Revoult have frozen my account with a lot of money in. HELP
Revoult have frozen my account with a lot of money in. HELP
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ChopChops

Original Poster:

33 posts

80 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
Revoult have suddenly frozen my bank account with a lot of money in £10k.

The aco has only ever been funded by selling my car of which the independent trader transferred the money directly into the account via their businesses bank account. Which means a human could verify this within 2 minutes of reviewing my aco because that's how it has ever been funded and there's only a few transactions that has ever go through the account.

I need access to my money and they are not responding to my emails or on twitter even after saying I'm feeling depressed and sucicidal they ended up blocking me even though I wasn't rude.

I just realised my money is not protected which means if they went bust tommorrow I will basically lose all my money which means I want to act fast.

I have made an official complaint and I have been told I have to give them 14/15 days to respond.

To get my money back as quick as possible is the only solution is to file a small claims court action against them for the full amount held in the aco for them to sit up and take note to resolve my account so I can get access my funds I've seen people are still without access to their funds 5/6/7+ months down the line, there's absolutely no way I will allow them to do this to me.


DonkeyApple

69,818 posts

198 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
ChopChops said:
Revoult have suddenly frozen my bank account with a lot of money in £10k.

The aco has only ever been funded by selling my car of which the independent trader transferred the money directly into the account via their businesses bank account. Which means a human could verify this within 2 minutes of reviewing my aco because that's how it has ever been funded and there's only a few transactions that has ever go through the account.

I need access to my money and they are not responding to my emails or on twitter even after saying I'm feeling depressed and sucicidal they ended up blocking me even though I wasn't rude.

I just realised my money is not protected which means if they went bust tommorrow I will basically lose all my money which means I want to act fast.

I have made an official complaint and I have been told I have to give them 14/15 days to respond.

To get my money back as quick as possible is the only solution is to file a small claims court action against them for the full amount held in the aco for them to sit up and take note to resolve my account so I can get access my funds I've seen people are still without access to their funds 5/6/7+ months down the line, there's absolutely no way I will allow them to do this to me.
The amount transferred in from a third party account has probably just triggered their specifically lax compliance procedures and you’re just hitting the wall of their specifically superficial customer service.

It’s an annoyance rather than anything to be worried about.

The key going forward is what you have probably now realised and what they are at pains to mask which is that they are not a bank and not fully regulated but are a money transfer service and best only used for small amounts of money with only ever small amounts left on there.

KTF

10,658 posts

179 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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What timescales are we talking about here? An unexpected large payment may take a few days to clear pending security checks.

Greshamst

2,480 posts

149 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Just to give you some perspective, it sounds like from their point of view there’s an account with fairly little previous transactions, that suddenly received a large lump sum.

So looks far more like a money-laundering ‘mule’ account than if it was one that had been running a long time, with lots of activity that they could assess.

How long has it been since your account was frozen? Revolut have grown very quickly, and it’s known they have a backlog of transaction reviews because their money-laundering controls can’t quite keep up.

Unfortunately, whether or not you feel you’ll allow them to do this to you, they have regulation on their side. It’s annoying and infuriating, but it will take as long as they take. You don’t have much choice.

Hopefully they’ll investigate it soon and unblock.

Harpoon

2,518 posts

243 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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This I read this article at the weekend:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs...

ChopChops

Original Poster:

33 posts

80 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
Thanks for your responses..

The money from the trader came in to my account in October around the 10th, the same day I transferred £6000 out to my brother as he wanted to borrow some money for a van, so the money was sent out to him referenced van loan, since then he's paid me back £3000 to date - again labeling the repayment to my account as loan repayment

They froze my account on the 21st of Jan so this is just a few months after the funds for the car from the trader had hit my account.

There's no way to physically speak to a human they have removed my access to speak to them via live chat on the app.

They won't respond to emails and they blocked me on Twitter. I do not want to wait months to get my money back they could go bust any day and my money is not protected so it's a big concern for me.

This is why I ask as long as I give them 14/15 days to respond as set out can I immediately take them to small claims court for the full amount in my account as they will obviously respond to a small claims court action.

DonkeyApple

69,818 posts

198 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
ChopChops said:
Thanks for your responses..

The money from the trader came in to my account in October around the 10th, the same day I transferred £6000 out to my brother as he wanted to borrow some money for a van, so the money was sent out to him referenced van loan, since then he's paid me back £3000 to date - again labeling the repayment to my account as loan repayment

They froze my account on the 21st of Jan so this is just a few months after the funds for the car from the trader had hit my account.

There's no way to physically speak to a human they have removed my access to speak to them via live chat on the app.

They won't respond to emails and they blocked me on Twitter. I do not want to wait months to get my money back they could go bust any day and my money is not protected so it's a big concern for me.

This is why I ask as long as I give them 14/15 days to respond as set out can I immediately take them to small claims court for the full amount in my account as they will obviously respond to a small claims court action.
It’s a Russian owned money transfer business that operates at the arse end of the consumer market via a Latvian license. In order to try an keep costs down they run a very superficial client support environment and have traditionally been way behind the curve in terms of meeting regulatory guidance on AML and KYC etc. You can probably see this in the fact that it has taken so long for them to flag what could easily be argued to be suspicious activity at a business that will be extremely popular for suspicious activity.

I suggest you take your issue to the financial ombudsman. They are very clued up on Revolut as it is their most common complaint to deal with. They have people dealing with Revolut 24/7/365. wink

williaa68

1,540 posts

195 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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I had my account blocked when transferring some Swiss francs to Revolut. I posted via the live chat copies of the contract note of the shares that resulted in the chf and a copy of the UBS bank statement into which the proceeds were originally paid. It took a few days but was unblocked and I have made subsequent transfers without a problem. I hope you reach a resolution.

Olas

911 posts

86 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Good with computers? Gain access and you can transfer your money back to yourself.

Condi

20,350 posts

200 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Why anyone uses Revoult over any of the mainstream banks is a mystery to me.

CoolHands

23,435 posts

224 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Why would you join a car forum to post this? I don’t believe a word of it

mikeiow

8,155 posts

159 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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CoolHands said:
Why would you join a car forum to post this? I don’t believe a word of it
That's a good point. Can't say my first thought would be "wonder if PistonHeads have a finance subforum that might help me" !
MoneySavingExpert, perhaps.....

CoolHands

23,435 posts

224 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Exactly. It’s just a competitor to slag off the company. A bit like the Russian disinformation campaign.

DonkeyApple

69,818 posts

198 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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Harpoon said:
This I read this article at the weekend:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs...
It’s worrying that people actually are storing savings with such a system. It’s really a micro transaction platform.

Beetnik

576 posts

213 months

Monday 27th January 2020
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CoolHands said:
Why would you join a car forum to post this? I don’t believe a word of it
Cos the underlying transaction was for a car, innit?

If it had been for a pram he'd have gone on mumsnet biggrin

anonymous-user

83 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
they froze 500 quid, took me months and i was just about to do a small claims but they released it.

The problem with these new banks is the they have to adhere to money laundering laws, but don't have the same experience as mainstream banks, so are more jumpy with freezing accounts.

They hide behind the requirements as well..So you get no reponse

DonkeyApple

69,818 posts

198 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
Thesprucegoose said:
they froze 500 quid, took me months and i was just about to do a small claims but they released it.

The problem with these new banks is the they have to adhere to money laundering laws, but don't have the same experience as mainstream banks, so are more jumpy with freezing accounts.

They hide behind the requirements as well..So you get no reponse
It’s not technically a bank. They interpret their regulatory guidance as widely as they can get away with to allow them to open as many accounts as possible. It’s when people try to use them as a bank they can have problems.

Of course their is always the prospect that as they don’t have the capital adequacy of an actual bank that they actively stall larger payments and accounts to assist day to day cash flows, after all, as they aren’t a bank they don’t have the same tier 1 requirements etc.

anonymous-user

83 months

Monday 27th January 2020
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
It’s not technically a bank.
''Revolut announced on Thursday it has been granted a European banking license. The license will allow the London-based fintech company to offer services typically provided by traditional banks, including full current accounts, consumer and business lending and overdrafts.''

Sounds very much like a bank to me.

The money laundering side is taken very seriously, as the ECB has withdrawn licences in the past.

Monza in the UK had the same frozen account issues.


DonkeyApple

69,818 posts

198 months

Tuesday 28th January 2020
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That’s a piggy back license via the bank of Lithuania (the hub of Russian mafia money laundering) for emoney and payment services to allow passporting through the EU for those activities.

Again, it’s a smart deception that makes even journalists fall for the trick of thinking that the micro payment firm is actually a bank.

The clue for us UK retail investors is that Revolut accounts are not protected by the FSCS. This reveals the reality through the marketing which is that they are not a bank, do not hold a UK recognised banking license, do not adhere to banking AML or KYC and do not have capital adequacy requirements

Current status: Authorised Electronic Money Institution A firm that we have given permission to issue electronic money (e-money) and provide payment services.

https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_FirmDetailsPage?i...

It’s a micro transaction company with the same regulatory requirements as Mr Singh at my corner shop, with a similar balance sheet and capital requirements (none) but not as kosher, charming or friendly. biggrin

It’s unlikely they will ever actually be a bank as that would mean having to comply with banking regulations so their costs would go up and they would no longer be able to undercut a real bank by not being a real bank etc. But also the real clue lies in how a London based firm in the city that issues the largest number of emoney licenses and does so the quickest and cheapest had to go to a bent, backwater to obtain their passport to EU markets. wink

ZeroGroundZero

2,085 posts

83 months

Tuesday 28th January 2020
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Harpoon said:
This I read this article at the weekend:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs...
This is why I am always fearful of internet banking accounts where there is no branch to go in and speak face to face with anyone.
For that reason I'm also stuck in low interest rate accounts that are offered by the typical big names on the high street.

I would have thought locking out a customer from their money is nothing short of plain and simple theft ?