Bank Account suspended

[cato]

Hi all,

I have been informed last week that my Halifax bank account was suspened, due to what is a suspected fradulent transaction. (my ex has claimed that some money from her MBNA card which was put into my bank account was not authorised by her and therefore she is claiming fraud...) The investigation is still ongoing but because the suspected transaction was into my own personal account Halifax has suspended access. This means that I am unable to access any cash, pay bills or even pay for my sons food, clothing and school dinners. In addition, as part of my work I travel and am expected to pay for my travel expenses and claim them back at the end of the month.. As you would expect I now cannot travel and this is impacting upon my work. At this stage it is merely an accusation and I have not been given my chance to offer my side of the story...the bank will not talk to me or even give me advice

Can a bank do this even though it is an accusation?? How can they force me to live without money, pay bills or even conduct my business based upon an accusation

I must admit I am desperate for some sort of advice on this situation and would appreciate any information or assistance someone can give.

Help!!

Thanks
Cato

[shamen]

Re: Bank Account suspended

If there is a hint of fraud banks will suspend accounts. Sometimes it may be on a court order. Normally they have provisions for this in their terms and can in some cases rly on money laundering regs.

I suggest going to your local branch and making an urgent appointment with the manager to speak about the situation and the position it has put you in. Use things like being a good customer, how long you have been with the bank, the hardship its putting you in etc.

If that fails (or if the meeting leans towards accusing you of criminal activity) then get a solicitor. This one may be lengthy to resolve im afraid, and it sounds like your ex is just trying to make trouble for you.

Do you know how the money got from the card into your account, for example im guessing your account does not have facilities to accept credit card transactions? So that leaves only a few options - payment at the counter using a credit card 'advance' or a credit card cheque, for example. Do you know which was used to pay this money in and who paid it in? Was the payment expected by you - eg, did you expect the money to arrive and then spent it, or was it unexpected?

[shamen]

Re: Bank Account suspended

I should also add as this may be an ongoing issue, its probably a good idea to nip down to a different bank and ask for a basic bank account, such as Natwest 'step' account. Have wages paid into that.

Do you have any access to credit to tide you over?

If the situation gets really dire, banks have been known to speed up looking into things like this when newspapers get involved. Mark King may be worth talking to http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/markking/

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Thanks....the payment was fully expected and done online with my ex's approval....as we split up she does the usual and refuses to pay the balance.....so she makes an accusation...

I have spoken to a solicitor about the accusation and he indicates there will be no case to answer...however, this has happened after my discussion and wanted to atleast get some opinion before I pay another £££ to get the solicitors opinion.....

I appreciate your response..thanks
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Shamen...I have no access to any monies as I only have the one account...I have been borrowing cash from family to tied me over...

One additional point!!! Although the bank suspended my account the did allow my wages to go in two days later....just now they wont let me take it out....typical from the banks me thinks...

cato

[shamen]

Re: Bank Account suspended

.the payment was fully expected and done online with my ex's approval

Does this mean you logged in to her account (albeit with permission) and processed the payment? Or did your ex do it herself? This is going to be an important point. Was this a payment to cover a debt owed to yourself, and if so do you have any record of that/proof (for example, receipts or perhaps your ex regularly paid money into your account to cover bills?)

I didnt even know you could log into a credit card online account and send a payment to a bank account - im guessing thats some form of cash advance?

Im sorry to hear about your wages going in, if they had frozen the account then I would think that they would not accept them, but clearly thats not the case. You really need to speak to the branch manager urgently and if they wont unfreeze that account, then perhaps try to persuade them to reverse the wage payment. You should at least get a reason why they have accepted funds into a frozen account .

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

She actually logged on and did the transaction, but I guess I cannot prove this...The payment was to cover bills etc and was to cover several months....infact in over 3 yeasr she had never contributed anything, but I aksed her to this time because I had a health issue which prevented me from working for sevarl months and went onto half pay.....

I guess I can prove that the payment went in after I wnet on to half pay, which might help!!

[shamen]

Re: Bank Account suspended

She actually logged on and did the transaction, but I guess I cannot prove this...The payment was to cover bills etc and was to cover several months....infact in over 3 yeasr she had never contributed anything, but I aksed her to this time because I had a health issue which prevented me from working for sevarl months and went onto half pay.....

I guess I can prove that the payment went in after I wnet on to half pay, which might help!!

This could help you. As there is no record of her giving you any money in the past towards household expenses then this just goes to confirm your story. Additionally as her MBNA account has never paid any money into your account before, it would be a big stretch for her to claim you had the ability to log in and do this.

Did she log in from your house, eg on your internet line, or was it on her mobile or similar? I dont really think its a big deal if its from your house and computer as if she was still living with you then that just goes in your favour too. If she was just visiting and used your computer/internet then it may be a good idea to have something to prove she was around at that time - perhaps she texted or emailed you to say she was coming at a certain date/time which co-insides with when the payment was made? This would give a good demonstration of why your computer or internet address performed the transaction.

In the meantime, keep meticulous records of everything you need (but cannot get) because of her actions. How it has impacted your job, your life, your child(ren). Any stress or pressure it is putting on your family or extended family. Any credit interest that may be being paid in order to keep you going. Late payment fees on household bills and other credit agreements. everything. The reason I say this is that because of false accusations you are undergoing hardship and are likely to incur financial loss. Once you are cleared of any wrong doing, I would say you have a strong case to claim from her in the county court for any material loss and suffering.

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

thanks you for the advice as its very much appreciated....I will take this further with a solicitor as advised....

cato

[shamen]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Good luck. Keep us posted!

[CleverClogs]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Thanks....the payment was fully expected and done online with my ex's approval....as we split up she does the usual and refuses to pay the balance.....so she makes an accusation...

It seems to me that her accusation could itself be fraudulent.

Does she have big boobs?

[leclerc]

Re: Bank Account suspended

I would add a further thing, I would in the future have one account for her money and another one that is for your bills and essentials with separate banks not connected so that should any issue arise then they should not suspend the account. I have to say I am surprised that they didn't remove the money to an internal suspense account whilst they investigated the case so that it would not leave you in financial hardship. Was there sufficient funds in the account for that to happen?

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Hi All,

Thanks for the assistance and I will be keeping you updated!!! However, slightly off track but in relation to my problem...

Can a police officer access the police national database and search for a person without any just cause?? Would a search without arrest or caution not be covered by data protection??


Thanks
cato

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Hi,

The reason for my previous question is hard to believe but true.

Since my split from my ex (4 weeks) I have been using an internet dating site (yes I know)!! I got talking to a person (who implied she was a police officer by saying she wants to meet somebody who is not in the JOB). Over those for weeks she has been asking lots of question about me including my job and the area of the town I live (which I thought was unusual but answered)...Then suddenly I received the following:

"the other day a friend was telling about me about a friend whose live in partner had got out a credit card in her name and ran up debt on it of about 3k. Apparently he was into on line gambling (I would call that a vice). Anyway quite rightly she promptly dumped him and it's funny you know but he sounded abit like you. So it can't be you!!! Can it?"

I would like to know if this is not prejudicial and if this person has searched me? In addition, can police officers discuss things like this??

It is a small town were I live and something like this can be very damaging, especially if police officers are discussing between themselves and mentioning on internet sites, when again I stress that no arrest, caution or charges have even been raised.


Thanks
Cato

[Caspar]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Nobody is here to judge you and I was not long ago best man for a friend who met his wife through an internet dating site.

In answer to your question police officers cannot access the database without good cause or reason. It is regarded in the force as a very serious breach and can ultimately lead to a police officer losing their job.

You also need to be aware that it is a big accusation if you propose to accuse this woman of accessing the database. Something I would not recommend you do lightly.

[cato]

Re: Bank Account suspended

Thanks Casper,,

Would you consider an accusation as good cause or reason.... For me it does not as it is only an accusation...

I have sent a genaral enquiry to the police service asking if they are able to share information about who and why my data has been accessed, if of course it has. I have aksed if I can have this information under the freedom of information act...lets hope.

Thanks
Cato