An account to shame NatWest

LET me ask you a question. How would you feel if your bank said it was withdrawing an offer of a credit card it had accepted you for? A little miffed, for sure.

How about if a day later it then said it no longer wanted to do any business with you?

Push aside for one moment the fees you have paid over the years for inadvertently slipping into the red, the paltry interest paid on your savings balances, and the pretty unimpressive service you have received (constantly left on the telephone waiting for your call to be picked up by nonexistent customer services).

Factors that should have prompted you years ago to have transferred your money to a newish, more customer-focused provider (Metro Bank or Nationwide) – but inertia kicked in. If I am not mistaken, I imagine you would be pretty angry at this stage, especially if no reason was given for the bank’s decision, other than some glib reference to a section buried away in its terms and conditions authorising it to act in such a heavy-handed way.

Just 14 days to find a new bank before your credit and debit cards are cancelled, direct debits rejected, any overdraft has to be paid off, and your salary has no banking home.

How about if your bank then applied two more doses of salt to your already open financial wounds by a) rejecting an appeal for your accounts to be reopened; and then b) denying access to your money. All the time, refusing point blank to explain its draconian actions.

Unbelievable? No, this is what has just happened to one young NatWest customer whose father I met last week.

Not surprisingly, the episode has left them both angry and upset.

Eight years a customer and an impeccable one at that – no debt or student loans – and then treated like a leper. Without reason or explanation.

For more than two months, this 24-year-old customer has been trying to get NatWest to explain why it abruptly closed the door on her – and then froze her accounts, leaving her unable to access the £17,000 she had tied up in the bank.

Even a letter sent by solicitors acting on her behalf failed to illicit a response.

She is not alone. Figures just published by the Financial Conduct Authority show that banks last year terminated 375,000 existing customer relationships – as well as denied services to more than a million prospective customers.

In most cases, concerns over financial crime – money laundering for example – were the triggers for the terminations and rejections.

In banking jargon, such actions are known as ‘de-risking’ operations.

In presenting its research, the regulator said every termination should be ‘done right’ and ‘on a targeted, individual basis’. It said any bank failing to treat customers fairly would face a fine.

Unexplained account closures are a growing problem as evidenced by the number of complaints ending up at the door of the Financial Ombudsman Service – some 50 a week.

And NatWest is acquiring an unwanted reputation for being one of the more aggressive closers.

For our 24-year-old NatWest customer, there is a ‘happy’ ending.

Some two-and-a-half days after The Mail on Sunday intervened, the bank overturned its decision to close her accounts.

It also apologised for the ‘distress’ caused.

It said its initial decision to close had been triggered by ‘information’ obtained from fraud prevention agency Cifas – material it accepts is no longer valid.

Right result in the end. But wrong on every other level. NatWest should go back to the drawing board and reassess its approach to closing accounts.

Have you had your bank account closed without rhyme or reason? Drop me an email.