Teenager denied access to his wages

Teenager Liam Ryan has finally got his hands on his money after discovering his bank account was closed, denying him access to his own cash.

Liam, 16, held a Barclays young person’s account with a £306 balance.

When he lost his account card and visited his branch to pick up a replacement, he was instead told to come back with a copy of his birth certificate and also to bring an adult with him.

However, when he returned to the branch, in Milton Keynes, with the proof, he was then told the account had been closed, meaning he couldn’t get access to his money.

In frustration, Liam’s gran Liz contacted Raw Deal for help.

“Liam was told he had asked for the account to be closed himself, which he hadn’t,” said Liz, who is originally from Johnstone, Renfrewshire.

“He was only 16 and he would have needed an adult to do this.

“He had money in there which was wages from a job but he couldn’t get it out. They also said there was a red flag against his account.”

Liz said she tried to appeal to the bank on numerous occasions by phone to have the account reopened but she kept being passed between departments with no joy.

Raw Deal contacted Barclays and asked the bank to investigate.

Good news is that the company has agreed to let Liam take his money out – but declined to reopen his account.

Barclays said: “We’ve provided the customer with information about how he can withdraw his £306.65 in the branch.

“It is essential that Barclays complies with our legal and regulatory obligations and when we make a decision to close a customer’s account this is never taken lightly.”