Ep- 40 Don't be locked out of your bank account

Mrs Mean Money Show

Every week hundreds of customers are locked out of their bank accounts with no warning. They cannot withdraw cash, pay bills and often cannot find out why.
As fraudsters come up with new scams, and commandeer the accounts of vulnerable customers, banks use complicated logarithms to detect suspicious activity and they often get it wrong.
The banks' systems are looking for unusual activities in our transactions and innocent payments may be mistaken for terrorist financing or money laundering.
Banks do not want to tip off fraudsters or other villains and do not have to tell customers what they suspect is going on.
It can be the arrival of a large sum of money from an inheritance, a cashed-in investment or a repaid loan that triggers the bank's freezing an account.
Once the account is frozen it is often too late to get the problem resolved quickly. Mrs Mean says we should all think ahead if we are expecting unusual payments into or out of our accounts and tell our banks in advance, providing documents to support the declaration.
It is also a wise move to have a second current account, so that you have access to money at all times, and you may be able to get £200 for opening a new account.
The Financial Ombudsman Service and the free online complaints service, Resolver, both help customers caught out.
You have to give the banks time to sort things out but the majority of customers struck out of their accounts. It is much better to be aware that banks do not like surprises and to keep them informed.
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Please send ideas questions, tips and warnings about rip-offs to Mrs Mean through the contact page on her website: mrsmeanmoneyshow.co.uk or to [e-mail]

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