Metro Bank gives sixty days notice to close business account

[comebackjimmy]

Hello all

 

As this is a business account query rather than a consumer account feel free to chuck this post off the forum if it is preferred to keep things to consumers.

 

Our business has had a Metro Bank business account for two years.  It has always been well run so no overdrafts unauthorised or otherwise, fees and charges levied and paid at the same time, rarely goes above a hundred a month.

 

Last year we asked for another account and they refused to provide one saying "we did not need one"!!!!

 

In the last four or five weeks we have been asked a lot of questions about our business, wanting to see invoices we send out and to provide figures about the breakdown of our business with International sales.  We do some export to the middle East (UAE and Egypt) and we also have several "Walk in" customers from parts of Africa and Libya.  These guys typically give us cash for our products which are containerised and sent to them.  We never send money only receive it.   We also sell a lot of product on a cash basis as our customers are shops, take-aways and the like and they are cash rich and would rather buy from us in cash than bank it and get a charge for having done so with their own bank.   Consequently we have a lot of cash and we frequently deposit it (via the post office as Metrobank does not have much in the way of branches in the Midlands).

 

Yesterday I was contacted by our account manager to say they were giving us sixty days notice saying they no longer had an "appetite" for our business.

 

This is inconvenient but not a disaster as we have another account elsewhere.

 

My question to the forum is; do they have the right to do this with such a nebulous reason?   We have done nothing wrong and kept the account in spotless order since day one.

 

Many thanks in advance for any responses or comments.

[fkofilee]

Yes - They feel that the risk is too high to do Business with you. 

I honestly wouldnt worry - I would just go elsewhere. Sometimes the risk appetite for businesses like yours with international links is too much - Hence why they can close an account as they see fit. 

Maybe raise a complaint and see what they say... Might open up more info but the info amount can vary. 

 

Also - Erm - Why would we throw the post off because its Business?  

[comebackjimmy]

Thanks fkofilee.

 

My own feeling was and is to move on but my business partner is annoyed as we have done nothing wrong and he is reluctant to just move on.

 

Regarding the Business status of the enquiry I sometimes feel that as this is a voluntary site angled towards consumers there might be the feeling that as a business we should have the resources to deal with these matters.

 

Guess if I do a donation that will solve the problem...so coming up!