Bank restricts access to bank account

[merights]

So long story short

Disabled Single mum with hypertension, panic attacks and palpitations of 2 young kids

Lost job months ago

Things are very hard
My parents& family decided to send me money to help pay bills and groceries and medications etc

£1500 was sent but the money was seized by the bank since Saturday
They asked a few questions like who the sender is to me and where the sender got the money from & what I am going to use the money for and that once answered, they will reply with an hour

They said I should answer all the question I can etc

I did answer the questions I could and I still do not have access to my money

My elderly parents sent lots of documents of their means of income from their properties which they rent out etc which I sent to the bank today

The bank also asked for chats with date etc with sender of the money. I got screenshots which I sent to bank today over 2 hours ago.

I am starving and kids too
My BP gone through the roof
Still no access to my money.

What right had the bank to do this to me? Holding my money and restricting access to my account for over 48 hours.

What else can I do? I am in tears here
My parents work hard for their money & I have always worked hard for mine until unemployed few months ago

Why didn't you use the bank account you used last time when you know it worked?

Can't you ask your parent to send you £50 via western union so you can at least buy food for now?

My parent don't do politics at all

Monzo has a HUGE reputation for doing this, and there’s nothing any pressure will do.

I had my account flagged as fraudulent and to this day don’t know what triggered it (no large deposits, no dodgy online purchases) and they restricted access for over a week. At the time, I swore by Monzo and didn’t even have another account 😂 Lived off tins from the back of the cupboard and borrowing cash from friends/family. Most humiliating week of my life. No apology at the end of it either, just access reinstated. Opened a new account and only keep Monzo for necessities now.

@Whataweirdsituation oh my God, this is disgusting

It really isn't disgusting. Banks can't really win here. If they block suspicious transactions (which this is)) they are evil banks punishing normal people! If they let them though, evil banks letting criminals sent money into the country

It is what is it. If you are really "starving" there are things you can do. Otherwise just hang in there. It won't take more than a few days

Only a few years ago you would have been waiting for cheques to clear!!

This.

They legally HAVE to do this. There is no option. They cannot clear through the funds in a hurry.

And although I feel sorry for your situation, it looks suspicious from their perspective. You barely use the acccount. Your transactions start declining. Then you are sent £1500 from a bereau de change, commonly used for money laundering because they make transactions less linear.

Its clear why this has flagged, and you’ll have to wait for them to check out all the information you’ve sent and assess if it’s legit and if the money can be released.

Monzo have a reputation for being quite jumpy, they’re an interesting choice for this situation. You may find that they clear the money, if it’s legit; but then close your account for being too high risk.

Its not helpful now, but sticking to a bank you’d used for this before would have made the chances of it being flagged much lower.

That said, your parents location does make a difference.

Look at it from the bank's point of view. What would happen if they didn't investigate when unusual activity is noted on an account because the customer has a vulnerability? I think that would be more Twitter-worthy than 'bank takes precautionary steps when unusual deposit arrives in unused account'.

Can your parents send another payment to your other account, then you can return the first one to them when Monzo release it?

@merights
Are you hoping for offers of money from people on mumsnet? Because I don’t understand why you’re ignoring the suggestions of how to get by for now.

Your parents clearly have the money. Why can’t they send you money to the account you would normally use, so it won’t be flagged as unusual? Or why can’t they PayPal you? For PayPal, you send them a link, they click it and put in their card details to make a payment to you. Or they can use western union.

You can pay them back their original sum when it comes through from monzo, so they won’t be giving more than originally agreed, and you will have access to the money today.

If your parents can manage to run multiple rented properties, deal with the income and paying taxes etc then they can manage to PayPal you some money.

@WarshipRocinante
I am not asking of hoping anyone offers me money on Mumsnet and I and deeply hurt and offended by that statement

Btw,

PayPal is not universal moreover, I said my parents are not tech savvy at all and don't know how to use all these things and don't even do online banking.

Why? It’s very very common for threads like
this to pop up and the poster will keep repeating that they and their children are starving, and there is an excuse for why no suggestions will work and then mumsnetters will start offering money, which encourages more people to post threads like this. It’s been a huge problem on here. And you are ignoring all the suggestions which would get you cleared funds today.

Do they have a phone and a bank card? You send a link, they click and type in card details. Not hard.

But that’s fine if they can’t use that. They can send the money to the bank account they have previously used, they clearly know how to. Or western union.

There is your answer it has come from
a change office and not a personal
account. could be literally anyone sending you money.
They have to do this to stop money laundering especially from
abroad

why don't your parents send a bank transfer from their account abroad??? you won't say where they live and they don't have a bank account?? it's abit dodgy to be honest...

@hangingonfordearlife1
I never said they don't have a bank acc

My parents can't order me food online, they are elderly and don't know how to use all these latest tech and IT systems so they’re not tech savvy enough to do an online food shop, but they’re tech savvy enough to make a bank transfer through a UK bureau the change so that it can’t be traced back to them (or so they think/hope)? Okayyyy.

Ultimately this is dodgy as fuck.

You Have an unused account, and then suddenly out of nowhere that account is used to receive a transfer, made through a 3rd party so the origin is harder to trace. Almost certainly from a blacklisted country given you’re so reluctant to mention it.

If you and your kids are literally starving, I’m sure your parents can send you some money to your usual bank accounts.

The country where the money comes from is a crucial piece of information. Different countries are considered higher risk and transactions with those countries are subject to enhanced checks.

I have had a business account with HSBC for the past 15 years. It is linked to an investment that is part of a trust within my family.
I can request money is 'drawn down' from the investment to the bank account as & when required.
Payments of £5k or £10k a year are usual however occasionally we have needed up to £20k.
These are the years that we get a request from HSBC to fill in documents regarding money laundering!
All the money, payments, the investment are fully audited annually & correct taxes are paid to HMRC so we easily have the required information to hand.
I understand why it has to be done & Im pleased that the bank has its eyes open regarding dodgy transactions.
It's just ballsachingly tedious to fill in...

Your situation is red flag central so I can fully understand why they've blocked it. And this will probably take a lot longer than 48hrs to sort out I'm afraid.

@mynameiscalypso
the place of origin re the money is not the issue because Halifax hasn't got that problem at all.

What some previous post says is the issue , that Monzo is got a reputation for being jumpy like this

It doesn't matter what another bank does. Each bank has their own policies and risk tolerance. Monzo generally have a lower risk appetite than other banks not least because of the amount of regulatory scrutiny they are under. Plus things change - if it's somewhere like Kenya, it only became high risk under UK law in Feb.

I was going to add to my post...
EVERYTHING is in the UK - I have lived in the UK all my life & for the past 20 years at the same address linked to the bank account, the trust & the investment.
The trust is registered in the UK, all accountants, solicitors, IFAs are in the UK & the investment is held through a UK reputable company.
Yet even the slightest unusual activity in the account & BAMN! A request from HSBC about money laundering...!

Monzo are just being sensible.

Different banks use their own risk assessment for this sort of thing, so it doesn't really matter what Halifax is happy to do. Monzo must be more risk averse, which is their prerogative. You know that now.