A WOMAN has slammed her bank after it closed her account and locked her out of more than £8,000 for weeks.
Invoicing administrator Amy Cudd, 24, won’t be able to buy her partner a birthday present after she was left suddenly penniless when NatWest closed her account last month.
2
Amy’s aunt, who lives with her in Sudbury, Suffolk, transferred £6,000 into her account on March 30 as a gift to ease any financial pressure.
Within 24 hours her account had been suspended because of “unusual activity”.
A notice read: “Our fraud team has detected some unusual activity on your debit card. They have put a temporary stop on your account until they can discuss with you your recent transactions.”
A letter sent on April 6 confirmed her account was closed.
It read: “I am satisfied that the correct and fair outcome was initially achieved and we will not be looking to take this matter further.
“Regarding your funds, as mentioned previously this process can take up to 60 days.”
Amy said workers refused to tell her why she could no longer access her money.
She said she was “begging” for them to help her but they “wouldn’t do anything”.
Most read in Money
Amy told the SunOnline: “I was panicking and crying. They didn’t care. I was paid on the Friday before and had bills due. I didn’t know what to do.
“I was forced to scramble around asking family and friends to help me. I still don’t have my money.
“I haven’t been able to buy anything. I’m relying on my aunt for food and I won’t be able to buy my partner a present or celebrate his birthday on Wednesday.”
NatWest told her it could take up to 60 days for the funds to be released back to her.
She added: “It’s made me so depressed. I couldn’t cope with the stress of it. It’s disgusting that they’re able to do this.”
Amy said she felt like her money was being held hostage for no reason.
She hasn’t been able to access any funds for two weeks.
Natwest this week claimed it has reopened Amy’s account and offered £100 in compensation after it was approached by The Sun Online for comment.
A NatWest spokesperson said: “We apologise to Amy Cudd and she now has full access to her account.”
How to avoid your bank closing your account because of “suspicious activity”
BANKS will suspend accounts if they detect any “suspicious activity”.
This might include sending or receiving large amounts of unexplained money.
It covers any transactions that don’t fit with the users typical spending pattern.
If a bank suspects a customer has been victim of a fraud – where large sums of money are sent – it will close the account.
This stops the customer losing anymore money.
Similarly if a large amount of money is received, it might look like a money laundering operation.
A bank might flag this as money potentially made from criminal activity and close the account while it launches an investigation.
Nick Brett, partner at Brett Wilson, which deals with account freezing orders, warned there’s nothing you can do to guarantee the bank won’t suspend your account.
He added: “Give them advanced notice of any unusual transactions. But even then sometimes that won’t stop the bank freezing the account.
“The only way to keep your account working is by having the same regular payments coming in and out.
“Anything else will be flagged by an electronic algorithm as suspicious.
“Communicating in advance doesn’t stop it but it could help.”
He said money coming in from abroad, large deposits and lots of unusual transactions are triggers.
“Often online sellers might be flagged because they have so many transactions coming in and out,” he added. “Using your personal account for a business isn’t a good idea.”
How to avoid your account being flagged?
- Warn your bank ahead of time if you’re expecting large deposits.
- Check any restrictions that may be in place on your account.
- Have any relevant documents available to prove the legality of your transactions.
2
