Barclays closed my wife's account.

[bonbonizer]

Hello,

 

Barclays closed my wife's account and would not give any information at all after a lot of phone calls they forwarded me to their fraud team who said they will check this and call us back.

 

Few days later we got a letter saying as per advised previously on the phone Barclays have retained their decision to keep this account closed. However we never received any calls at all. I then called back and the same happened where they kept on telling us they are not obliged to give us any information.

 

I said to them why is my wife's account handled by fraud department and if you have accused her of fraud she has the right to know. They said they cannot help us. since then my wife applied for another bank account with a different bank and her credit check failed assuming Barclays have put a CIFAS marker or something else against my wife's name.

 

Please advise what is the best way forward to have this looked into further ?

[renegadeimp]

sar them. Force them to give you the info.

 

Also dont presume this and that. Go to the credit agencies and look.

[Andyorch]

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-4792672/Barclays-closed-accounts-suspected-fraud.html

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Barclays+closed+my+wife%27s+account.&oq=Barclays+closed+my+wife%27s+account.&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[fkofilee]

CIFAS Info also available here....

 

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=69469

 

Also if you require information on the warning itself - You can contact CIFAS directly.

You can request info they have on you.

[sgtbush]

Banks are closing customer accounts in increasing volumes, according to a Financial Conduct Authority investigation, and they are under no obligation to explain why.

 

Most include in their terms and conditions the proviso that they can end a relationship with a customer, while FCA rules merely require that sufficient notice is given. However, if criminal behaviour is suspected, facilities can be legally withdrawn.

Government regulations oblige banks to monitor customers’ accounts for potential money laundering or financial crime, and any uncharacteristic transactions can trigger fraud filters. These filters flag up connections with, or payments from, countries deemed risky, and under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 banks are not allowed to “tip off” a customer that an investigation may be underway.

 

Nor do customers have the right to hear the results of any investigation.

 

 

 

That's what the FCA have to say on the subject.

 

Dont bother to sar them, because they will refuse under the proceeds of crimes umbrella and because it is potentially criminal they don't have to respond

[maroondevo52]

Normally you would get 14 days from the Account closure to try and open another account before the CIFAS marker is placed.

Your new account could still be closed if fraud was indicated.

 

Even if you SAR them I don’t think they have to disclose the exact reason for the closure.

[slick132]

Hi Bonbon and welcome to CAG

 

Please confirm, is this a Barclays or a Barclaycard a/c, so we can have it in the right CAG forum.

 

The SAR is always worth doing and it's now free with a shorter response time required by the bank.

 

Contact CIFAS direct to see if they have a marker in place.