Bank closing bank account out of the blue

Santander did announce they were closing certain accounts but were inviting customers to change to a new account, I think.
If that is the case, did your son miss the letters if he was travelling?
Or has he not paid money into his account regularly and been using up the balance when travelling?

Banks are making arbitrary decisions lately, Nationwide being another one.

His bank address is our address so I have opened any letters and shared content with him. He hasn't had an income for 9 months having saved up for this big trip, now back at work. He still has a positive balance though.

I think sometimes banks close accounts if there hasn’t been any movement for a period of time. It’s better for you if him to contact them quickly or pop some money in. Otherwise it can take a time to get access to these accounts.
M &S have done it to us a few times. We pop another £20 in and all is well.

I wonder if that's why.

Banks have their own reasons for closing accounts, refusing credit cards and not paying the bonuses they promise.

I think the word banks use is dormant.

Open another account with a different bank then take all the money out and close it before they do.

He has been withdrawing money from it in India and Nepal regularly so the account isn't dormant.

I’d guess it’s because he has been withdrawing the money from different places abroad and the bank is paying high charges. It might be worth him making an appointment to see somebody in his local branch.

Silverling48

I think sometimes banks close accounts if there hasn’t been any movement for a period of time. It’s better for you if him to contact them quickly or pop some money in. Otherwise it can take a time to get access to these accounts.
M &S have done it to us a few times. We pop another £20 in and all is well.

This is what happened to my son. He had plenty of money in that account but wasn’t using it.

I have 3 accounts with one bank. I was checking my statements online a few years ago but could only find 2. I had older paper statements so knew I definitely had it so i rang the Bank who said it was dormant as I wasn’t using it. If I hadn’t been on the ball who knows whether it would ever appear again? wouldn’t be so bad but there was £10k in there! Scary really.

That’s scary! I just keep getting emails from my bank to say that the interest rate is dropping again and again! I have emptied one of savings as the interest rate is not worth continuing.

If the bank closes an account, how do they send you the money?

bank accunts are also closed if the bank suspects that the account holder might be using the account for money laundering or other illega business.

If mumofmadboys' son has been travelling around countries associated with drug dealing etc. His, quite innocent travels and money movements may meet a algorithm for dubious money movements and will be shut down.

Did your son get in contact with the bank before he went away and tell them what he was doing and where he planned to be? if he did not, he should have.

This is a gut reaction, but I really do feel that banks should be compelled to give you the reason for closing your account.

Yes, I know it's a business and as such is not obliged to divulge its 'inner workings' etc, etc, but they way they are now advertising their services - encroaching on your emotional well being (Lloyds Bank - "By Your Side" schtick), I think they have a moral duty to give you some feedback.

.. especially in this day and age when we are encouraged - and sometimes forced - to make transactions online. It's difficult to function without a bank account.

Think MOnica is right. Banks generally do not give a reason why the account is to be closed. It has happened a lot with charities and of course Nigel Farage!

Ali23

That’s scary! I just keep getting emails from my bank to say that the interest rate is dropping again and again! I have emptied one of savings as the interest rate is not worth continuing.

If the bank closes an account, how do they send you the money?

In my case they just sat on it and it didn’t even show on statements. They said if I did just one small transaction it would appear again and it did. But say, for example, I passed away and my son looked online it would not have shown up.

We always used to tell banks if we were travelling abroad but the bank then told us not to bother. I could understand money laundering concerns if money was being paid into his bank account in India but it was only going out. Santander said they would send him a cheque on the stated date of closing his account. He aims to live on a budget of £10 a day travelling so regular withdrawals of about £150 a fortnight I believe.

Unfortunately the covid situation has allowed the banks to get away with excuses and supposed plausible reasons to shut accounts and local banks. They then try and shove you into using online for everything, which can make you more vunerable to scams and then blame you!! Of course , it is usually the head office which makes decisions , not taking into account local conditions. They arrogantly think that they can force you to use online only. Well doesnt matter if you are a millionaire with the best phone around, if you live up the dales there is no signal and you need cash to buy things with. Until they have total overall coverage it will remain so. I had an account with Yorkshire bank in Richmond. The staff were excellent, the account good and I was very content , as were many others. The head office decided to close the branch and said it was not far to Darlington to another branch. That is a typical attitude, which did not take into account that we can be snowed in for more than a week etc. The customers, and staff and the local shops were very unhappy about it all but of course they dont care about their customers and so they shut the branch. Well I moved banks to TSB and when I moved again I stayed with them. Another decent group , and yet again, the head office shut this branch down. So have moved to another bank but can see this going in the near future. My way is going to be to use my building society to do as much as possible and I am afraid I may have to go against my principles and look at banking with Barclays. Years ago , I used to have to pass Barclays to go to my bank and it would have been much nearer. But they worked in with south africa during apartheid and so I never banked with them. I have a long memory and things may have changed but I have stuck to my views all these years. However I may be forced into going there if they are going to be the only local branch. Last year, I thought that my bank account was being scammed by fraudsters. As soon as I saw something I did not trust rang the fraud line. Was on the phone for 9 minutes and no one answered. They could have been emptying the account by that time. I put the phone down got in the car and drove to local branch. They checked that the account was not having unusual activity etc and things were sorted and they monitored the account for a time and I eventually got contact with the fraud department. But to me that ability to do something straight away is important. How they have the cheek to blame the customers for most things and then stop accounts is outrageous. They should send you a letter when you join them highlighting what can happen if you dont use your account or whatever, and give you a contact number for a human being, not a flipping robot thing, where you can inform them of your plans and get advice as to what you need to do to keep the account going properly. Around here there are hubs being opened where various banks will have a contact place once a week or something , but it is still not a proper service to the customers. it is not just the actual banks themselves that are affected. We have a local market on wednesdays and saturdays. I live alone and do not want a pack of 6 apples or whatever. So I get cash out from my bank, go on the market where I get good service, small amounts which I choose myself and pay in cash. Then the traders are not paying for use of the card. Everyone is happy. If there is no cash available the market may dwindle or stop altogether and yet again the supermarkets will be the only places to buy things. When they have killed their opposition they can put the prices up. We have a pharmacy in a local supermarket, and having a bad back I can see it is very convenient, but I use the small local chemist for all my needs. People soon forget all the effort and care shown during covid by these independant people, so every bit of soap or asprin you buy elsewhere may save you a little money, but it will end up losing you your choice and ultimately letting the supermarkets dictate the prices. The only thing I can suggest regarding closing of accounts is to firstly contact citizens advice. They may have ideas of what you can do , or put you in touch with the right place to contact. Then consider contacting the banking omsbudman, so in the meantime write out the time line of what has happened so far. Then you might talk among your friends and contacts to see if other people have had accounts stopped for no good reason and perhaps there may be a pattern you can see. I know that I am not the sort of customer the banks want. I pay my way, try to never get into dept, and dont borrow from them. so they dont make much money out of me. They would rather have someone who shops with a card all the time and owes money left right and centre. They will make much more money from them. !!

Moving your account to the only bank in town doesn’t mean it will remain there for long.

They hate to be the last bank standing, as they get all the flak when they do close.

Thanks all for taking time to contribute. I'll let you know what happens.

I am afraid I may have to go against my principles and look at banking with Barclays.
I couldn't recommend Barclays even if they are the last bank in your town, madeleine45.

Do you have a Post Office?
You can use that for banking, I think.

Yes, at the Post Office, including sub post offces, you can pay in cheques & cash and take out cash from your bank account.

One thing - if you do go to a branch & the person on the counter tells you nothing can be done about whatever your problem is, ask to speak to the branch manager who may well be able to help.
Counter staff are not always well-informed.

Just last week, I closed two Santander accounts which I hadn’t needed for over two years. They were both closed ISA accounts, into which post closure interest had been sitting. One account had a balance £1.44, and the other £4.38. Surprisingly, the bank had never suggested that the accounts should be closed, even on occasions when I was in branch, and talking with a member of staff, with all accounts on screen.

I’ve had the same Barclays account since 1970! In years gone by it may have been dormant now and again for up to a couple of years at a time but always keeping around a £50 balance in it. There’s never been a problem. Now - 50+ years later - I have my pensions paid into the same account monthly and use my debit card that’s attached to that account. Last year they wrote advising me they were closing my savings account ( which had around £6,000 in it ) - and gave me about 4 months notice but I quickly moved the funds and closed that account out myself within a month. It was inconvenient because I had to redirect the monthly deposits to this savings account I receive over to my remaining Barclays chequing account. But now I’m moving everything to a different bank this month - Barclays don’t deserve my business or my money……long term customer loyalty obvious means nothing to them!

I wonder if this is actually legal? I have never heard of it happening except when it occasionally has been mentioned on Gransnet, so either banks are entitled in the UK to close accounts without warning, or else something odd is going on.

I suggest your son writes to the branch he has an account with, and demands a reason for this inconvenience, or phones and schedules a meeting with them, then asks for their reasoning in writing after the meeting.

If no satisfactory answer is forthcoming, he should certainly withdraw all the money in the account, or have it transfered to an account in another bank that has assured him that they do not follow this peculiar principle.

He could also ask the opinion of the bank oversight committee or whatever it is called in English, or the ombudsman.

What is Santandar intending to do with the balance in his favour once they close his account with them? I would want that information in writing too pdq.

Gone are the days when the bank manager was your friend! My first job was in a bank and we knew all the customers personally. Some became lifelong friends.

I was treasurer of a local charity for a number of years and then the normal activities of the charity were changed (properly) such that the account was little used. About 8 years ago they told me they had closed it (no warning) and transferred it to a dormant account. I objected, and was given a ginormous form to complete which asked for details of all previous signatories and their approval to close the account. Several of them were dead, some were uncontactable, etc etc. I had to get evidence of every single one's demise - which took about two years! Eventually they said everything was complete and I heard nothing ever again. I contacted my MP (Tory) only to learn that Mr Johnson had decided to commandeer all dormant accounts to help finance his shortfall in cash. I now have a Labour MP so will contact him but don't hold your breath!