Bank account has been blocked/locked

Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 11:59
Last edited 21/05/2016 - 12:00

Hi all,

I went to make an online bank transfer this morning and was unable to complete it as an error message kept appearing saying I had no valid account to transfer from.

I called my bank and was told that my account has been temporarily blocked but they couldn't tell me why!

I was not notified or anything and now have no access to any money for the weekend. I can't speak to the department responsible for this as they don't work on weekends.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I guess this more of a vent than anything haha. I'm just astounded how this can happen without any notification or explanation

Financial

Comments

  • fruit on 21/05/2016 - 12:05
    +1

    If you google the number you called does Google tell you it's your bank? I've heard of malware that does this and gives a phone number to call that is a scammer. (Not saying this situation is it, but just sounded strange)

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:08

      I Googled my bank to find their contact number so I don't think so

  • nocure on 21/05/2016 - 12:08
    +1

    Better to be safe…the bank's system may have detected something strange happening.

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:10
      +1

      Yea possibly! Is it possible that someone may have called my bank and somehow placed a hold on my account?

      I tutor a lot of students and so I provide my details to a lot of students to deposit money for my services.

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 21/05/2016 - 15:07
        +3

        Regardless of the issue, I wonder if receiving repeated sums of money into a private account triggers any alarm bells.

  • Paul Atreides on 21/05/2016 - 12:09
    +1

    which bank?

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:11
      +1

      Bank of South Australia

      • woteva on 22/05/2016 - 08:14

        Are they owned by Westpac ?

        • Baysew on 22/05/2016 - 10:16
          +21

          So Westpac have probably just blocked it, in case they give you a $4.6 million overdraft and you go crazy buying handbags.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 22/05/2016 - 16:25
      +7

      which bank?

      Not that one.

  • retiredfeline on 21/05/2016 - 12:13

    Or maybe an IT stuff up making your account inaccessible, which the customer rep reported as blocked. Sorry to hear it happened on a weekend for you.

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:16

      Hopefully it's only a small error like this! I just called the bank again and apparently they did try and call me on Thursday but the only number they had on file was my old home address and nobody was there to answer. So they just went ahead and blocked my account after being unable to contact me

  • sparkles on 21/05/2016 - 12:27
    -5

    When they couldn't tell you why, as a bare minimum, why didn't you throw a tantrum? I would have. I mean, that's hopeless!

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:30
      +29

      It was not the fault of the girl on the phone and throwing a tantrum would not have achieved much if anything except to let my emotions take control of me. It's frustrating that it happened but it will be sorted soon I hope :)

      • sparkles on 21/05/2016 - 12:35
        +5

        I have worked in finance. Sometimes escalating things it is the only way to get things resolved in a timely manner.

        Leaving you with no access to your money could ruin your weekend entirely. Leave you with no petrol. No way to eat. No way to pay for entry to a venue. It's serious and they should at least be somewhat accountable or offer a better explanation as to why.

        • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 12:38

          Maybe I'll call them again and see what can be done! Thanks!

        • Morien on 21/05/2016 - 15:02
          +11

          Escalating does not require a tantrum, nor does a tantrum help an escalation. Tantrum's result in receiving the bare minimum. Remembering that the person you are speaking to is human and treating them as such results, more often than not, in them wanting to help you, and therefore doing their best to do so.

          OP, position sucks, but based on what you've said you've handled it like a gent.

        • sparkles on 21/05/2016 - 15:22
          +4

          @Morien: True. Using the word tantrum was probably the wrong word for starters. Having been on both sides of the fence I find being assertive more effective than being a doormat. When customer service staff are assessed on timed calls, turnaround, calls answered quotas, they want you to just go away. To become someone else's problem.

          To get resolution on issues deemed "too hard" you need to push for it these days, otherwise you'll be simply left waiting for the phone to ring, which won't. I certainly never advocated treating anyone as sub-human, but assertiveness will get you to places that being reticent won't. You should also be able to get resolution on pressing issues whether it is the weekend, or nighttime. Excuses are just a reflection on the quality of a product and/or company when dealing with something important as people's access to their own money.

        • Morien on 21/05/2016 - 16:41

          @sparkles: Yup. Assertive is definitely a better word. Wholeheartedly agree.

  • nahi11 on 21/05/2016 - 12:53
    +6

    Lodge a compliant with the Financial Ombudsman as well

  • holdenmg on 21/05/2016 - 13:22
    +4

    Hi,

    You can try calling:

    BankSA Assist - a service for those facing financial hardship

    1800 679 461 Saturday 8.30am - 4.30pm

    I'm sure if you explain the situation they can try and assist.

  • kima on 21/05/2016 - 13:27
    +1

    had this happen to me because there was a 1c transaction on my account. it was an ebay auction. bank will sort it out for you, the only reason they block it is because they are responsible for covering fraud. if it was you that had to pay up they wouldnt care less

    • grimace3 on 21/05/2016 - 13:48
      +5

      Even if that was the case there should be someone working during the weekend in the fraud department that could unblock the bank account.

      • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 13:49
        +4

        You'd think so :(

  • Randxyz123 on 21/05/2016 - 13:51
    +1

    Banks have emergency numbers and departments for this sort of thing. THEY AREN'T GOING TO LEAVE YOU WITHOUT MONEY FOR THE WEEKEND….

    Why didn't you ask why it was blocked? If the customer service rep couldn't tell you get him/her to find out or speak to the manager.

    I just called the bank again and apparently they did try and call me on Thursday but the only number they had on file was my old home address and nobody was there to answer.

    Ok so this is partly your fault as well then… Why didn't you have your mobile listed as the contact? Why didn't you update your bank with your new details…?

    • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 13:57

      I did ask they couldn't give me an answer. They just kept telling me to call back on Monday when the fraud department is there.

      I wasn't aware they didn't have my mobile number too, I have updated my details with them now.

      • Randxyz123 on 21/05/2016 - 14:18

        Yeah I'd have kept saying, what the heck am I meant to do this weekend? Not eat?

        • Heracles26 on 21/05/2016 - 14:20

          Yea I did say that a few times but kept hearing the same answer. If it's resolved by Monday it'll be fine

        • Randxyz123 on 21/05/2016 - 16:29

          @Heracles26: I'd have been firm in making the point that "I still need to buy food and petrol and other things".

          I'm not saying you should yell and scream but sometimes customer service is handled by people being paid SFA and they have 0 f***s to give about your situation. To get something to actually happen you sometimes need to put your foot down and tell them firmly yet politely that this isn't good enough and ask to speak to the manager or supervisor.

  • try2bhelpful on 21/05/2016 - 15:06
    +1

    Hopefully it will be sorted out on Monday but I would still have some stern words with the bank on the fact they don't have the ability to unblock an account on a weekend; this could cause serious issues to some people.It probably wouldn't bother me as I live out of credit cards. paid in full each month, and we have a number of different bank accounts, anyway. Bet of Luck.

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 21/05/2016 - 15:13

    Although a different issue, my Citibank Debit card co-incidentally stopped working the second I went on a holiday (but in the same state). They couldn't explain why it happened either (technical issue?) but luckily I had a back up card.

    Imagine how powerless you would be when everything becomes electronic.

    • liquid metal on 22/05/2016 - 20:17
      +3

      Banks could shut down your life in seconds. Scary thought.

  • Drifta on 22/05/2016 - 01:04
    +3

    Having worked in the fraud department for a big 4 until very recently there can be many possibilities as to why account is locked.

    Could be a txn going through that has had fraud reported in the past and they are being cautious, can be a legit txn that looks dodgy or terminating in an overseas location that is dodgy or could be they have detected multiple login attempts / malware on your pc/phone etc. The list is endless.

    If you have multiple accounts with them you should be able to access other accounts in that case.

    If someone pretending to be you is attempting to access your funds as you hinted they could have blocked all your accounts.

    The surprising thing is they don't have anyone working on weekends. Certainly the place I worked at was manned 24/7.

    I always recommend to family and friends have accounts with multiple banks. Plenty of zero fee accounts available and leave a little money to cover a couple days expenses in there. If you feel like you are missing out on a couple dollars of interest you can even open a linked online account.

    Defs should be resolved on Monday. Otherwise you can call and ask to speak to a Team Leader and press for more info or at least a way to access a small portion of your funds for basics.

    Can defs lodge an ombudsman complaint if you have been screwed over by this but if you're not desperate for funds let it go and make sure your mobile number is updated for the future.

  • tooblue on 22/05/2016 - 10:19
    +2

    What if someone stole your ID and was trying to access your funds? How do you prove that you are actually you through the phone? Bank doesn't know who you are given the contact number doesn't match.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2016 - 19:11
      +1

      Exactly this. You could be the scammer for all they know

  • snappy1234 on 22/05/2016 - 10:31
    +1

    How do you prove that you are actually you through the phone?.

    Yeah had this happen to me omg so frustrating at the time (which bank)
    they had mucked up my DOB, had the account for so long and one day went to change something and they asked for DOB and whatever else needed to ID me
    of course they don't tell you what isn't matching the system.

    Had to go into a branch to sort it. (which was a big issue- no branch near my work at that time, and they were only open when i was at work.)
    my boss lent me his car as i was commuting by train (long hours)

  • JediJan on 22/05/2016 - 11:28
    +2

    When my Commonwealth account was blocked (I was unaware of this at the time) the bank sent me an sms asking me to attend a branch as soon as possible.

    Apparently some *** had attached one of those monitoring devices to an atm, that we have all heard about. The information provided account and pin numbers of those that had used that atm in a certain time period, before being detected and taking large sums of money from some accounts. I was one of the lucky ones though, but had to prove my identity, give an estimated bank balance, and last time I used the account to a manager. I then had to change my pin number while I was still inside the bank.

    These things can happen for good reason and for your security. Good reason to keep your address and phone numbers updated with the banks. I believe you will possibly be required to attend a branch to have the matter sorted. I do think the banks should offer some weekend or after hours service for customers though.

  • ycon on 22/05/2016 - 20:31

    Could have been garnished legally- any unpaid debts/issues with the law?

  • andyken on 22/05/2016 - 20:34

    Have you recently accept a job from email claiming some easy job from home. And then they will send money to you and all you need to do is send the money via Western union and give you 10-20% from the amount you send.

  • Stphen on 23/05/2016 - 02:02

    When St George renewed my Debit Card, the new card worked up to a point, but would not finalise a transaction. I had plenty of money in my account, so was puzzled. Somehow the debit card was not attached to my account and in fact was not attached to any account. They reckoned it had never happened before and were not sure how it was possible. They had to send me another card, as they could not fix it and were very sorry about it happening.

  • R3XNebular on 23/05/2016 - 06:02

    I transferred $10,000 into one savings from another account both with the same login and they blocked my account for suspicious activity. Called them up and was like why would you block my account if $10k is being moved into acc… block my account if $10k is being moved OUT of my account.

    • nultma on 23/05/2016 - 06:09

      If I had to guess, they probably have a "material threshold" where the account gets frozen until they ascertain where it was from. Probably to prevent stories like this

      On a darker side of things, I know that bankruptcy trustees can freeze bank accounts if there are large funds in an account as at their appointment that they want to collect.

  • kiribatian on 23/05/2016 - 10:41

    I once got my ING Direct account suspended for 'not being in the spirit of banking'. It was around the time of the 5% cashback offer. I was going to Australia Post and paying my car insurance/council rates etc in multiple transactions <$100.

    • abb on 23/05/2016 - 11:54
      +1

      Did you honestly think that behaviour was "in the spirit" of the 5% cashback?!

      • alizzan on 23/05/2016 - 12:26
        +5

        I would have thought that using whatever loopholes to maximise your profits is most definitely in the spirit of banking.

        • JediJan on 23/05/2016 - 21:32

          "Spirit of banking" definitely not a term I have heard before. Funny that it came from a financial institution and not the other way around.

      • kiribatian on 24/05/2016 - 22:07

        Luckily it was only temporary. Now I am back using it for the 2% cashback but don't do anything similar anymore. It's a great card- you can withdraw from any ATM and they will refund the fee. Although I am using the HSBC Debit at the moment due to the 5% cashback offer.

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