Virgin Money

[Matty B]

I am at a loss. Last week I received a letter from Virgin Money saying they are closing my account in 60 days but no explanation. I called and was told to go into branch so I travelled 25 miles to the branch to be told it was nothing to do with them.



Bit of background

I opened a Yorkshire bank account in 2014 as my town had a branch (long since closed)



A little while later I opened a Yorkshire bank credit card with a small credit limit



More recently I opened a B credit card as it had zero non sterling transaction fees , this was just before they closed that type of card to new applicants.



So Virgin money come along and transfer all my accounts to virgin money.



I opened another virgin credit card with 12 months 0% as I had drowned my old iPad and wanted a new one.



Almost two months ago I found out by looking at my statement that the B credit card had changed its terms and conditionsand now was only zero non sterling if the transaction was in euro's Swedish Kr and Romanian Lee. I called and queried this to be told it was a commercial decision but the call handler did acknowledge that I had not been told about this.



I made a complaint - to be honest this was the reason for keeping the card open . They have about another 3 weeks before the 8 weeks are up and I take it to the FOS



Anyway, after getting the letter giving me 60 days I made a complaint that they a) sent me round the houses b) were unable to tell me why. I was told I would get a call back within 4 days



After 7 I called to be told the complaint had been closed as it had no standing and that the reason my account was closed was something really serious and someone would call me before the end of the 60 days.



Just to confirm, I usually keep £1000 minimum in my account (to get the interest) , have never once been overdrawn and my wages get paid in every month. I pay all my bills from the account . I admit I did a bit of moving money around a couple of months ago and also made a couple of 1K cash deposits.



Is there anything I can do? Oddly they have not closed my credit cards



I have now opened a student bank account with HSBC and also checked my credit file. HSBC are doing a switch to move all my DD's. I have also opened another credit card that gives no charges on non sterling transactions or cash withdrawals 118118 money
.



I want closure but I also want the B******s to pay.



Sorry for the long rant

[R0b]

Hi,

I'm not sure I understand the question. You initially say that Virgin have informed you they are closing your account but then go on to talk about multiple accounts, so it is just the one account or are all of your virgin accounts are closing?

Pretty much all banking terms and conditions have a clause in the contract to say they can either terminate your account if a certain event occurs or there is a general right to close the account usually by giving so many days' written notice. It's no different to any other service contract as there is no legal right for a business to contract with you.

As a general rule, banks do not normally close accounts without a good reason (which may be why you still have your credit card). Many banks have been hit with fines relating to anti-money laundering or holding accounts that fund terrorism or that they're linked to terrorism so a lot of banks like HSBC and Natwest have been closing accounts to avoid risk. The moving around of money on a regular basis sounds like it may have triggered the bank's AML detection software or alternatively the bank could think there might be some element of fraud or identity theft involved.

If they had evidence of fraud they would have probably closed your account immediately so I think it could be that they are being cautious and not taking any risk based on your transactional activities. If there is nothing out of the ordinary, then I don't know why the account would be closed but don't expect to get a full reasoned response from Virgin.

FOS is unlikely going to do anything about it for the reason I mentioned above in that they don't have to legally do business with you and they cannot force the bank to keep the account open.

[Sam101]

To pay for what? If the company have changed their procedure on any type of account, they would have notified customers provided they have a current address. May I suggest that you simply take your business elsewhere and hold an account that your are happy with. Alternatively you can make a formal complaint if you feel that you have been wrongly treated but be prepared for the answer that the company acted correctly and in accordance with the rules.

[atticus]

Banks' terms and conditions all provide that they can close an account on giving a specified period of notice to the customer. If this is what this bank has done, then it has acted in accordance with its contract with you.

[Matty B]

To pay for what? If the company have changed their procedure on any type of account, they would have notified customers provided they have a current address. May I suggest that you simply take your business elsewhere and hold an account that your are happy with. Alternatively you can make a formal complaint if you feel that you have been wrongly treated but be prepared for the answer that the company acted correctly and in accordance with the rules.

I am not sure what you are asking in pay for waht

Secondly surely you mean they should have- well they didn't and they confirmed that they didn't over the phone. As it turns out they also did not tell me about the changes to terms and conditions of the current account . Just so you know I keep all letters from my banks and have everyone going back to the day I opened it.

I know it was a long post but I did say I have made a complaint about the credit card and tried to make a complaint about closing the account- incidentally they said in their letter I could make a complaint

[Matty B]

Banks' terms and conditions all provide that they can close an account on giving a specified period of notice to the customer. If this is what this bank has done, then it has acted in accordance with its contract with you.

I am not disputing their right to close the account, it is the incompetence and sending me round the houses to try and get a reason that irks. Also saying I can complain in the letter and then refusing to even look at the complaint.

Also how would you feel if I told you that you had done something really seriously wrong but not tell you and give you a chance to put it right or prove the allegation is false?

[atticus]

have you been told you have done something "really seriously wrong", or are you reading that into the notice to close your account?

[Matty B]

No I was actually told that. But he then went on to say he couldn’t tell me what. I have done nothing illegal or even immoral. I have no late payments although I did get £50 off Tesco for sending me a NOSIA because there computer can’t cope with me making a payment on the day they produce the statement.

[R0b]

What is the outcome you are looking for? I've checked Virgin Money's T&Cs and they have a right to close the account on giving you the notice specified - they don't have to give a reason and you certainly can't force them to give one either, it's a termination for convenience and there's nothing you can do about it.

I don't think your FOS complaint will go very far either. At worst, the FOS will tell you that they have a right to terminate and they are not obligated to give a reason for termination and that is the end of that. At best, Virgin Money get a slap on a wrist for someone telling you it's serious but won't give an answer or failing to handle your complaint properly and you still don't get the answers you are looking for.

If you are seeking monetary compensation I would be surprised that the FOS will award any or if they do, it will be a nominal amount. From a legal perspective you don't have a legal entitlement to anything whether compensation or otherwise.

I suspect your transactions may have triggered Virgin Money's anti-money laundering software if there have been regular occurrences of it or there may be other grounds to terminate based on the activities of your account.

[R0b]

The reason why you were not told is probably because the person is not authorised to tell you. Taking a punt your transactional activities have probably triggered Virgin Money's anti-money laundering software and raised your account as suspicious. Following whatever internal investigation the decision has been made to close the account by giving notice rather than freezing it immediately rather than raising a report to the National Crime Agency as fraudulent.

There could be several reasons why this decision has been made or it could be that Virgin Money has the wrong end of the stick. Either way, you are unlikely to get the account reinstated, perhaps take it to the media and giving them bad press might make them reconsider reinstating the account.

Your FOS complaint won't go very far either I suspect. I have to agree with Virgin Money though that refusing to consider the complaint would be a pointless exercise simply because Virgin Money does not need to give a reason why they have chosen to close the account, however much you would like an answer - they are terminating the account for convenience and that is their choice, right or wrong.

Best chance of getting it reinstated is go to the media as suggested above otherwise start looking for another account if you don't have a separate current account.

[EXC]

R0b I've approved your posts which somehow got caught by our spam filter.

[Matty B]

To be honest I am not looking for reinstatement, I have gone too far down the line of getting another account now. However, my gripes are
1) It seems to coincide with my complaint about changing terms and conditions on my credit card , the same date they updated me by text that it was taking longer than anticipated was the date they wrote to me giving me notice
2) Telling me it was something really serious, when at worst it is them misunderstanding my transactions- I was also told I would be told why the account was being closed before it actually happened but I won't hold my breath.
3) Suggesting I am a serial complainer when apart from being a grumpy old man , there have only been two complaints in 8 years- one about the credit card and one about the closure


As you say, it is unlikely a complaint to the FOS about closure will get anywhere although not following procedures when terms and conditions change may do; this has happened both with the current account and the credit card account. To be honest if I had known that the current account carries 0 non sterling transaction fees, I would not have been upset about the change with the credit card. It matters not which card I use, it was about which was cheapest.

I have sent a DSAR which might shed some light on it all.