Those who have had their accounts closed by UK banks

[Pumpuynarak]

5 hours ago, freedomnow said:

If you log-in to banking from Thailand for a significant amount of time that can show up

 

 

Time to use my VPN then.

[Chivas]

18 hours ago, freedomnow said:

How did they 'become aware' ?

You'd be absolutely astonished as to what information is held on every adult individual out of the UK

I had reason to find out unfortunately for the very worst of reasons but I was having WTF moments inside my head under interview over events perfectly legal in themselves but thinking how the hell do they know that

 

It was off the scale of insane..

One that makes me seriously laugh (across all forums) is the assumption by so many that the British Government has no idea you're outside of the UK "because" your passport is no longer checked outbound by border control

 

People that live full time in Thailand and receive the annual uplift in State Pension for some reason believe our DSS are unaware....

 

They are aware but as with any finite investigation service there is only so much money allocated to deal with it and 95% will get away with it....DSS stop the payments and full investigations starts and that costs £1000's.....by the time its complete the annual increases were miniscule in comparison

 

Returning to banking itself it is the "duty" of the bank to "know their client"

 

They are aware rest assured. Again "has the client become a problem"....No says the bank to itself so they let sleeping dogs lie

 

This how the world revolves

Edited July 31, 2023 by Chivas

[freedomnow]

10 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Time to use my VPN then.

It's your computer clock timezone as well.

 

I cannot log in to my Thai stocks being in UK as my clock is set to UK timezone unless I put it on Thai time.

 

Glad I'm keeping my UK banking address with all such hassles.

[Eff1n2ret]

23 hours ago, Chivas said:

Returning to banking itself it is the "duty" of the bank to "know their client"

 

They are aware rest assured. Again "has the client become a problem"....No says the bank to itself so they let sleeping dogs lie

You're probably right. I don't believe there are any regulations which preclude banks from maintaining accounts for expat customers. However, it is reasonable to assume that they perceive a bigger risk with such customers and their criteria for keeping an account open may be much more restrictive. It would be nice if they were less secretive about those criteria, so we all know where we stand. But I would say that anyone who deceives their bank about where they are really living is not doing themselves any favours in the long run.

[scubascuba3]

7 minutes ago, Eff1n2ret said:

I would say that anyone who deceives their bank about where they are really living is not doing themselves any favours in the long run.

I think you have that the wrong way around, many examples of people providing their banks with a Thailand address and years later the account is closed

[transam]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I think you have that the wrong way around, many examples of people providing their banks with a Thailand address and years later the account is closed

I haven't used my UK account for 15 years, they know I am in LOS, but they still send me weekly/monthly emails on how wonderful they are, so as of yet, they still like me......????

[scubascuba3]

32 minutes ago, transam said:

I haven't used my UK account for 15 years, they know I am in LOS, but they still send me weekly/monthly emails on how wonderful they are, so as of yet, they still like me......????

It's a lottery, totally depends on the staff there and what they've decided

[transam]

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a lottery, totally depends on the staff there and what they've decided

Weeeeeeeeeell, I put it down to a computer........????

[Pumpuynarak]

Tell ya what guys i've had a HSBC account in the UK whilst living in Thailand for 17 years. I've never told them about my residency in Thailand for fear of them closing the account but i've also got a credit card with a 5K limit and an overdraft facility of 15K.

Now if they knew of my Thai residency would they not cancel both these arrangements for obvious reasons ?

[Mike Teavee]

19 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

I don't believe there are any regulations which preclude banks from maintaining accounts for expat customers

I seem to remember at the time this was all kicking off, Barclays cited Brexit as the reason that they were unable to service Spanish customers as they no longer have a license to provide Banking Services in Spain & so started closing accounts for any customers who live in a country where they are not able to provide Banking services  (One of which is obviously Thailand) - Their T&Cs do say that you need to be UK Resident to have an account with them.   

 

For my UK Banks, Virgin (Now Natwest) who I have my mortgage with asked me to provide a TIN (Tax Identification number) for Thailand so they could report the interest they pay me, I told them to p155 off as it would be too much hassle for the sake of the £2 pa (I keep a small credit on my mortgage) interest I get... They've left me alone but last month wrote to my mate to tell him they'll be closing his account in September (He'd paid off his mortgage but kept the current account open) so maybe not heard the end of it. 

 

Barclays knows that I no longer live in the UK as they moved me to Singapore 15 years ago (My current account is still listed as a "Staff" account despite me not working for them for 9 years), but I'm still concerned that they'll come back & close my accounts, especially as my Brokerage/ISA accounts are with them but hopefully if that happens I'll be able to move over to using one of their IOM/Channel Island Offshore accounts... IIRC it's approx. £40 pm but don't really have a choice as all my income comes from the  UK nowadays. 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Tell ya what guys i've had a HSBC account in the UK whilst living in Thailand for 17 years. I've never told them about my residency in Thailand for fear of them closing the account but i've also got a credit card with a 5K limit and an overdraft facility of 15K.

Now if they knew of my Thai residency would they not cancel both these arrangements for obvious reasons ?

Yes, for obvious reasons

[vinny41]

Farage says Coutts is offering to keep his accounts open

 

Coutts has offered to reinstate Nigel Farage's personal and business bank accounts, the former Ukip politician has claimed.

Mr Farage said the new boss of Coutts had written to him to say he could keep the accounts.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66367896

[scubascuba3]

9 hours ago, vinny41 said:

Farage says Coutts is offering to keep his accounts open

 

Coutts has offered to reinstate Nigel Farage's personal and business bank accounts, the former Ukip politician has claimed.

Mr Farage said the new boss of Coutts had written to him to say he could keep the accounts.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66367896

Yes this debacle may make banks think twice before closing expat accounts willy nilly

[Pumpuynarak]

4 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes this debacle may make banks think twice before closing expat accounts willy nilly

I'd like to agree with you but the issues are entirely different imo.

[scubascuba3]

32 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

I'd like to agree with you but the issues are entirely different imo.

Different, but obviously a connection and no law saying UK expats can't have a UK account

[Pumpuynarak]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Different, but obviously a connection and no law saying UK expats can't have a UK account

Agreed there is no law but can banks not make there own T&C as they see fit ? 

[scubascuba3]

7 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Agreed there is no law but can banks not make there own T&C as they see fit ? 

as they see fit I don't know, but didn't Coutts do that and see what happened

[Pumpuynarak]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

as they see fit I don't know, but didn't Coutts do that and see what happened

Different issue, what happened with Farage was downright wrong and they have paid the price for it. Banks stipulating that you have to be a UK resident is surely there perogative, i can understand why they have that rule, think credit cards/overdrafts. 

[scubascuba3]

6 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Different issue, what happened with Farage was downright wrong and they have paid the price for it. Banks stipulating that you have to be a UK resident is surely there perogative, i can understand why they have that rule, think credit cards/overdrafts. 

Same same but different 

[Chivas]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:29 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Yes, for obvious reasons

Assumption being the mother of all <deleted> ups as Saddam found out to his cost........

[placnx]

On 8/1/2023 at 12:36 PM, scubascuba3 said:

I think you have that the wrong way around, many examples of people providing their banks with a Thailand address and years later the account is closed

There is a program running on Al Jazeera English on Sunday at 19:00 which can also be watched online. It's Al Jazeera World : The Database, and the program note is: "Information about you that private companies supply to banks can come from any number of sources and result in your account being closed for no apparent reason."

This is a two-part program that was initially shown in April 2020.

[retarius]

I'm in the process of closing my all overseas accounts. I have one with Nat West that I've had for over 50 years.....Nat West went from being a great service oriented bank, to a total piece of rubbish. My local branch has been replaced by a cubby hole with 2 people who can't even given you a statement more that 6 months old. 

I have banks in the US too and sending money to Thailand is always a hassle. One has my major pension and they won't pay overseas, so I'm stuck with them....the other is my Investments with Vanguard, great service for the US but poor for overseas. Plus a few other old accounts, that I'll collect together and bring the money back.

[Jenkins9039]

I became aware my account (santander) was frozen in May 2023 after transferring 2.2k in to pay for funeral expenses in the UK.

Apparently this was done in Nov 2022.

 

I rang, and it was to update my records in the system.

 

This morning i logged into the account on the off-chance the funds deposited in May were 'free' and the accounts have ceased to exist with a message _0023.

 

I haven't really used Santander in 13 yrs, just kept it open for events such as described.

 

No clue what's happened to the funds, no communication and I understand this is the norm these days.

 

My only advice is keep funds in-case of something similar happening to those less established with other accounts (elsewhere) or all eggs in one basket.

[scubascuba3]

44 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

I became aware my account (santander) was frozen in May 2023 after transferring 2.2k in to pay for funeral expenses in the UK.

Apparently this was done in Nov 2022.

 

I rang, and it was to update my records in the system.

 

This morning i logged into the account on the off-chance the funds deposited in May were 'free' and the accounts have ceased to exist with a message _0023.

 

I haven't really used Santander in 13 yrs, just kept it open for events such as described.

 

No clue what's happened to the funds, no communication and I understand this is the norm these days.

 

My only advice is keep funds in-case of something similar happening to those less established with other accounts (elsewhere) or all eggs in one basket.

Need to keep accounts active, obviously, minimum balance and some transfers or payments every year 

Edited August 4, 2023 by scubascuba3

[Jenkins9039]

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Need to keep accounts active, obviously, minimum balance and some transfers or payments every year 

Well there was 2.2k in there, those funds have since disappeared. 

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Well there was 2.2k in there, those funds have since disappeared. 

Sounds like you were too slow at tracking down the money and investigating your account 

[Jenkins9039]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Sounds like you were too slow at tracking down the money and investigating your account 

perhaps, reading online seems to be a common theme, problem is they have your email, phone number, address, etc but never get in touch with you.

 

It's 2.2k so not really bothered but to some it will be a dramatic financial hardship.

I'd advise anyone holding a UK account to consider moving it to somewhere else.

[The Fugitive]

21 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

perhaps, reading online seems to be a common theme, problem is they have your email, phone number, address, etc but never get in touch with you.

 

It's 2.2k so not really bothered but to some it will be a dramatic financial hardship.

I'd advise anyone holding a UK account to consider moving it to somewhere else.

Santander UK wrote to my UK address asking me to get in touch. Because I was in Thailand I was unaware. I noticed my online access was suspended. I telephoned and explained I was temporarily abroad. After answering questions about my future intentions regarding my accounts and zero credit card they reinstated my online access. I believe had I not telephoned when I did my accounts could have been closed.

[scubascuba3]

1 minute ago, The Fugitive said:

Santander UK wrote to my UK address asking me to get in touch. Because I was in Thailand I was unaware. I noticed my online access was suspended. I telephoned and explained I was temporarily abroad. After answering questions about my future intentions regarding my accounts and zero credit card they reinstated my online access. I believe had I not telephoned when I did my accounts could have been closed.

Did you not have a mobile number they could sms? also they can send emails or account message 

[The Fugitive]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

Did you not have a mobile number they could sms? also they can send emails or account message 

Yes, they had my UK mobile number (VOIP) to which they have previously sent OTP's. It definitely works. There were no secure messages or emails from them. I suspect writing to the address upon the account is considered more secure?