I just want my cash
 

A friend recently went to withdraw some money from the bank (£6k),he was buying a new motor.
But as well as getting his money he got a (bonus,) verbal (,Gestapo) questioning :eek:
Eventually they got the manager to authorize it an once out the bank he rang me (stressing) saying what had gone on.I told him to "calm down" an explained "that's how it is with them nowadays"
(i should of told him to go back an empty his account :D ).
Knowing my mate i couldn't see how the bank thought he was a money-launderer, terrorist mastermind or Mr Big in the drugs world :hehetable.
ANYWAY.....

Should we have to explain to the bank what we intend to spend our own money on? Besides it wouldn't be hard to make something innocuous up like "buying a motor".

Are they trying to discourage us from using cash because cash transactions can't be easily tracked/controlled?

What if he exercised his right to privacy and refused to tell them what he wanted his money for?

Re: I just want my cash
 

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago.
I had seen a bit of jewellery that I liked. I had looked at it a lot and eventually decided that I was, as the advert says, 'worth it'. It was not a cheap gee gaw, it was a lot of money.
I went to the bank to draw out the cash(I had just cashed in an endowment policy which mean that there was money in the bank) when I asked to withdraw this money I was given the third degree...they wanted me to prove who I was(passport required or photo driving licence - I have neither) this is the bank where I have been a customer for 50 years - having been given a tin money box when a pupil at Peel Park Junior school.

If it had not been for the account being in joint names I would have been sent away potless, but my husband has a photo driving licence so was able to withdraw the money in his name.
I wanted to close my account there and then, but was dissuaded from doing so by the fact that changing to another bank at that time would have meant lots of problems with bills and payments.
Now you have raised my awareness again I might just go in and stir the pot a bit.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable for banks to use caution when issuing large sums. For one it's not really safe to be carrying £1000s around the streets in your handbag & we sometimes hear of people being scammed by rogue builders etc and forced to withdraw money in payment. There are often better methods of transferring cash - debit card, on-line transfer or banker's draft. (Just saying.)

Re: I just want my cash
 

Yes, of course there are other ways of transferring money, but some people still like to deal in cash(for whatever reason). In my case I was getting a very healthy discount for paying in cash. It is MY money. If I choose to take the risk of carrying it in my handbag that is my business - not the banks...and what was most irritating was thay they wanted to know what the money was for. That is none of their business.

It is all about money laundering. Nothing at all to do with security.
I am a long time customer who visits the bank on a weekly basis. I am known to the tellers and the manager. Surely it would have been easy for them to put my debit card in their machine and have me tell them what bills I pay and what debits go into the account. I could have done that quite easily(though I should not be questioned in order to get what is. my own money)I do not plan to get a passport or any form of identity card to access my money.

Re: I just want my cash
 

You've a valid point Dave,Personally I think there's a far more sinister motive behind them trying to control our money.
Maybe to boost the bank's capital reserves so they meet higher ratios imposed on the banks in the wake of the financial crisis.Its easier to use our cash than build up their own reserves which would impact their profits and thus the bankers bonuses.
Remember Bank is a 4 letter word ;)

Re: I just want my cash
 

I think it's right that they are being careful who they give your money to. After all if they make a mistake and give £6k to the wrong person they would have to give it back to the account holder.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Utter crap, when yeh have banked wi em fer donkeys years, most of the staff know damn well who yeh are.:rolleyes:

Re: I just want my cash
 

Not a huge sum but we had a Xmas club at work with money in a building society. Someone stole a mailbag which contained a passbook being sent to the organiser. The thief withdrew our cash & it took us ages & a load of hassle to get refunded. (The post office had not reported the mail bag theft to the police btw!)

Re: I just want my cash
 

What would happen if you exercise your right to privacy and reufuse to tell them what it's for?
Would the bank be committing criminal offences If they refuse to give you your cash??

Re: I just want my cash
 

Of course they have to safeguard the money of the customer, but why ask for photo ID...if you can give details about your account...like where and when your credits and debits are going(along with the fact that you have a valid and testable bank card) surely this should be enough...and WHY ask what the money is to be used for...that isn't protecting the customer in any way.

If an account holder were laundering money there would be evidence of this on the account history.
If someone is visiting a branch where they are not known then I can see some validity in asking for photo ID...but my incident was in the local branch where I am known and a regular customer....and have saved there for 50 years.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Common sense goes out the window Margaret, as Neil has just demonstrated.:D

Re: I just want my cash
 

Sometimes I think the money I have saved would be better stuffed inside the mattress......after all it isn't making anything for me......but it is making money for the bank.
Then they have the audacity to ask me to change my current account to a paid for account...telling me that my current account is 'old fashioned' - just like me was my response.
'But you get lots of perks' they said.......
'They aren't perks if you have to pay for them, and especially if they are not something you will use' says I.

I get hassle every time I go into branch.....insurance, mortgage advice(I don't have a mortgage)...investment advice.....fixed term bonds.....etc, etc.

Re: I just want my cash
 

It's a tick-box world these days. In this case, more than £x, get form, tick boxes.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I rarely go into a bank branch. Paid-for accounts aren't suitable for many people (I don't have one at present) but it's borderline for me. If I can get better interest rates, breakdown cover, travel insurance & one or two other 'perks' for £10 per month then it may become advantageous.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Does the government think that the only reason for large amounts of cash is to pay into the 'black economy',and as such,they won't get their sticky fingers on a share? ;)

Re: I just want my cash
 

Well, at my bank for these so called perks you would have to be paying £13 a month.
It isn't worth it to me. I don't want or need travel insurance, or breakdown cover......discount in shops is only worth anything if you use those shops.
I have to go into the branch regularly as I am the authorised agent on my mothers account...so, known to the tellers and the manager who helped me set up the authority.

What hacks me off the most is that they ask what the money is being used for. It makes me feel like a ten year old, having to justify how I spend my pocket money.

Re: I just want my cash
 

They get their sticky fingers on a share...it is the tax they take on any(however small it might be) interest accrued by the account.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Just tell 'em you've got a big drugs deal coming up & see how they respond!

Re: I just want my cash
 

I did think of telling them I was going to use it to have a boob job...or a sex change:D
I wonder what they would have said!

Re: I just want my cash
 

How you think a answer like 3male escorts,drugs,beer and I might give the rest to charity would go down? :D

Re: I just want my cash
 

Like a brick budgie.:)

Re: I just want my cash
 

Very true,bunch of dirty bankers ;)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bLzhod3Uy4Y

Re: I just want my cash
 

It is true...whoever controls the money controls everything...politics, governments anything you can think of.

I am not envious of wealth and riches. All I want is to be able to make ends meet. Not to have to rely on anyone.
All my working life I have strived to ensure that I would have enough for my needs in my later years.
If you had asked me then what advice I would give.....I would have said save......it is no good having time on your hands but no money to be able to do something you enjoy in that time.
If you asked me now, I would say spend what you have on making memories, but don't go into debt.
The elderly people of most countries are without any value.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Banks .... No thanks ... I put my few bucks in the Kingston Community Credit Union.:D Credit unions are much more people friendly. Never had a problem.
However, I think I'm with Neil on this one. It may seem like an intrusive pain in the ass;) to be asked why you want your money; but they are only looking after your and their interests (nice accidental pun, eh:D) ... and you can always answer: "It's none of your [deleted] business, asshole. Just give me my goddam money.":alright:

Re: I just want my cash
 

I don't quite see how them knowing what I am doing with MY money is looking after my interests.
And as I have outlined before...why the need for photo ID when they see me every week and know who I am?
Heck when I go to the counter they call me by my christian name. You don't do that unless you know someone.

Re: I just want my cash
 

What really brasses me off is fact i used to live in Spain n had a bank account in Gibraltar, When i moved back to U.K. i used to transfer money (quite a few K) from Gib to me local branch, to pay fer Hols n other stuff, Now as i see this excuse fer Money Laundering could quite easily n justly come into play!! Did It? did it hell as like,i was never asked, perhaps cos the money was going in the bank in accy?? So how they or anyone can claim its looking after my interests,can go suck eggs, its utter crap.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I don't think there's as many (if any) questions when you deposit large amounts of cash (I may be wrong tho),I'm not lucky enough to have been in that position :D

Re: I just want my cash
 

Well, yes there are. I cashed a burial policy early last year(I figured that if I hadn't enough money in the bank when I die they can leave me on the top for the crows to pick at) and I was asked for proof of where the money came from...even though it was a cheque with the Insurance companies details on it.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Who do yeh bank wi Margaret The Gestapo?:D

Re: I just want my cash
 

Yorkshire Bank.
When I asked why they wanted to know where the money was from, they cited money laundering as the reason.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I wounder if the questions will change when we switch to plastic bank notes. They are advertised as being better when washed in the laundery.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Why are images of c-notes hanging on the rack running through my brain?:eek: Maybe it's just my wake and bake Sunday morning breakfast:D

But who uses cash any more? I never have more than a sawbuck in my wallet. I use debit for everything.

Re: I just want my cash
 

when i sold my house i went to draw out 7 grand to buy a car and a few other bits

i also was asked what the money was for

hookers and blow are not acceptable answers

Re: I just want my cash
 

Try "ladies of negotiable virtue" and "stimulants";)

Re: I just want my cash
 

All money belongs to banks. You are kidding yourself if you think you are asking for what is yours.

Money was invented by bankers to make their control of you appear more acceptable - ie you don't see the bars of the cage and consider yourself free.

They control what you think and what you decide to spend your 'slave pennies' on.

The money you think is yours is a few digits in a computer hard drive and can be 'disappeared' by a 'bank failure' if it suits their agenda (remember Iceland)

George Carlin - The Rothschilds Control America - YouTube

Re: I just want my cash
 

I use cash.......I do use my debit card sometime, but not very often in relation to real shopping.
I use my cards for stuff I buy online.(through an intermediary)

Re: I just want my cash
 

Or do a George Best:
"Booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I'll just squander"

Re: I just want my cash
 

Sign of the times....when I was playing shops with my 6 year-old granddaughter the other day she asked me 'is that pin or sign?' and when her 3 year-old sister was the shopkeeper she said 'you have to have a credit card'.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I sometimes wonder if the Govt. will say - OK let's pay off the National Debt by confiscating all the cash ISAs. A cunning plot Baldrick?

Re: I just want my cash
 

I think you are talking rubbish now, I was with my last bank for 20 odd years and the staff didn't know me because it was very rare I went into the branch.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I wouldn't tell them if they asked me and I would expect to get it if I had the ID they asked for. It has nothing to do with them why you want it.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Oops sorry, we must always listen to the older members of the forum because they know everything.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Think this sums it all up. :confused::confused:

Re: I just want my cash
 

You'll be telling me next its created from thin air ;)

Probably go down as well as that "brick budgie" Margaret mentioned :)

What if they demanded to know(with your id), saying rules are rules,its policy?

Banks are thieves(their up to all sorts) an If their caught, they pay the fine with our money and come up with another way to rob us.

Well in the end the stress of the whole ordeal proved to much for my mate,he went on a 2wk bender, spent £5 and a half of his 6k on "ladies of negotiable virtue" and "stimulants".
On a plus side his new 1998 fiesta is Mot'd an taxed till July :D

Re: I just want my cash
 

That is why you think it is alright then Neil. You know that those who are in the bank working for a living do not know you from a bar of soap...but I visit my bank regularly. I joke with the tellers and speak to the Manager regularly.

I even bought the staff a tin of biscuits to have with their coffee at Christmas.
They are nice lads and lasses. It isn't them who formulate these policies...it is those higher up the management chain.

I went in recently to pay some of Ma's bills and took my usual identification stuff(evidence of the Bank Mandate)and the teller didn't check it because she knows me.......and on the bank slip that I signed she had witten 'known'. Doesn't that say it all?

Re: I just want my cash
 

It aint a matter of being older neil, its a matter of applying common sense, but one day even you may get there.:rolleyes:

Re: I just want my cash
 

Banks whether you like it or not are highly regulated by the government. One of these is around money laundering to the point that it is MANDATORY that even I who work in a computer centre and has never ever been let near a customer have to undergo money laundering, fraud, sanctions and about 10 other training courses every year to show that the bank is complying with the regulations. Its been in place for many years that requests of over 10K should be challenged, of late that seems to be being lowered by some Banks ( particularly ones that have had issues and fines around sanctions and other fun financial issues) i guess in a case of being over zealous in order to prove to HMG that they are trying to do their best.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Surely if a bank wants to know why you want your cash because of "money laundering" - it's too late. Once they accept your deposit, it's been through the wash. When you're withdrawing it, that's the spin cycle.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Ian I am sure there are other ways to check if money is being 'laundered' through an account........if the account history show frequent large deposits and withdrawals then it should trigger this kind of response...but for ordinary bank customers who just want to be able to access their money it is a bit sledge hammerish.

Re: I just want my cash
 

The problem is criminals are typically cleverer than us mere mortals at subterfuge, its also around showing due diligence, whether or not its spin cycle, fraud ( old dears being fleeced fro slates etc) or any other reason the onus is on proving we (as in the Bank ) did everything we can to prevent/challenge.

Banks also spend huge amounts of money on fraud analysis/scanning software, i've been called by automation services for buying a set of expensive tyres for my car because its not something that I do often and is marked as a typically high risk transactions. a simple press of a few keys to confirm it was me based on regular transactions and personal data and then a random pick which of these transactions you did ( where two were made up ) is a decent way IMHO of checking I was not subject to a fraud attack.

Re: I just want my cash
 

I have been called by the fraud dept of my bank a couple of times when high value items were paid for with my debit card...and I do appreciate their diligence in such matters, but when I present myself at my local branch (where I am personally known) I do not value intrusive questions and having to jump through hoops to get what is, my money.
I do not plan to obtain photo ID just to be able to satisfy the bank that I am who I say I am...surely being able to provide my bank card and details of recent transactions should be enough evidence that I have that account...with money in it, that I want to access.

Re: I just want my cash
 

:dflam:"STOP"
"Who goes there? Friend or foe?"
"Oh what the hell"
"BANG"

Re: I just want my cash
 

I agree a decent way, but whats being implemented these days don't fit that criteria IMHO.

Re: I just want my cash
 

On a completely different note – but still about money and the various agencies, some time ago I received a letter from the Income Tax mob here to say that based on information from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre they understood that I had made funds transfers to or from another country. They wanted to know about my undisclosed offshore income – although if I had paid tax on this I could disregard the letter.

Well, after I had picked myself up from the floor where I had fallen due to unrestrained hilarity, my first impulse was to tear the letter up. However, on second thoughts I decided to give it the reply it deserved.

If they had looked at my bank account and had seen what my balance was at that time (unfortunately it’s not much better now!) I doubt they would have wasted the postage on sending me the letter. I replied to them in this vein, and eventually got an apology for any blah! blah! blah!

All I can think of as to why anyone in their right mind would think I had offshore investments was that my daughter was living in the Caribbean at the time and the antiquated island she was on didn’t have a great banking system so she would send me money via Western Union to deposit in her account here. Some agency must have reported the transactions – and (as I was the one doing the collecting of the money from the post office AND the money was coming from the Caribbean) the taxman had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Funny that a little old pensioner (boo! hoo!) should be thought to be guilty of defrauding the Tax Office in this way and investigated when so many ‘big people’ get away with much, much, more.

Now back to the bank thread…..

Re: I just want my cash
 

I think it was Russell Brand (Ft Boris Johnson) That said "The bankers need to go down".
I know a lot of folk think bankers is rhyming slang, for what they really are, but after seeing these:
Banker plunges to his death from JP Morgan's London headquarters in Canary Wharf | Mail Online
Former top executive at Deutsche Bank found hanged at his Kensington home | Mail Online
Now i know you maybe baffled to the stress of a Ferrari ,huge house, women' Massive bonuses etc.BUT....
A bankers life although rewarding can also be destructive in many ways.
It's shame someone with a high flying career feels desperate enough to take their life.

Id like to say R.I.P an my thoughts are with anyone effected,God knows what demons/skeletons they were dealing with.
Please (for a second) remember their not all bad.

What's with all these bankers killing themselves anyway?
Guilt.....Perhaps folk in forums making them look bad :eek::eek:

Re: I just want my cash
 

While I am sure you are right about the stress of such jobs......they knew what they were taking on and were paid handsomely for their stress.
I would also say that they knew where the door was too, and could leave at anytime.
They get used to the high flying lifestyle, and so this colours their judgement.
Their work isn't physical, it isn't dirty, it isn't dangerous.....they are not removed from the bosom of their family.....not like the soldiers who put their lives on the line for folk like you and me...in conflicts not of their choosing.
Not like the doctors and nurses who work tirelessly for the good of the health of the nation.....who deal with sickness and death every day of their lives.
And you are going to tell me that these people also choose their jobs. Yes, and you would be right, but who do you think has the sharp end of the stick?
It certainly isn't those bonus raddled bankers( this excludes those who deal with us at the counters of the banks - they are just minions and are not in the same category).
So forgive me if my sympathy for these men is a bit scant, in this life you reap what you sow!

Re: I just want my cash
 

I respect your opinion Margret.
Yes i would tell you the folk you mentioned choose their jobs,But (again) you have a good point ;)

Re: I just want my cash
 

Thank you for that....it is appreciated.
On another note....suicide is a mental health issue. Should people who have a mental health issue be in charge of dealing with the huge responsibility of national and international finance?

Speaking as one who has had a close family member commit suicide, the person concerned has a choice....they do not have to take this route. There are other avenues open to them(and this is being said with great respect)....they just cannot see their options.
It is left for family members to deal with, once the person has ended their life.....this is very difficult to do...it prevents grieving and it overshadows everything in life from that point on.

You constantly ask yourself if you should have spotted changes in the person you knew.....if you could have done anything to change events....it leaves you, the family with a great sense of guilt, as well as the loss.
So, it is the families of these men who have my regards, and my sympathy....they are the ones who are brave.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Another good point Margaret.
Thousands of men, women, children, and teens are affected by suicidal thoughts.
With a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, and access to the right resources, these deaths can sometimes (not always) be prevented.
British men are allegedly 3times as likely to die by suicide than British women :eek:
Suicide doesn't always have to be the answer when something as simple as "Are you okay?" is the question.
Right or wrong its sad that these men thought this was the only option left open.

Re: I just want my cash
 

Where can I bank my £500,000,000 lottery win so I can withdraw large amounts?

Re: I just want my cash
 

Stuff it in your mattress Frank.......and if you want anyone to help you spend it.......I'm free!:D

Re: I just want my cash
 

I need to get rid of the last lot first

Re: I just want my cash
 

Well my friend, it's your lucky day! I've just founded the bank of gimmeallyerdesh & I'm sure we've got the right account for your needs. :D http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...nds-smiley.gif