Those who are now fully ingrained in British society, such as my Romanian friend John, who has been in Blighty in excess of a quarter of a century, find themselves scuppered in their attempts to “get on”, at every turn.
John arrived in the back of a truck and spoke no English. He slept behind a petrol station for many weeks, picking up a broom daily to clean the forecourt, unpaid, to keep himself busy and build a relationship with the staff who would feed him. Eventually he got his break when a customer, noticing his work ethic, befriended him and offered him a job.
From there he has built up several successful car-based businesses and employs numerous staff. He pays full UK taxes and takes pride in this as he, in his own words, attempts to “shake off the stereotype” of Romanians being “never do wells”.
And yet, he is then scuppered by the UK system. Around a year ago, he phoned me, in an un-John-like panic, as his business bank account had been shut down, without warning. Although he speaks fluent English, I do help him out with the writing of letters and emails as, by his own admission, his writing skills are not his strong suit.
His bank had indeed closed his account down and had frozen his funds. Direct debits dropped and creditors weren’t paid, thus putting a further black mark against his name with credit reference agencies. The bank, who we went straight to the top with, refused to give any reason as to why his account had been shut down. Meeting a wall of silence, I undertook my own research, and it seems like the following has played out: Numerous banks have been fined huge sums recently – £108million in one case – for “significant gaps in its money laundering controls” by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).
The banks, now on red alert to save future fines, have directed staff to close accounts for the most spurious of reasons. They have not trained the staff beyond “any reason they deem suitable” so they can shut down accounts with impunity. It’s akin to being arrested and held in a cell for years on end without ever knowing what the alleged crime is that you are charged with.
Once a bank has shut your account and you have fought to have your funds returned to you, they then, with no reason given, issue a CIFAS marker against you.
This marker is then shared with every financial institution. Again, the banks do not inform you of the CIFAS marker which has then been used, in John’s case, to shut down a further three business bank accounts, all of which are refusing to give him a reason.
He is now, despite making a success on integration to the UK, a semi-broken man who sees his only option but to admit he is beaten and return, confused, to Romania, to start over again. It is “a shame” he concedes. “I love this country and its people. My kids are educated here, yet some faceless bank clerk can, behind a wall of anonymity, affect my life to such a degree that it is not worth my while carrying on fighting a losing battle.”
John is not alone. There is a Facebook group which totals more than 9,000 members in its ranks, all with remarkably similar stories.
Simon Daws writes: “In January my bank gave me 60 days’ notice they were closing down my accounts for no reason, after 46 years”.
There are scores of similar stories of long term, honest, law-abiding citizens having their accounts closed and their money held with no reason given. Many have succumbed and through desperation suffered mental illness and the loss of their livelihoods, relationships, and homes as this corrupt activity, not out of place in Soviet Russia, continues unabated, seemingly unchallenged by regulators or government.
And no, I have not been victim to having a CIFAS marker placed on me, yet, but that, like all of us, is in the lap of the banking gods. This is an issue we should all be concerned with as there is a chance that you could fall foul next as you wonder where it all went wrong, as it has for John and thousands of others, suffering a financial freeze frostier than the coldest of winters…
