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Original poster

anyone ever been DeBanked?

211 replies

LittleRob · 04/02/2025 00:21

After finding myself the wrong side of a bank, who I've been fighting them for a while.. I spoke to a friend of mine who pointed me here. His exact words " You need to put this on mumsnet, cos that place will have an opinion on what's happened to you... "

So firstly has anyone on here ever been #DeBanked, cos my story should serve as a warning to anyone that is a customer of a high street bank.

post your questions and buckle up for a story that will make your hair turn white... fall out and raise more questions than it anwers

my background I'm a nobody, yet my bank chose to debank me, and sieze all my families money after a near fatal accident... and this could happen to you.

more to follow, it's been a long day and I just introduced myself a few hours ago.

OP posts:
Original poster
LittleRob · 04/02/2025 02:09

Starlia · 04/02/2025 02:07

Well I guess when I realised I had lost a whole chunk of money I would have sought immediate legal advice, especially if I had documents proving my side of the story.

have you ever asked them to trace the money if it disappeared from your accounts?

Show quote history

they have refused to answer the ombudsman found in my favour on poor service and recommended negotiations their own solicitor said this was stupid and they should negotiate. the bank refuses to engage.

who would you deal with being debanked..?

OP posts:
Original poster
LittleRob · 04/02/2025 02:11

SomethingUniqueThisTime · 04/02/2025 02:04

If you have defaulted on the mortgage they can indeed take steps to repossess your house.

they closed my account...? made it impossible to pay anyone including them...

how would you deal with being debanked...?

OP posts:
Original poster
LittleRob · 04/02/2025 02:12

SomethingUniqueThisTime · 04/02/2025 02:08

The money from your accounts was probably used to pay part of your mortgage arrears.

no that just disappeared

OP posts:
Starlia · 04/02/2025 02:13

LittleRob · 04/02/2025 02:11

they closed my account...? made it impossible to pay anyone including them...

how would you deal with being debanked...?

Show quote history

Does your solicitor and/or Ombudsman think that the bank has acted criminally if money has gone missing?

askmenow · 04/02/2025 02:23

JHound · 04/02/2025 01:09

As somebody in banking - you probably deserved it.

#TeamBank.

Show quote history

Well fuck off Banks aren't there for their customers benefit, only their own. As is evidenced by their lack of customer service....

Proudestmumofone1 · 04/02/2025 02:23

What the fuck have I actually just read. 5 minutes of my life I can’t get back….

Itsarug · 04/02/2025 02:27

Proudestmumofone1 · 04/02/2025 02:23

What the fuck have I actually just read. 5 minutes of my life I can’t get back….

I know. No wonder he got no where.

askmenow · 04/02/2025 02:28

LittleRob · 04/02/2025 01:44

.I was brought up to be honest, upfront and direct.

and yes we had it all in one bank.... nobody ever told me that banks could be dishonest.

they never and have never answered the simple question "why?"

Show quote history

Of course they are...they're thieving bastards!
Corrupt as hell and only in it for themselves...

ChampagneLassie · 04/02/2025 02:29

I know someone who had his business account closed with no access to the money and the bank wouldnt explain why (as is the way when suspect money laundering). It was a couple weeks before Christmas and he had 15 staff to pay. Luckily, he’d only recently sold his business to a MUCH bigger company (he was retained as MD for 2 years). The parent company were able to step in and pay the staff and bankroll other things until they helped get a new account opened elsewhere which took weeks. They also managed to get someone senior at the original bank to explain to them what had happened and why. Apparently because they’d received some sizeable payments from some Eastern European countries (legitimate customers) someone suspected as money laundering and followed that process which involves suspending and flagging/investigating and telling customer nothing (can’t tip them off). My friend said if he’d not recently sold and had parent company to help his business would have gone under as he wouldn’t have been able to pay staff or continue to operate and it took weeks to resolve and he believes that was only expedited because of parent company stepping in. We thought the whole thing was utterly shocking bank didn’t even appologise,was just following AML 🤷‍♀️

InWalksBarberalla · 04/02/2025 02:50

I mentioned what happened to me to my bank. Explained that there will be courtcase and insurance claim as I believe I'm the victim in this instance
The bank at first says "well support you, yup no problem"

Part of the story is missing here - why did you need to explain this to the bank? Were you just chatting to the bank teller as you are getting a withdrawal? Or is this discussion happening because you were already behind on your mortgage and in debt?

Franjipanl8r · 04/02/2025 03:01

Gosh this is terrifying, the incident and the bank issue. Sorry to hear this happened to you.

MrsTerryPratchett · 04/02/2025 03:02

RocketNan · 04/02/2025 01:42

"Rob! Rob DeBank!" Hahaha... [rambles]...terrible flatulence... [rambles] ...you see?... [rambles] ...the whole thing was made completely out of rubber... [rambles; make bubbling noises] ...in fact, we communicated the whole time with sign language... [rambles] ...a rather striking moustache...debanking bastards [rambles]...wow! you see?... [rambles]...you know, you can actually use one of those tiny bank pens….thieving bastards!... [rambles]...I'm afraid I was very drunk.

This is competing for my favourite post on MN.

I actually snorted.

BMW6 · 04/02/2025 03:32

What.A.Load.Of.COBBLERS

Mingenious · 04/02/2025 03:37

Try writing a timeline of events, without all the waffle, Rob and then we be able to understand what’s occurred.

SD1978 · 04/02/2025 03:48

Why didn't you get another bank account somewhere else in that decade?

Winter2020 · 04/02/2025 04:06

If you had continued to have access to your bank account did you have 500k to pay your legal bill?

AmateurNoun · 04/02/2025 04:30

I am very confused.

I get stuck in a legal battle for a while, after 10 years the level of injuries are finally agreed on and because I'm debanked and have no access to any of my money, my legal case fails as I can't pay my solicitors and I end up with a 500+K legal bill.

that would have been so much simpler, sadly the insurance under which the claim was started, would not allow it.

If your legal fees were covered by instance then why did you need to access funds to pay your solicitors?

AmateurNoun · 04/02/2025 04:36

the bank in the meantime tried to take away our home a couple of times as being debanked makes it very complex to get a new account... they've crystalised the debt of the mortgage into what they claim was a owed payable immediately... but as I didn't have a bank account becaue it was removed from me by them... it was a very much a chicken and egg question.

And am I understanding right that you had a mortgage with the same bank as your bank accounts that you believe were closed? And they kept the mortgage open but closed the bank accounts?

jellyfishperiwinkle · 04/02/2025 04:39

UbiquitousObjects · 04/02/2025 01:01

When banks 'debank' they don't withold the money in the account permanently unless there's substantial proof that all of the funds in question were obtained fraudulently or criminally from someone else - and even then the money will sit in holding and eventually be forwarded to who the rightful owner is determined to be. The banks don't simply 'bank' the money for themselves. Ever.

The majority of people 'de-banked' are for very good reasons.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jan/20/all-my-accounts-were-shut-down-when-tsb-labelled-me-a-fraudster-instead-of-the-victim

"The majority" isn't good enough. I found this story terrifying.

All my accounts were shut down when TSB labelled me a ‘fraudster’ instead of the victim

Credit checks revealed fraud markers against my name – placed by the bank, even though I had never been a customer

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jan/20/all-my-accounts-were-shut-down-when-tsb-labelled-me-a-fraudster-instead-of-the-victim

Proudestmumofone1 · 04/02/2025 04:52

@jellyfishperiwinkle at least that article makes sense. Nothing the OP has said gives any indication of something along the lines of the article…

Auldlang · 04/02/2025 05:01

Banks are fucks. But when you've a story to tell on mumsnet, tell it without making sure all the mummies have your attention first. We're busy.

slashlover · 04/02/2025 05:01

LittleRob · 04/02/2025 02:09

they have refused to answer the ombudsman found in my favour on poor service and recommended negotiations their own solicitor said this was stupid and they should negotiate. the bank refuses to engage.

who would you deal with being debanked..?

Show quote history

Did you go back to the ombudsman to say the bank isn't adhering to the ruling?

GaspingGekko · 04/02/2025 05:11

PebbleJus · 04/02/2025 01:38

I haven’t been debarked but a close relative has. He spends a lot of time abroad and the bank’s request (by letter) for KYC information went unanswered in the time he was away. Once you’ve missed the deadline and they tell you that they’re closing your account, there appears to be no way back.

The problem for him is that the bank (eventually) gave him his money back in the form of a cheque. Circa £50,000. He has no bank account to cash the cheque and can’t open one due to now being domiciled abroad.

The bank hasn’t withdrawn his credit card though. The credit limit remains the same, just shy of £10,000. If they thought he was a fraudster they would have removed that immediately wouldn’t they?

Your close relative should be able to cash their cheque in the country they are domiciled in.
I've done that before now with a cheque from Singapore.

Oblomov25 · 04/02/2025 05:53

I believe that people can get debanked.

The whole world, or particularly mn, has this very very naieve idea that no person is ever bad, no company ever does bad things. No teacher, solicitor, policeman, social worker etc ever does anything that isn't 100% honest. I can't believe MN'ers are so stupid and naieve.

In my life I've seen police, social services, a teacher, do things that would shock most. Mn would never believe such things though.

Why should a bank be any different? Things do occasionally go wrong. But no, if your dd is raped, it's her fault, right? Hmm

CaptainFuture · 04/02/2025 06:05

@Oblomov25 exactly! In the same way, no criminal has actually done anything wrong, all parents are wonderful and never harm their child, all pupils are little angels and never do anything out of line in school....