Lender ‘hung me out to dry’, says de-banked customer

Accountant Ameet Shah was left without access to any of his salary or savings when his building society abruptly froze all his accounts earlier this year, in the middle of a major house renovation project.

Mr Shah, 36, received an email out of the blue in February from Nationwide Building Society informing him that his accounts were being frozen and placed under review.

But as the email had mistakenly gone into his junk folder, he first discovered he was barred from accessing his accounts when trying to make an online transfer to a friend.

When he called Nationwide, he said their customer service team was also unaware of the situation for two days before transferring him to the department dealing with it.

“That’s when I was told my account had been completely frozen and to make other arrangements, which is quite difficult when my salary and everything else goes into those accounts,” said Mr Shah.

“They froze everything… everything under the sun. Savings, ISAs, current account – everything.

“I’d been with them for over 25 years.”

When he contacted the lender about the decision, they said they were unable to give him a reason for why his accounts had been frozen and he was given no time frame on how long it would take to review his case.

Under current rules, banks have the right to close a customer’s account in the same way that a person can choose to shut their own account and lenders do not have to explain to a customer why they have closed their account.

Mr Shah said while lenders need to have these rules to protect against money laundering and financial crime, he said he had “done nothing wrong” and felt he was “hung out to dry”.

“It was the lack of support. I’ve been a member (of Nationwide) for 27 years and they literally hung me out to dry.

“When they said ‘find other alternatives’, what other alternatives do I have?”

He said it also came at a time when he was renovating his house and needed access to funds to pay contractors and builders, while he had also recently started in a new job.

He said he was impacted badly by “the stress caused to me and the amount of time spent dealing with this and delays in paying suppliers for my house”, while also worrying over what effect it might have on his credit rating.

Mr Shah said he had to borrow money from his father to help tide him over financially when his accounts were frozen and he was able to use a different account he already had open with another bank for direct debits, but still had some payments that were bounced.

He was eventually able to recover his money from Nationwide later in February, when he said the firm took the decision to close all his accounts without notice and told him to “come and collect his money”.

Mr Shah believes that in cases where there is no fraud or financial crime, “customers have a right to know” why their accounts have been frozen.

A Nationwide Building Society spokesman said: “Nationwide manages accounts in line with all current relevant industry, legal and regulatory obligations and guidance.”