I want my cash

[ric]

Last week I went in to my branch of HSBC and asked to close my account. It has a substantial amount of money in it which I wanted in cash. I accepted that they may not have that amount to give me there and then but I thought that they might be able to arrange to have it for me later in the week. They asked me why I wanted to close my account and take my money, to which I should have answered "none of your business", but being a polite sort I said that I needed the cash to do some home repairs and to take a holiday.

They wanted evidence of this. They then refused to allow me to take my cash. They said that I could only close my account and take the money if it was transferred to a different account but that they would not give me this amount in cash.

Do I have to put up with this BS? Is there anything I can do to get my cash? I am not a money launderer, nor am I a terrorist or a drug dealer. I just like to be able to pay for things in cash rather than on plastic.

[vanman]

Re: I want my cash

i would go to the cash point every day and take out the max until its empty

[Bazza]

Re: I want my cash

Last week I went in to my branch of HSBC and asked to close my account. It has a substantial amount of money in it which I wanted in cash. I accepted that they may not have that amount to give me there and then but I thought that they might be able to arrange to have it for me later in the week. They asked me why I wanted to close my account and take my money, to which I should have answered "none of your business", but being a polite sort I said that I needed the cash to do some home repairs and to take a holiday.

They wanted evidence of this. They then refused to allow me to take my cash. They said that I could only close my account and take the money if it was transferred to a different account but that they would not give me this amount in cash.

Do I have to put up with this BS? Is there anything I can do to get my cash? I am not a money launderer, nor am I a terrorist or a drug dealer. I just like to be able to pay for things in cash rather than on plastic.

I was under the impression that they had to oblige for whatever reasons. I would have asked to see the manager / manageress to discuss the matter and state that what you do with your money is up to you.

I don't know how much you are talking about but perhaps withdraw your daily limit from a cashpoint - perhaps some experts would be able to comment further.

[Amethyst]

Re: I want my cash

Them asking what you need the money for is to try and help protect against fraud. Quite often when ( particularly elderly or vulnerable ) people try to withdraw large sums in cash from their bank it is to pay some dodgy tarmac/windows/roofer/diamond investment sales scammer.

It is advised to pay for things over a certain value (£100) on plastic as you then have at least some protections under CCA s.75 for credit cards, or chargeback for visa debt.

[ric]

Re: I want my cash

I did speak to the manager but he just gave me some cobblers about it being company policy blah blah blah.

He went on about how he understood where I was coming from and that he didn't really agree with the policy but that "they" wouldn't allow it. "They" being head office. A faceless, nameless entity that gets to say whether I can have my hard earned cash. I should not have to tell complete strangers in the bank what I plan to do with my own money. I should not have to provide evidence to them. The more I think about this the more annoyed I get.

[ric]

Re: I want my cash

Them asking what you need the money for is to try and help protect against fraud. Quite often when ( particularly elderly or vulnerable ) people try to withdraw large sums in cash from their bank it is to pay some dodgy tarmac/windows/roofer/diamond investment sales scammer.

It is advised to pay for things over a certain value (£100) on plastic as you then have at least some protections under CCA s.75 for credit cards, or chargeback for visa debt.

I understand but I am neither elderly or vulnerable. I have free will and if I want to squander my lawfully earned cash on tarmac, windows, hookers and casinos then I should have that right. I don't want to do that BTW, but if I did then it should be nobody elses business.

[Amethyst]

Re: I want my cash

lol, I agree, it's a case of rules being there to help protect those who may not really want to buy tarmac but have been pushed into it. How much cash are you talking about ? Guessing more than £10k.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717 might be of interest

7 days notice should be fine though. I'll see if I can see anything in their terms. What kind of account do you have ?

A spokesman from HSBC said: ‘We may ask about the purpose of a cash withdrawal when the transaction is large, unusual and out of keeping with the normal running of a customer’s account.

‘In these instances we may also ask the customer to show us evidence of what the cash is required for. The reason for this is twofold, as a responsible bank we have an obligation to our customers to protect them, and to minimise the opportunity for financial crime.

‘Transactions involving large sums of cash have inherent security issues and leave customers with very little protection should things go wrong.

‘So it’s only correct that, when appropriate, we ask customers the right questions and explore whether an alternative payment method might be safer and more convenient for them.

‘There is no restriction on the amount a customer can to withdraw from their accounts electronically, via cheque or banker's draft.’

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/e...#ixzz3JLeP2tBb
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I reckon it's a case of a being a bit too rigid with a policy from HO for fear of being scapegoat if something did go wrong.

[ric]

Re: I want my cash

Yes it's more than 10k. They won't let me close my account unless I have the balance transferred to another account. Taking the cash is out of the question grrrr. It's just a bog standard savings account. It's not even a current account.

[Amethyst]

Re: I want my cash

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...l-request.html from March 2014

That article quotes the clause

'' “We, or any other member of the HSBC Group, may take whatever action we consider appropriate to meet any obligations, either in the UK or elsewhere in the world, relating to the prevention of fraud, money laundering, terrorist activity, bribery, corruption, tax evasion and the provision of financial and other services to people who may be subject to economic or trade sanctions. This may include, but is not limited to, investigating and intercepting payments into and out of your account(s) (particularly in the case of international transfers of funds), investigating the source of or intended receipt of funds, sharing information and documents with domestic and overseas tax authorities and withholding income from your account and transferring it to such tax authorities…” ''

that they apparently have now added... clause 34.5 “intercepting, investigating, delaying, blocking or refusing any payment, service or application for a service, or use of credit…”

I'd transfer it to another account at another bank with a less strict withdrawal policy.

£10k tends to be the flag for money laundering etc.

[ric]

Re: I want my cash

Grrr the problem with that is they're all probably just as bad. I hate banks. Always have always will.

[nemesis45]

Re: I want my cash

Grrr the problem with that is they're all probably just as bad. I hate banks. Always have always will.

I think this scenario merit a Formal Complaint to the CEO at HSBC see what come out of an investigation in to his banks practices.

[righty]

Re: I want my cash

That banks got a bleeding nerve They've recently been fined millions for laundering vast amounts (billions) of drug money

[ric]

Re: I want my cash

It beggars belief that they feel they can get on their high horse and imply that they need to do this because some of us may be money laundering when only today more stories have appeared in the media of alleged corruption and tax evasion within their own ranks. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30078275

[righty]

Re: I want my cash

I recall when Northern Rock was going t*ts up and savers were demanding their money one couple want in and demanded their £1.000.000b returned the female manager said no and they refused to leave. She then called the police but when they arrived they asked the manager why couldn't they have their money its theirs what right do you have to withhold it I think she thought she might be arrested so she phoned head office and got permission to produce a bank draft for £1000.000

[leclerc]

Re: I want my cash

I don't get why you simply take in two forms of ID and say that it is for house repairs and leave the account with 1p or the nearest £5 and withdraw the money.

Once that part of the bureaucracy is dealt with then go into a different branch and ask to close the account(take any cheque books, cards etc etc) and then ask for the remaining balance in cash. Simple solution imho.