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Barclays think I'm an idiot and a criminal

I'm so ******* angry at Barclays. I've had an account with Barclays for a long time. It's the only bank account I have. It's also my student account.

I went to the branch today to take some money out. First thing that happens is that my card is taken. I got told to go upstairs and find out why my card was taken. The personal advisors don't know and tell me to report it to the lost and stolen bank phone line. I did. Then I find out that my account is suspended and to do more I require I.D. I go home and bring my Passport,Provisional license and my College ID with my name and picture on it. It turns out my account isn't suspended. However when I try to withdraw money with all of my I.D. They refuse me. Due to suspicious activity.

Now I haven't lost any money that I know of. In fact my bank account balance is healthier then it is normally. Which can only mean that they think. I am a criminal. I have to go back there tomorrow. Why I don't know. Probably to speak to me. If they really thought I was a criminal. Why didn't they call the police?

I've been speaking to some of my friends and this has happened before to people I know. I want to know several things.

1: What the **** are Barclays up to? I have never ever been treated like this by anyone. Not even the police when they stop and search me. In fact the police have a decency of telling me that I'm not a criminal when they search me. They way they kept treating me was just horrendous.

2: Can I close my bank accounts with Barclay? I can't bare the thought of being in that branch anymore. I hate every single person there. There student overdraft is **** anyway. The reason why I upgraded my account to Student was because I was just to ******* lazy.

3: Will I get my money out of them and will it be easy? I don't want to be fighting them all the way into September. It is Ramadan. I am tired and hungry all the time. I just want to lay back and relax before I go to University.

Reply 1

KaramelRose

13

Has the thought not crossed your mind that it may be that they suspect someone has been using your account without your knowledge? My account was suspended because someone had paid for a vodafone top up that wasn't me and the bank caught it.

Reply 2

tigermoth99

13

Relax, you haven't done anything wrong. It's probably because someone might have used your account without your knowledge and there are some suspicious transactions that caught the bank's attention. If you're upset at the way they've handled the matter, contact the bank's head office, and if you're still not satisfied, contact the banking ombudsman.

Reply 3

DPLSK

14

tigermoth99

Relax, you haven't done anything wrong. It's probably because someone might have used your account without your knowledge and there are some suspicious transactions that caught the bank's attention. If you're upset at the way they've handled the matter, contact the bank's head office, and if you're still not satisfied, contact the banking ombudsman.

Agreed... but I would've talked to the manager first if possible. Give the bank a chance to defend itself before I head for the HO and ombudsman. Although the OP may not want to do that considering how poorly he feels he's been treated.

Reply 4

beautifuldisasters

Stettin

I'm so ******* angry at Barclays. I've had an account with Barclays for a long time. It's the only bank account I have. It's also my student account.

I went to the branch today to take some money out. First thing that happens is that my card is taken. I got told to go upstairs and find out why my card was taken. The personal advisors don't know and tell me to report it to the lost and stolen bank phone line. I did. Then I find out that my account is suspended and to do more I require I.D. I go home and bring my Passport,Provisional license and my College ID with my name and picture on it. It turns out my account isn't suspended. However when I try to withdraw money with all of my I.D. They refuse me. Due to suspicious activity.

Now I haven't lost any money that I know of. In fact my bank account balance is healthier then it is normally. Which can only mean that they think. I am a criminal. I have to go back there tomorrow. Why I don't know. Probably to speak to me. If they really thought I was a criminal. Why didn't they call the police?

I've been speaking to some of my friends and this has happened before to people I know. I want to know several things.

1: What the **** are Barclays up to? I have never ever been treated like this by anyone. Not even the police when they stop and search me. In fact the police have a decency of telling me that I'm not a criminal when they search me. They way they kept treating me was just horrendous.

2: Can I close my bank accounts with Barclay? I can't bare the thought of being in that branch anymore. I hate every single person there. There student overdraft is **** anyway. The reason why I upgraded my account to Student was because I was just to ******* lazy.

3: Will I get my money out of them and will it be easy? I don't want to be fighting them all the way into September. It is Ramadan. I am tired and hungry all the time. I just want to lay back and relax before I go to University.

Seriously, calm down. They will have suspended your account because there has been suspicious activity on it, ie if someone has used your account fraudulently. They're doing it to protect YOUR money from further fraudulent use so you need to go in with ID for them to discuss it with you, to check that it wasn't you that made the transaction. Have you withdrawn a lot of money recently or had a large cheque paid in? If you have, this is probably why they've flagged it as "unusual" activity.

They are not accusing you of being a criminal, they just want to talk to you about why there has been unusual activity on your account. Surely it's a good thing that they are concerned about your money??!

Reply 5

DPLSK

14

beautifuldisasters

They are not accusing you of being a criminal, they just want to talk to you about why there has been unusual activity on your account. Surely it's a good thing that they are concerned about your money?

Touche - didn't think of that.

Reply 6

Stettin

OP

The problem is that everytime I wanted to speak to someone. They would always send me to a personal advisor. Who "miraculously" fixes the issue with my account. Then when I want to do something like check my balance or take some cash out. The issue is still there.

I haven't been a victim of fraud. I have more money in my account now then I did last week. I know where the money is from. I know how much money was going to be in there. The only way someone used my account was if they took money out and then replaced it very quickly.

Which I doubt. I'm also very careful with my bank details. I never shop online unless the website is verified. I never use any computer other then my own to buy stuff online. I never give my card to anyone. Even my mum. I always make sure to rip all the letters I get from Barclays.

I'm also pissed off at the fact that I got treated like a thief at the end. Asking me stupid questions like

Is this your bank account? (despite the fact that I said it was mine and had several I.D. to prove it was me)

Why do you want the money? I told them why at first. Then when I got asked later on. I told them it was my own business what I do with my money.

Who sent you the money? I saw the suspicious look she gave me when I said family. Where else am I going to get money from? Banks that don't even lend to small business?

I am so angry to be honest that I am shaking. If it wasn't for the large crowd of people waiting in line behind me. I swear I would have shouted and gone violent.

p.s. This is also the account my Student Loan is meant to be sent to. Which is why I am worried.

Reply 7

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

17

I bought a game with my dads card(with permission) and his account got frozen. I then bought my freshers stuff and it got frozen again. It's just a security feature to protect you

Reply 8

Stettin

OP

The whole point of security is to make help people out not make it inconvenient for them. I hate dealing with banks because dealing with one bank is like dealing with Hydra. One part has no ******* clue what the others are up to.

My brother just told me that his friend used work for barclays. Apparently they block people all the time just for the tiniest bit of suspicious. They put something called R2 or R3 on it. Apparently most of their phone calls surprise surprise tends to be angry innocent account holders who have been blocked.

Next time I open an account. I'm going to look for banks that don't do that.

Reply 9

hypocriticaljap

2

I have had my Barclays bank acct stopped several times due to suspicious activity that wasn't done by me and I have always been very gratefuk for their vigilance. I never considered proving who I was to be an accusation of being a thief.
Some people don't know when they are on to a good thing.

Reply 10

andy5788

14

People like you piss me off. If someone managed to get hold of your details/card and spent a ******** of your money you'd complain and expect the bank to foot the bill. Therefore they put in extra precautions to ensure it is safe. Seems fair.

Reply 11

Liquidus Zeromus

17

Some banks can be like that. Inflexible bureaucratic *****.

Reply 12

Liquidus Zeromus

17

andy5788

People like you piss me off. If someone managed to get hold of your details/card and spent a ******** of your money you'd complain and expect the bank to foot the bill. Therefore they put in extra precautions to ensure it is safe. Seems fair.

OP already proved his identity. His account wasn't suspended. He deserved a proper explanation and provision of funds if his identity was verified and yet he was denied access to his money with no valid reason except "suspicious activity".

I suppose this is good reason to keep a hefty wad of cash on you in case of an emergency though.

Reply 13

Stettin

OP

andy5788

People like you piss me off. If someone managed to get hold of your details/card and spent a ******** of your money you'd complain and expect the bank to foot the bill. Therefore they put in extra precautions to ensure it is safe. Seems fair.

People like you piss me off. If my account gets compromised because of something I did. I will take full responsibility for it. That is how I was raised. I don't need to be burdened by a monolithic Bank who feels the need to molly cuddle the people who don't know how to behave with their bank details.

The only way I would ask for compensation is if something Barclays did to make me lose my money.

Reply 14

hypocriticaljap

2

They probably think you're a terrorist and are working under the command of MI6.

Reply 15

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

19

tigermoth99

Relax, you haven't done anything wrong. It's probably because someone might have used your account without your knowledge and there are some suspicious transactions that caught the bank's attention. If you're upset at the way they've handled the matter, contact the bank's head office, and if you're still not satisfied, contact the banking ombudsman.

I agree- they usually block your account if they think someone else has been making unauthorised transactions from your account and will re open your account when they have spoken to you and sorted the matter. But seriously, if you think they have been unfair or unreasonable in dealing with the matter then call head office.

Reply 16

at0micsmurf

5

How exactly can they tell if a purchase is suspicious? If I buy some underwear for my girlfriend would they think it's suspicious that a guy is buying ladies underwear? I'ven ever had this problem at Natwest and I've bought all sorts

Reply 17

Fuzzed_Out

14

Lloyds blocked my account when I bought something of a US website, I just called up, let them know it was me and payment went through.

Reply 18

DannyBoy123

15

at0micsmurf

How exactly can they tell if a purchase is suspicious? If I buy some underwear for my girlfriend would they think it's suspicious that a guy is buying ladies underwear? I'ven ever had this problem at Natwest and I've bought all sorts

My suspicion is that they create a 'profile' of each customer based on previous purchases and purchase locations so that anything out of the ordinary is flagged up by a computer system.

When I first opened a spread betting account and transferred a not insignificant amount of money into it, the bank (Barclays incidentally) blocked it. I can only assume it's because I've never been on any betting/gambling websites and spread betting, even though it's not really gambling as such, probably falls under that bracket. In any case, all it took was one phone call from me to say it was actually me wanting to do it and I was away.

Reply 19

bamtutor

Study Forum Helper

16

The OP mentioned that a family member paid money in to his account. If this was a large amount, the suspicious activity could be suspicion of money laundering. Banks have to ensure that people are not using them to process 'dodgy funds'.

Barclays think I'm an idiot and a criminal

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