A community interest company said it is having to operate “illegitimately” by paying bills from personal accounts due to a three-month bank account closure.
Tempus-Fugitives, a London-based CIC that runs training in 15th- to 16th-century European martial systems such as fencing, said it had been unable to access its funds due to its bank account being subject to a three-month closure.
This comes after the Charity Commission renewed its call for UK banks to provide better service to charities. Last week, it published survey data that showed nearly half of charity trustees asked had experienced banking difficulties in the past year.
Jay Maxwell, director of Tempus-Fugitives, told Third Sector that a couple of years ago, the organisation’s Barclays bank account was opened in error under the details of a different company, which shared a director with the CIC.
Despite repeated attempts to contact Barclays to correct the error, Tempus-Fugitives was forced to continue its operations using this account.
Maxwell said this meant that a different organisation had access to the CIC’s books, saying: “They knew all about our accounts and where money was being moved to and from. And of course, it would also give client details, which really isn’t acceptable.”
He added: “We’ve been trying to get them to change it. We’ve had numerous cases open with Barclays. And every time, through sheer neglect or incompetence, they just failed to do anything about it.”
The account was then closed without warning in January this year, after the second company went into liquidation. This was despite assurances from Barclays that the CIC would not lose access to its account due to the other company being liquidated, according to Maxwell.
The organisation’s account has been closed ever since, despite repeated attempts to contact the bank, he said.
“We have spent hours on the phone just to be told there is nothing they can do,” Maxwell said. He added that the bank kept promising to call back, but these calls were not made.
“I just got promises and promises and nothing actually happened,” he said. Maxwell added that Barclays had urged him to respond to communications sent to the account directly, but since the account is closed he is unable to view them.
Some of Maxwell’s attempts to lodge complaints with the bank were met with messages that urged him to seek mental health and debt advice, communications seen by Third Sector have shown.
One message said: “Have you looked into any type of support to help you with managing the stress and upset this has caused? Please remember your local GP service can support with physical and emotional issues.”
The message included website links to various support charities, including Samaritans, Mind and Citizen’s Advice.
Maxwell said: “I feel like they’re trying to gaslight me into feeling that this is somehow my responsibility. But I run several companies. I’m a trustee. This is not a matter of fiscal irresponsibility.”
Maxwell said he was not able access any of the assets in the closed account and could not view how much was being held there. He added that the organisation was also unable to access new subscription fees paid by its members, which were stacking up in its payment portal.
The CIC, which has three staff members, has been forced to use personal accounts to pay staff and its bills for the past three months, Maxwell said.
He said the company “has no other choice”, adding: “I know that’s not right. I was contacting Barclays and telling them that this is their responsibility. The way this is being managed at the moment, our company is running illegitimately.”
A spokesperson for Barclays said that without the customer’s permission it was unable to comment on the specifics of this case, but said: “Barclays is proud to support thousands of small businesses across the UK, including those set up to serve local communities, and we fully recognise their importance to society.”
