Sunday, January 26, 2014

Prove it: Bank blocking some customers from making large withdrawals without ‘evidence’ of spending need



Prove it: Bank blocking some customers from making large withdrawals without ‘evidence’ of spending need
By Eric Pfeiffer 
If you bank at HSBC in England, don’t plan on making any large cash withdrawals. At least not without a good explanation. Or, maybe even a permission slip.

That’s because a previously unannounced change in banking policy is blocking some customers from making large withdrawals without “evidence” explaining why they need the money from their accounts.

The policy affects customers attempting withdrawals for amounts as little as £5,000 ($8,253).

HSBC says it’s all done in the name of customer protection.

"The reason being we have an obligation to protect our customers, and to minimize the opportunity for financial crime,” HSBC said in a statement. “However, following feedback, we are immediately updating guidance to our customer facing staff to reiterate that it is not mandatory for customers to provide documentary evidence for large cash withdrawals, and on its own, failure to show evidence is not a reason to refuse a withdrawal. We are writing to apologize to any customer who has been given incorrect information and inconvenienced."

The change in approach comes after the BBC aired reports from multiple HSBC customers who said they were denied in their recent attempts to make cash withdrawals.

Banking customer Stephen Cotton says he attempted to withdraw approximately $11,000 to repay a loan from his mother but was blocked from doing so.

"When we presented them with the withdrawal slip, they declined to give us the money because we could not provide them with a satisfactory explanation for what the money was for,” he told the BBC. “They wanted a letter from the person involved."

Cotton says the bank wouldn’t even tell him how much he was allowed to withdraw under the new policy, which was not announced to customers when taking affect last November.

"So I wrote out a few slips. I said, 'Can I have £5,000?' They said no. I said, 'Can I have £4,000?' They said no. And then I wrote one out for £3,000 and they said, 'OK, we'll give you that.' "

In the U.S. there have been rumors of similar restrictions that major banks such as Citibank have denied. After the massive security breach at Target retail stores in December, JP Morgan did place a temporary limit on how much cash customers could withdraw from Chase ATM’s at Target stores and how much they could spend on their debit cards at one time. But that limit has since been removed.

A Conservative member of the British Parliament said the change in policy “infantilizes the customer.” However, the head of retail at the British Bankers Association defended the policy.

"I can understand it's frustrating for customers,” Eric Leenders told the BBC. “But if you are making the occasional large cash withdrawal, the bank wants to make sure it's the right way to make the payment."

BBC
Margaret Jay was a producer & presenter for the BBC, and is a member of the House of Lords.

Note: House of Lords is a house in the British Parliament.
BBC is the governing body for the BBC Trust.
Christopher Patten is the chairman for the BBC Trust, was a member of the House of Lords, and a co-chair for the International Crisis Group.
George Soros is a board member for the International Crisis Group, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a founding sponsor for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, and a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch.
Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked the Human Rights Watch, and the BBC.
Bashar al-Assad is supporting the Syrian Electronic Army a hacker group, and the president of Syria.
John J. Studzinski is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), a director at the Human Rights Watch, and was a co-head of investment banking for HSBC Holdings plc.
Rachel Lomax is a director at the HSBC Holdings plc, and was the deputy governor for the Bank of England.
Adair Turner was a director at the Bank of England, and is a governing board member for the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
Anatole Kaletsky is a governing board chair for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, and the editor-at-large for the Times of London.
Winston Churchill II was a foreign correspondent for the Times of London, a member of the House of Commons, and Winston Churchill’s grandson.
House of Commons is a house in the British Parliament.
Winston Churchill was Winston Churchill II’s grandfather, the prime minister for the United Kingdom, and a member of the Order of Merit.
Nelson Mandela was an honorary member for the Order of Merit, and the founder & honorary elder for The Elders.
Martti Ahtisaari is a member of The Elders, and the chair emeritus for the International Crisis Group.
Kofi A. Annan is the chairman for The Elders, and a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Lakhdar Brahimi is a member of The Elders, and was a board member for the International Crisis Group.
George Soros is a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Christopher Patten was a co-chair for the International Crisis Group, a member of the House of Lords, and the chairman for the BBC Trust.
House of Lords is a house in the British Parliament.
BBC is the governing body for the BBC Trust.
Margaret Jay was a producer & presenter for the BBC, and is a member of the House of Lords.





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Inexcusable - absolutely inexcusable seizure of private assets. i don't give two pollywogs in a plastic bag why. The money is deposited in bank's accounts by depositors with implicit trust that those funds will be available on demand. This is the backbone of the entire concept of banking and trade. To interfere in these transactions when the person has proven who they are, is simply illegal seizure, and if they change the laws to make it legal then the very tenants of currency exchange and trust in the currency must be questioned. This is a highly dangerous incursion into people's private affairs, a very dangerous moves for the banking industry to make and a extremely dangerous policy for any government to support.