spoke to me! I was very impressed at their diligence. Yes it was all above board before you ask.

@RhymesWithBouquet basic internal training, yes. Detailed training on the relevant laws & associated qualifications - perhaps in the internal Financial Crime team, yes, but not front line staff.