How to withdraw cash from bank without questions

[ThatBeachLyfe]

Need to withdraw cash for some building work. Went into NatWest to ask how to do this and they said id need to fill out some paperwork and state what the money was to be used for. I said at the time it was to buy a second hand car and was told I’d need to bring photos of the car, and any email correspondence. I had my toddler with me so said I’d pop back another time when I had my hands free. I need to withdraw cash £7k. Is there a way I can do this without having to supply any proof or explanation of what it’s for? It’s my money so I don’t feel I should need to tell the bank and obviously don’t want to name my builder in the process.

They certainly would. Scams are so common these days and we need to be be extra sensitive when navigating some types of conversations when trying to prevent this from happening.

If we didn't follow our processes and they went to the papers, not only would it ruin the reputation of the company for not safeguarding the customers but it would come along with a hefty fine too.

This is to protect you from fraud or also financial abuse.
There is a high risk of vulnerable people being conned by fraudulent traders. We keep reading about elderly people being charged high amounts for small amounts of work.
By asking questions they can determine whether you know what you are doing or are are a potential victim.
I needed £500 for a musical instrument and had lots of questions confirming that I wasn't being forced to take out the money and that I had seen the item etc.

Honestly —- the “all of us paying more tax” is more complicated than OP paying trade in cash”. He prob is avoiding something, but you don’t know what it is.

The more tax … drug dealers, benefits scammers, illegal arrivals and all those “delivery” guys no doubt delivering drugs & no tax for drug dealers & their trade costs us all in law enforcement, unemployment and nhs …

Ok. Before I retired last year I worked for one of the major High Street banks looking after branch layouts. Every single week in our meeting with property and security we would discuss a branch that was having major issues with pickpockets. To be frank there are some areas, especially in London but also some places you'd be surprised at, where I would never withdraw any amount in cash at a bank branch/ATM. We would look at whether we needed to put up screens to insure the view of the till/ATMs or manifestation in the windows to block the view. You know how banks are putting up screens to hide the tills - that's a big part of the logic.
When we needed to relocate a branch we would visit with security and look out for bus stops, wide pavements, cafés over the road. Anywhere were people might linger. One of my jobs was to put together a sheet in multiple languages so problem branches could discretely warn people taking out amounts in cash.
The pickpockets work in teams. One might be in the banking hall or just outside where they can watch inside phone in hand. They will watch who is taking out cash - you'd be surprised at the number of people who sit down and arrange the cash in their bag/pocket in full view having just walked away from the till then they will text someone outside something like "lady 40s blue jack lft pock". The problem branches were having multiple thefts a day from people who had withdrawn cash but never inside the branch. Often people had got home before they realised the money had gone. Didn't need to be £000s. Usually it was £100-200, often the money to pay for that week's bills. It's got worse with more people using cash to budgets because bastards don't care how hard up the people they nick from are.

One time I was doing a bank transfer to my builder which was flagged to the fraud team. What was it for, had I confirmed it with the person, was I sure it was genuine etc etc. Which is fine and good, they have to check.

The guy was literally in my house at the time doing the work at the time so yes I was sure it was genuine. He still wasn't happy to release the money.

I ended up telling him if it was a scam then the scammer was cunningly scamming me by doing the work I was paying them for so I was OK about it 😂

Fucking cowboy builders. are they knocking off the VAT for cash by any change?

You don't have to lie. You just order the money, go in and when they ask you say it's for building work. They may ask if you have been forced or if there is anyone waiting outside who has forced you into the bank. Assuming there isn't you say no. They may highlight you shouldn't pay cash and to make sure it's legit but that is it. I do not get what the issue is. They don't care you are paying cash, they do care that you may be a victim of fraud and that's it. Why are you so cagey about telling them? They are just doing their job. If they didn't many more people would be victims of scams and fraud which then would cost us all more in the long run.

Absolutely: it’s what they do. Then the customer has the tricky situation of having to find thousands of pounds in cash

Banks have no right to hang on to your money,I had this years ago where they declined to give me 5k, I told them I would refuse to leave until they gave me my money.

FFS it's YOUR money. I am aware banks don't hold huge amounts of cash, the last time I took out 2k I rang in advance and told them I would be coming the next day, they were fine.

Banks absolutely do have the right. if they suspect fraud, money laundering or other illegal activity they can suspend your account.

Of course they have the right, if they have reason to suspect fraud or money laundering. It’s their responsibility, and it’s in their T&Cs. The fact that the OP lied to them would have meant her demeanour was off, and would have led to increased questioning. It would be negligent of them to hand over the money without checks.

The price is low because he isn't planning to pay tax on it. You are facilitating tax evasion.

If the banks think you are a victim of fraud, being coerced or are a criminal they have every right not to hand over the money. They also have the right to suspend your account if they have reason or believe they have reason to.

By definition he is not legit if asking for cash. You are facilitating tax evasion. Your unwillingness to give the bank his name demonstrates you know all this but don’t care.

I think you can kindly ask. I certainly don't think you should be able to insist no.

I think people are more allowed to be stupid than we typically think.

So you don’t think banks should be able to protect their own financial interests? If it did turn out to be a scam, there’s a high chance it would be the bank suffering the financial loss in the end. And then of course that would impact the prices they charge customers for their services.
Fraud and AML checks are for everyone’s benefit.

All the posters who would never ever pay a tradesman cash, can you please let me into your secret for finding recommended tradesmen who are happy not to be paid cash? Not a theoretical view of how it should work but what you yourself actually do to find such a tradesman?

Round here the good traders and builders usually want a mixture of cash and bank transfers (I assume holding some cash makes their outgoing cash payments easier) and they have long waiting lists so if a potential client doesn't like they way they do business they just shrug and move on.

I haven’t specifically done anything to find someone willing to accept bank transfer, they just have. We’ve recently had over £40k worth of work done via various tradesman and not one of them have asked for cash.

Same here. Always pay by transfer and we just get people by personal recommendation.
DH prefers to be paid by bank transfer as it's less hassle. Otherwise he'd need to take time out to pay in to the bank so he can pay his suppliers.

Interesting. Maybe it's regional. In 20 years of homeowning I've only had one recommended trader who didn't want at least some element paid in cash, and they were actually by far the worst experience (good builders but grew too fast and the project management side collapsed)

So if someone is being scammed by someone pretending to be an A list celebrity and insists they need to transfer them money for life saving treatment, we just allow them to get on with it.

As someone who runs a small business and pays tax fairly, I absolutely object to assisting another business to avoid paying legitimate taxes. Especially now day rates are so high and trades are being very fairly compensated for their work.

It’s also not clear if you can be pursued if you have knowingly assisted tax evasion or VAT fraud. Lying to the bank on record is a clear paper trail back to you. If he wants to be paid cash cool, but you need to follow the process to get it and that involves supplying the name and business details. If he happens to get investigated and hasn’t declared the cash on his tax return then yes that’s on him but at least you haven’t aided it.

We know someone who went to great lengths to pay tens of thousands in cash for a discount and then ended up in dispute with the builder with no evidence they’d paid them a penny. No leg to stand on. Madness.

@countrygirl99I completely agree with you about the need to be vigilant and I would never dream of getting a large amount of cash out of an ATM that wasn’t inside a bank branch. I do recognise everything you say about pickpockets and how they operate, and I’m fairly certain that I am as careful as it is possible to be if I’m withdrawing a large amount of cash. Although I live in London, there are very few branches of my bank left and I have about a 15 minute drive to my nearest branch. I can always park directly outside, always have a strong cross body bag with a zip to put my money in, and there are generally never more than two other customers in the branch at the time I go. I also keep a spray in my pocket, but most importantly, I always have my husband with me. There are many areas and situations where I wouldn’t dream of withdrawing a large amount of cash.

Lying has made this more complicated than it needed to be. I paid a plumber £5k in cash for a new bathroom (I had got most of the materials). Yes I got a discount for paying cash. I also got a quote, invoice and a receipt. How he managed his books is up to him. I called the bank to order the cash and when I collected it they asked what it was for. They didn't ask who was doing the work or ask for any proof. They just needed to write something on their form. I am with Nationwide.

The problem is that if people are scammed they then go to the bank and try and get money back! No legitimate builder expects cash today, if they are demanding cash they eitger avoiding tax, not working legally or both and I’d assume they are uninsured too. Bank transfer is the normal way to pay builders, a percentage up front and the remainder on completion with invoices to back up (for large projects stage payments are also common)