The lunacy of UK banks

Banks are tossers at the moment. I wanted to open an account for my small one man business so people could write cheques to the company name and not me. As soon as I mention id ont need a cheque book or overdraft , they cnat help. Want an overdraft, no probs.

My mother would have difficulty opening a new UK bank account these days as she doesn't have a passport, doesn't drive and does not have a utility bill in her name (as many people don't). It's only because she can show years (and I mean *years*, she doesn't throw anything away) of bank statements in her name that she manages to open new accounts.

Don't blame the banks. My wife worked until recently for one of the Big Four and she was fully trained in Money Laundering rules. These are rigid and inflexible, but before you think that the bank is being picky, consider that if a Bank employee fails to report a situation where there is reasonable suspicion that the cash is dodgy, they can be -personally - criminally - liable. As in jail.

Governments have twigged that it is easier to catch the money than the criminal, so that is the route they are taking.

Lloyds were very good when I wanted to open a business account without any overdraft facility at all.

Failing that, your own bank is usually best at least to start with. Once the account is established, move it elsewhere with better rates.

I wanted to open a savings account with my bank (with for twenty years) They wrote to me and asked for umpteen proofs of who I am (at the address I have been at for twenty plus years) Obviously they know who I am, as they have an account of mine, so why the need for proof for an extra account. I can fully understand asking someone who just walked in off the street for ID proof, but not an old customer.

mrcheerful

I just cant get my head around it

Asked for an account for my business. Fille din all the forms and offered an account with 5000 overdraft , chequebook and card. Also offered a visa card. Asked if I could have same account with no overdraft and no credit card and no cheque book. Was told within minutes that I failed a credit check for that account. I could still have the 5000 OD and chequebook though.

So I am now using my current account and paying in personal cheques (50+) a week and now they are moaning saying I am using it for business use. Where in effect , being self employed , these cheques are my wages.

Bloddy banks.

Why is an american posting such s**te to this board?

See you got taken in Bystander.

JB

To repeat - it isn't the banks, it's the law. My wife worked in a part of the bank that handled FTSE level companies, and she was still obliged to ask financial directors and the like to turn upo at the local branch with passport and other ID - even though the account holding company is worth billions and the Stock Exchange regulators are really thorough.

Having a proof of address is required, but there is NO part on the laundring rules that states that the address needs to be a UK one. Any document normally used as proof of address and of identification from any where in the EU is to be considered valid.

And I also work in one of the BIG ones in Ireland, where the rules are the same.

Unfortunatelly many banks, mainly in the UK and Ireland are too full of s**t, and required things that no other EU country requires. This although they have one of the more retarded ATM networks and online banking system of the main EU countries.

As for Barclays, a few years ago I dropped them as they were requiring my company to make a deposit 3 times superior to the available credit amount of all my company credit cards. e.g. 3 cards with a limit of 3500 UKP * 3 10500 UKP deposit with them. Never seen this anywhere. Moved to Lloyds. No hassle with them.

Frederico Fonseca ema il: frederico_fonseca at syssoft-int.com

i had a "funny do" with 2 banks last year after a split, i opened a single account in the same bank we had a joint one, at my new address, kept the other open to save hassle with the mortgage and such, a few months later, she moved and told the bank of her move, resulting in the bank changing my address too,i played hell up, but they more or less told me to piss off, which i did! then the fun started, the bank i chose for a new acconut wouldn't accept me because my previous bank statements was for an address ive never lived at, and my ex bank said they couldn't back date their c*ck up to put my proper address i never changed????

Where in the previous scenario was ID mentioned though?

It's not. It's the banks' application of the law.

which exists to make maximum profits for them whilst blaming the govt for the extra costs the consumer experiences. cheers james

In message , Frederico Fonseca writes

Ahh! Will that be one of the ones who didnt deduct tax from their clients accounts or one of the ones who targetted their Eire managers to send their deposits to the Isle of Man offices so as to avoid tax and then denied it?

In some perverse way, Tony Blair's proposed ID cards may well ease this sort of problem.

In theory it should. If the soundbites that "this will make things easier for everyone" are true then I should be able to pop into a bank, just flash my TBID card, perhaps have a quick scan, and open an account easily.

I expect that in practice it will be accepted in place of the passport or driving license and I will still need a collection of utility bills. (So that they can choose the ones that are acceptable this month)

That sounds reasonable, but given Bystander's point, I can certainly understand the bank staff erring on the side of caution when they see something not 'routine'.

I would suggest having a word with the bank manager, who should hopefully be better briefed on what is and is not allowed.

My bank couldnt have been more helpful on both counts. My wife, with absolutely no history in the UK, within a week of her getting here, we organised a joint account and a personal account for her. My business account was opened after discussing a few things with the Business advisor. Cheque book and paying in card in the post, as well as a business card with a 9,000 credit limit.

No hassle at all. HSBC (thieving buggers have increased their general business bank charges lately though, so thinking of switching).

Gaz

Myself and a business partner wanted to open a business account and, as we both had current accounts at a particular bank, we chose that one.

They wouldnt open the account without repeat ID and address for both of us, and we both had to attend in person at the same time.

Subsequently, they needed instructions from both of us to change the correspondence address, even though either of us could empty the account without the others' signature.