Help! Blocked out by fraud team from my own barclays account!

[stirling]

Wonder if anyone could advise as I'm so distressed :
Barclays bank have blocked my account that I've had with them for over 30 years. I'm devastated because the fraud team are being cold, standoffish and say they have a right to review my account without reason but that I can't use my card at all and that I can only withdraw from wages (which I don't have in this account) by going into a branch with I'd. Apparently I'm shut out for 10 days!

Last week, my ex husband was paid by a London establishment into my account by mistake as it was formerly our joint account and the establishment still had the same bank details on file. My ex phoned me in a panic and asked me to transfer it back to him which I did so over the phone. The money never reached him... Now I find that my card has been blocked and I'm barred from my account.

Can anyone advise? I'm so worried, read horrible stories online about customers being sacked by their own banks....

Thank you

They're investigating behaviour that follows a pattern of money laundering. They have to do this by law.

If you take ID to branch you'll be able to withdraw something, they'll have guidelines as to how much. Do your wages go to another account?

Thank you so much for the swift reply nobaggypants... OK, I see. They could have told me that instead of being cagey!

My wages go into another account thank God. But I use this account for several transactions. Worth going into the branch to see a manager?

They can't always tell you these things.

In some circumstances, saying that they have money laundering suspicions is known as 'tipping off', and it's illegal because it could give criminals a heads up that they have been rumbled and give them a chance to cover their tracks.

As long as everything is above board (and it sounds like it is!) it should be easily sorted with no repercussions.

Thank you Bayley, your message was reassuring. I stupidly googled and read some hideous unjust stories on BBC and telegraph etc about accounts unfairly shut down and the victim unable to open another...