Can't open any bank account need help

[Moshi3009]

Hello,

I am writing here hoping for any help from anybody who might know something about my ridiculous situation.

I have been struggling with opening a bank account for a year now and it seems like nothing is going to change. The problem started when I had my account with Barclay's.
I lost my job and stopped receiving incomes and very soon after they closed my account without even telling me what is the real reason for closing it. They only said something about breaking terms and conditions and they are not allowed to tell me what I've exactly done. Ever since that time I am not able to open any bank account anywhere in UK. I tried with Loyd's, Halifax, HSBC (this one I actually managed but they closed 3 days later without telling me why...). And I am not even applying for a current account. I am talking about a basic account or easy cash account or any other account which should be easy to get for anyone in my position. I should add that I am working full-time, I rent a house, don't have any debt, no overdraft from the last account, have done nothing illegal I know about. I applied for some credit check few months ago and it turned clean. I applied again and just being waiting for reply. I went to the Citizen Advice and the only thing they told me was to register on electoral roll and to open an account at Post Office because they don't do any credit check. I receive cheques at the moment because my employer won't send my wages to my partner's bank account. And the post office do not accept bax payments so I cannot receive my wages in there as well.I am feeling hopeless like I will never open it anywhere. Any solution, please???

[SXGuy]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

have you checked your credit report, to see exactly what the situation is?

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Hi Moshi, welcome to AAD
I'm sure there's something that can be done. I've flagged up your thread in our Experts section so you should get some more help soon.

[The Tech Clerk]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Can't get a bank account? - thinkmoney.co.uk

Adwww.thinkmoney.co.uk/PersonalAccount
try this a fee a month is payable £10.00 i believe or the other one( ffees) = check out their site as they started accounts like the one you are looking for?

[helmsman]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Try to have a look at co op cashminder acc

[Inca]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Nationwide do a basic cashcard account..apply online.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Nationwide do a basic cashcard account..apply online.

NW are strict at ID verification and you must show on ER.

I'd suggest the OP first opens a post office account and then to get salary paid into his partners account. The way banking works is that credits by an employer are specifically number based so to bypass your work saying no, just give your partners sort code & account number and say the account is your name. It's fine. Employers cannot check this and they'll pay it in.

You need to get on the ER really or you will struggle I'm afraid.

[Inca]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

I didn't even spot the 'ER' bit...apologies

[PlanB]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

I went to the Citizen Advice and the only thing they told me was to register on electoral roll

Is there any reason why you're not on the electoral roll? All UK and EU citizens can be on the ER so unless you have a problem over nationality then it should be easy.

Although the council only release the updated version once a year (around February) you can get a letter from them within days of registering which you can provide as proof to a bank. Call the council and get a form sent out asap.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

When you get the letter you can then copy it and send to all 3 CRA's and you also take a copy into a branch when you next apply. That will help.

[ScabHunter]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

I see this guy only made one post and never came back, so hopefully the problem was solved in some way. It sounds like a really nasty one.

The first point to note is that the credit file and credit scoring are almost certainly not the problem here. If someone has a full-time job, and no adverse credit markers on their file, they should be able to qualify for most current accounts, never mind basic accounts. In fact, most banks would not want to give them a basic account because their score would be too high.

There is obviously something serious going on, as Barclays, the bank which accepts undischarged bankrupts, has closed this guy's account, while HSBC opened one but then closed it three days later. That just doesn't happen in any normal circumstance.

This sounds like a case of identity theft or fraud markers, but wouldn't NHunter or CIFAS markers have shown up on the credit file? Could someone have stolen the guy's identity, and then committed some sort of act which would have violated the Terms and Conditions of Barclays, leading them to close his account and then make a negative report somewhere which was then seen by the other banks? I'm just thinking aloud here, trying to find possibilities.

What is almost certain is that applying for any further accounts will be futile, as whatever has scared off Barclays and HSBC is almost certain to scare off any other bank. What is needed is information, and then some way of acting on that information. At least the guy has a job and is still being paid, so there is no immediate danger to his life or circumstances.

What the hell would I do in this situation? Well, the first thing I would try to do is get as much information as possible. That means obtaining an updated copy of the credit report from all three of the CRAs, as well as sending a SAR to any agency which could have recorded fraud information. Obviously, getting on the electoral register is a sensible move, although I doubt it will be enough to solve this problem.

What I would then do is apply for a prepaid Mastercard such as Kalixa Pay or the Orange Cash Card. Kalixa would probably be better in this case, as the Orange Cash Card is affiliated with Barclays and shares data with them. This serves two purposes – firstly, in the unlikely event that the guy is accepted straight away, it would provide an account into which wages can be paid and from which bills can be paid with the card. More importantly, it acts as a diagnostic tool due to the account opening procedures which these services have.

When you apply for one of these prepaid Mastercards, they initially carry out an electronic identity check. This is not a credit check, so anyone including bankrupts should be able to get one. If that does not pass, they then allow the applicant to submit papers to prove their identity. In this case, it would be instructive to see at what stage the application was accepted, if indeed it ever was. If it was rejected even after the submission of valid ID papers, then you would know that there was something very serious going on.

As far as banks go, the only bank in the UK which offers special assistance to those having trouble proving their identity is the Turkish Bank. They have a “Starter Account”, although exactly how that works I don't know, as the bank will still need to comply with regulations. That is hardly likely to be great news to someone in Middlesborough, as all of their branches are in London. The Turkish Bank also only opens accounts for those who can demonstrate a connection with Turkey or Northern Cyprus.

The Turkish Bank is a fascinating beast. On studying its Terms and Conditions, I found that credit scoring is limited to the business accounts. This meant that the personal accounts seemed like a great prospect for anyone with debt problems, and I thought I may have discovered something extremely useful to AAD. They probably are, but you would need to overcome the aforementioned restriction of being able to establish a connection with Turkey or Northern Cyprus first. Quite how vigorously they check such a connection, I have no idea. As far as I know, the Turkish Bank has never been mentioned on a consumer forum before, so this is unique AAD research.

Anyway, the bottom line is that more information is needed before any coherent plan of action can be devised. For now, I would just send out the CRA report requests and the SARs, and then apply for a prepaid Mastercard. If the guy is still reading, I'm sorry I couldn't have been more helpful.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

SH is right. It seems HSBC fraud intervened meaning additional checks occurred so it's possibly an N Hunter data mis-match which would result in a flag to the bank, if they deem the inconsistencies too great they'll reverse the acceptance.

I'd hazard a guess that application data is being fudged / manipulated thus forcing N Hunter to flag it. Failing that it must be CIFAS - worth checking both IMO.

Usually N Hunter kicks in when you apply for credit and the data is different. A slight anomaly such as different job might pass but if you said in one app you worked at ABC Company for 5 years but then 4 years later you apply to another bank and on that app say you've been employed by XYZ Company for 10 years it'd flag it as fraud.

[julian]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

Didn't Coop close down Cashminder to newbies?

My son had one, because he had no history, and was bumped up to a full current account earlier this year, after having the account for 3 or 4 years saying they were closing down Cashminder. I think it was because they were one of the only banks giving the Basic Account and so it was not profitable.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Can't open any bank account need help

They're still available (--> http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/cu...nts/cashminder )

Maybe he was upgraded for good account management