Careful what you say, or you may end up without any banking facilities.

It isn't just Coutts though that make banking life difficult. I have read many stories of people having difficulty with the newer banks too where their accounts have been withdrawn for various reasons but often without foundation. In this day and age, this can certainly leave you up the creek without a paddle.

Unless there are Government sanctions in place, all is in financial legal order and the customer fits that account's financial definitions, I don't think banks should be able to do just withdraw their services. I wonder how many people would be leaping up and down if we truly lived in a fascist state so their accounts were shut down because their political views were left wing.

The government have stopped us “the common people” from protesting or having an opinion that does not match their own.
They have different rules for themselves and for the rest of us
They should be sorting out much bigger problems than getting involved with a bank who object to one persons moral compass ( or lack of it ). I wonder if they are all worried about having their bank accounts closed !

To most of us Farage is an extreme individual and flashing Coutts cheques or cards may have seemed bad publicity for the bank

People might think differently if they had a small business who regularly banked several thousand pounds in cash but banks don’t want their money because they say they don’t know the source of it, even though they can prove they are a business. Farage pointed that out this morning as small business owners have contacted him to say this is happening.

Jaberwok

And you have proof of that vegansrock? I'd be careful if I were you,your comment could be described as libelous.

Farage set up ukip as the sole member, and encouraged supporters to pay donations money into his personal account.

It has never been explained what happened to this money and no accounts ever produced. One gran said that she sent him £50k 😮

I'm with you Gilly. He's the most loathsome creature. I think it's completely reasonable for businesses not to have to trade with people they don't like. Might be behind the times though as I can remember various incidents where gay people have been refused service because of proprietors religious views, a d the guy people have successfully sued them for discrimination.

Yes - but this grubby little xenophobic, racist man will keep the story going for as long as he is in the spotlight.

Nothing will come of it - it is a non-story.

Has Farage appealed to the Ombudsman? Of course not.

Read it all eazybee, not just the highlights. And read the dates when statements were made.

The documentation released to Farage says, repeatedly,
" he meets the Economic Contribution (EC) criteria for commercial retention".
"The Committee did not think continuing to bank (?) NF was compatible with Coutts given his publicly stated views that were at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation."

Inclusive of whom?

The reason his account was closed was because, once he'd paid off his mortgage, it was no longer commercially viable. He's not eligible to bank at Coutts and they didn't want to make an exception for him.

Read the memo in its entirety and follow the timeline. It's all in there.

Maizie, that was also pointed out to Farage last night on Newsnight, by Frances Coppola. She also says she expects the FCA to find no rules were breached.

But Farage knows that facts get lost all too easily in hyperbole, and that his core supporters don’t care about them anyway.

They have offered him a current account just not a business account, unless I read that wrongly. Surely that suggests his business activities are what they are objecting to. I guess that's their right if they see him as a risk. Where does that leave the rest of us I wonder? Lots of us start and run businessess that may become unviable but that's the nature of business, many fail. If this is political then there's no excuse imho but if it's because they object to aspects of his business and a business account isn't a given right as far as I know. I guess criminal gangs launder cash through legitimate businesses and that's harder to identify so denying Farage on the basis of his views (horrible though many of them are) is really just picking the low hanging fruit and not addressing the real problems of corruption and money laundering. Always the same isn't it! I bet the Post Office, with an extremely, almost unbelievably, despicable business record in terms of persecution of their sub-postmasters and sub-postmistress, won't find themselves without a business account! However, I'm sure lots of small business start-ups struggle. I can't stand Farage and think he's seriously damaged our country but really this is, unless there's serious corruption we are unaware of, the thin edge of the wedge.

I’ve always wondered where Farage gets all his money from. Maybe Coutts don’t want to be implicated in handling it!

And you have proof of that vegansrock? I'd be careful if I were you,your comment could be described as libelous.

MaizieD

I'll just leave this here. An 'unrolled' twitter thread by barrister, Sam Fowles KC, with screen shots of bits of the Coutts documents.

Farage's account was terminated because he wouldn't have enough money in it after July this year. Commercial reasons.

They'd looked at his personal 'views' in the past and yet decided to keep him on until he no longer fulfilled their commercial criteria.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1681919318085234693.html

That's what the memo states, but it's being spun differently.

I think a bank, like any business, can refuse any customer it likes (or doesn't like!) as long as the refusal isn't because of a Protected Characteristic - age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

I'll just leave this here. An 'unrolled' twitter thread by barrister, Sam Fowles KC, with screen shots of bits of the Coutts documents.

Farage's account was terminated because he wouldn't have enough money in it after July this year. Commercial reasons.

They'd looked at his personal 'views' in the past and yet decided to keep him on until he no longer fulfilled their commercial criteria.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1681919318085234693.html

vegansrock

What business does Farage run that he needs an account with Coutts? oh I know he has to pocket all that cash his gullible fans sent him.

Aaahhh, are you disappointed that they found no evidence of any link to Russia now or in the past? Sour grapes are not good are they?😉

Just seen NF on TV. He says he has been astonished at the support he has received from people who thank him for highlighting this. He is still receiving messages from people who have been told their accounts are being closed. One today, being from a children's charity.

He is urging people affected to obtain a Subject Access Request from their bank which he never knew existed until this all blew up.

He was asked whether he will now sue Coutts but he said he is keeping his options open.

What business does Farage run that he needs an account with Coutts? oh I know he has to pocket all that cash his gullible fans sent him.

What ever people think of NF?
The bank should not have acted like this, have they done this to anyone else? agree he's not going to let this drop.
Bad publicity for Coutts.

It is a story that is going to run and run by the looks of things.

Casdon

There may yet be more to this than we’ve been told so far.
news.sky.com/story/coutts-bank-hits-back-amid-nigel-farage-account-row-12924062

That’s rich talking about client confidentiality when they tipped off the BBC. They both lied.

They are scrambling around trying to come out of this unharmed. My husband is closing his NatWest account today and it is significant. I have heard others are doing the same.

Farage was offered only a private account and he needed a business account.

There may yet be more to this than we’ve been told so far.
news.sky.com/story/coutts-bank-hits-back-amid-nigel-farage-account-row-12924062

I agree Coutts have handled this badly and I am no defender of bankers but NF hasn’t been denied banking, just at that particular bank. Please Freya5 give an example of David Lament’s anti white racism. That is an unnecessary slur.