“I've been a business banking customer since I started my first business in 2014. There have been multiple issues which have this month come to a head.
In the time since 2014 Natwest have refused us an overdraft on all three occasions we took the time to try and apply through their convoluted system. During this time we have never had a loan, never defaulted on any payments, averaged between £20k - £48k turnover on a monthly basis (it's seasonal work) and run all of our utilities payments and PDQ machine takings and BACS payments through the account as well as operating our VAT account through Natwest. They did well from us in monthly fees and other additional transfer costs as we purchased from the US on many occasions.
Regardless, they seemed more than disinterested in offering us any sort of assistance in growing the business, which is disappointing and frustrating seeing as they like to promote themselves as the best bank for small businesses. I do not agree with them on this.
I have not once been able to talk to their small business representative, of which they have one person in the south west of the UK, at one point I was handed his mobile number after my frustrations became clear, he never returned a call, in 3 years. No one in branch (I tried in Chiswick where I opened the account, Bristol where the business operated from and Bath repeatedly) will discuss anything to do with small business bank accounts, other than letting you deposit cash or cheques, or take out cash and forgetting to assign references to transactions when requested, which may seem like a small error but is in-fact very important when book keeping and talking to HMRC. As any small business owner can attest to, keeping your book keeping as clear and informative as possible is a large step on the way to staying profitable.
We ended up staying with Natwest simply because I was too busy to do otherwise and it was synced with our Xero accounting and a 7-10 delay on reconciling the account would have been a difficult task to undertake during busy months.
After the lockdown affected our business ability to operate Natwest started asking us for all sorts of documents relating to our business structure, information that we did not have to provide previously but was now of utmost importance - list of directors, photo ID of directors, home address of directors, list of people with significant control, copies of DLA signed by our accountants, declaration of beneficial ownership.... We provided all of these and offered our own questions, such as why this was now necessary, why Natwest thought they had a right to our business details as they are just the bank that holds the money we have earned and what was their purpose for wanting these details. Every one of our questions went unanswered, the communication at Natwest to discuss these matters is worse than lacking it simply does not exist.
This month and without any notice or warning Natwest closed both my business current and VAT accounts, basically making it impossible for us to trade when we are legally allowed to do so again.
There is no one at the end of the phone at Natwest that can offer any assistance whatsoever with this matter. An email address does not exist, so there is conveniently no dated record of correspondence, I had to resort to (and I can't quite believe this) Facebook messenger to try and make contact, I received one reply which was deeply unhelpful and actually mostly consisted of more questions than answers, it has been two hours and I have not had an answer to my response.
I feel let down and left out to dry by the bank that I put my trust in, under their persuasion and apparent commitment to small business development. I can tell you now that this commitment they promote is a complete fabrication and the infrastructure does not exist within Natwest to help any small business grow or even stay afloat. Natwest have done more damage to us than I ever thought possible and they refuse to even discuss any of this with me.
Absolutely shocking how bad, destructive and disinterested in customer care this bank is.”
“After banking with Natwest for 30 years, I closed one account last year after being verbally abused and publicly humiliated by Fahim at the Streatham branch. The next time I ventured back 5 months later, I was again victimized and harassed by Kamel. I therefore tried to close my remaining account by mail as I don’t feel safe going into the branch but Natwest claimed my signature did not match. I therefore reasonably asked them to confirm I would be safe from harassment if I visited the branch to close the account – I asked FOUR TIMES in writing and they were unable to give me the assurance. I will now simply withdraw the funds and let natwest waste their time sending me a monthly paper statement for an account with a zero balance.”
“Terrible customer service , Theyclosed my account down without telling me . It’s been 3 weeks for them to get in touch , I have all my months wages in account so not be able to access it . No food shopping no bills been paid , they are telling me will have to wait up to 60 days to access money with no explanation. Please stay clear off this bank , I never review anything but this is just wrong doing to any human , I will make sure my message gets out this is just the start”
“The Balham branch in London are most lazy and useless and unhelpful. So my advice ..stay away.
Mt wife is Chinese and 2 times now she went in with different problems. The staff just told her to go back and do it on line. She cannot use internet easy so hence took time of work to go in. 2nd time she had to with Photo ID. Still not sorted. Terrible service. Use another bank !! We will move accounts soon.”
“Isn't it great to see NatWest being prosecuted for breaking 'Money Laundering Regulations' after these educated idiots have spent the past few years trying to destroy their customers' businesses by implying and accusing them of 'wrong doing' and that they were 'criminals' when they themselves are the biggest criminals running the biggest 'racket'
Dump this useless bank and change to another, FAST !”
“Took out a secured business loan with NatWest to buy the freehold of my property three years ago. They did all the usual checks upon checks including my Passport, Driving licence and Utility bills.
Imagine my surprise to receive a letter from their 'Business Profile Team' on a letterhead with just their logo on and no 'NatWest'
name. Told me that they were doing a 'Business Profile' check on me to make sure everything was in accordance with the 'Financial Acts' etc and to 'Prevent Money Laundering, Crime, Evasion of Tax etc.' They asked me to send confidential documents to them via a link called 'Hooyu'. Now that sounds very 'Chinese' to me. We have been continuously told of 'fraudulent scams' and 'fraudulent activity'. So being worried, I called up my local 'Regional NatWest Business Centre' asking to speak to my 'Business Relationship Manager'. They said they had to take some 'security details' from me first. They asked me to provide my name, dob, name of business, how long I have been trading, the turnover, how many staff I employed, any other businesses I had, any overseas property I had, any other person who had 'authority' in the business etc. After I had given all the information, the guy told me they no longer have 'Business Relationship Managers' and all queries would be directed to a central line. When I told them about this 'Business Profile letter' and asked if it was 'real', the guy was very cagey and asked me to contact the number on the letter. I asked what it was about and he said to 'speak to the Business Profile team'.
When I called the number on the letter, the guy asked me the same questions, again, and unbelievably he said he couldn't find me on their 'system' !
Having taken out a big 'Business Loan' secured on my property, only three years earlier, and having provided my Passport, Driving Licence, Business Utility Bills to them in person to them to get the loan, this guy at the end of the phone said he couldn't find me !!!
The guy wanted to know how many times I had been out of the country, whether I had any businesses in any country, whether I had any properties in any country and how much I earned in the past twelve months.
I told him NatWest had all these personal and confidential details already but he still said he wanted me to to upload them onto 'Hooyu' and wanted me to send details of my accounts and a letter from my accountant. Otherwise, he would freeze my account and I wouldn't be able to pay in or withdraw my money and they would close my account if i didn't 'co-operate' !
The guy was extremely rude, unpleasant and threatening. How do you expect customers to remain with NatWest?
How can they say they can't find you on their 'system' when you have a large loan with them and with a direct debit paying them back monthly ?
I spent the following two days opening a new account with another bank. The new bank told me not to worry and they would sort everything out for me. They did that without any hassle. They transferred all the direct debits and standing orders over to the new account within three days.
Everything is great with the new bank and the 'service' is miles better than NatWest. Don't hesitate, guys ! change banks immediately, if NatWest continues to employ idiots to give you a hard time and make you out to be 'criminals', when you have done nothing wrong !
NatWest ? avoid them ! worst banking experience I have ever had and I have been in business for over forty years”
“Absolutely disgusting bank !! Not my bank but my mother's who is 78 yrs old and after spending over an hour after receiving by post (what bank still does post fgs) a code to complete online banking it gets restricted for unusual activity (deleting dd that go back 10 years from rumbelows 👀 remember those people with there revolving credit soon to be curry's and the same robbing ba@#$@ds group 10k on insurance for washers fridges and tv's) so nat west then block the online banking !! Give up fgs I'm moving my mums account to a more up to date bank yours lives in the past and will be a thing of the past like rumbelows !”
“Avoid natwest mortgages if you are a single person i wanted to borrow an extra 15k bearing in mind I've been living alone paying everything for the last 6 years no they are saying I dont want enough 40k per year not enough to remortgage I've had to jump through so many hoops its unbelievable
Past 3 years p60 and the last 11months payslips is still not enough for them they want more. 2 months of my time wasted
I've come to the conclusion natwest are discriminating against single people
I'm going to nationwide only wanted3 months pay and bank statements”
“DO NOT TRUST THEM
After banking with them for 5 years, i wanted to open a business account; Once everything was uploaded via their app, after few days, I've got a message that they will block my account! I DID NOTHING WRONG! NOTHING! Who in it's right mind will treat it's own customers in such a bad manner with no reason at all? No wonder that they've got 1-2 stars reviews all over the internet!”
“I visited NatWest bank ( Hounslow High Street branch) in December 2020 to withdraw £3000 cash from the counter . Although ,I showed them a valid form of an ID ,they refused to give me my money and wanted to see an invoice or a receipt ; to proof why I am taking such a large amount of payment . Horrible bank .”
“This is my non 5 star review ever. After 40 years of very satisfactory in branch and on line service, I get this letter from the NatWest Accounts Closure Team that all my accounts with NatWest are being closed in 60 days. No explanation.
I have only once ever gone overdrawn, got a good cash flow and £10,000 on account.
So I call up to find out if there is something I did wrong, see if I could rectify it, because I thought I have always been a good, satisfied client, contributing to the bank with a good cash flow, money on account and good word of mouth.
The polite answer on the phone is that the bank does not need to give any reason, she would put in an appeal. A few days later I get another letter from the Accounts Closure Team reconfirming closure.
So I find myself with the inconvenience of needing to transfer my accounts and payees to another bank and changing account details with all concerned making payments to me. Uugh.
I'm sorry, but after all my earlier praises, I find my faith broken and can no longer recommend this bank. Fortunately there is no shortage of other banks who welcomed me.”
“Ref: R-ART1853259982
I've had a personal bank account with natwest for over 12 years then 4 years ago switch my business account to make things easier.
OMG WORST MISTAKE.......NOW DUE TO COVID I have been informed that Mr Craig Piper and his so called account review have a covert and strategic way of slowly putting black business owners out of business by profiling them and disabling them by removing business accounts from the app.
They asked me for information thats is very far fetch within the time constraints then remove access to my own hard earned money. Leaving me unable to pay staff, creditors and make 2020 the worse year yet RUINING Christmas whilst they are on leave.
I regret leaving Barclays.
Please I implore you guys switch to a different bank.
I spoke to mine and other accountants who has never heard of this in their in 25 year history.
They lost over 1 billion due to fraud in covid but why attach legitimate business owners.”
“Ref: R-ART1853259982
I've had a personal bank account with natwest for over 12 years then 4 years ago switch my business account to make things easier.
OMG WORST MISTAKE.......NOW DUE TO COVID I have been informed that Mr Craig Piper and his so called account review have a covert and strategic way of slowly putting black business owners out of business by profiling them and disabling them by removing business accounts from the app.
They asked me for information thats is very far fetch within the time constraints then remove access to my own hard earned money. Leaving me unable to pay staff, creditors and make 2020 the worse year yet RUINING Christmas whilst they are on leave.
I regret leaving Barclays.
Please I implore you guys switch to a different bank.
I spoke to mine and other accountants who has never heard of this in their in 25 year history.
They lost over 1 billion due to fraud in covid but why attach legitimate business owners.”
“Stay away from them!!!
On December 9th I have received a letter saying that my account was closed. On that day I already did not have access to my online banking to make transfer arrangements for the money that is still sitting there. In other words I do not have access to my money!
I have called the team over the phone and went to a branch to get some help. On the phone they HANG UP ON ME! And in the branch all they say is for me to fill out a form to get my money transferred within 60 WORKING DAYS, which is by far not acceptable at all!
Since my account with Natwest is my main bank account, this is the only money I have, and Natwest REFUSES to release my money, which is a criminal delict.
But not only that: We are in the middle of a pandemic and Natwest forced me to go to their branch, putting me and an elderly person I live with, and who is having a condition, in risk.
Further, the elderly person I live with is my landlord. I will now not be able to pay my rest for the next 3 months, and the landlord will cancel my contract, accordingly.
Not to mention that it`s 10 days before ChrIstmas!
However, my case is by far not the only one. On Facebook and Trustpilot you can read about many Natwest customers whose account was closed WITHOUT ANY WARNING – HOLDING THEIR MONEY.
I will need to inform the government about this incident. Further, I will have to take court action against you and contact the Daily Mail as well as BBC and Money Box. I will make this case public in any way possible!”
“Absolutely useless bank.
Applied for a mortgage with perfect credit score, paid all my bills on time, paying rent for 10 years without missed payments, my house deposit was ready as well and got refused due to claiming covid 19 grant.”
“FRAUDULENT BANK! STAY FAR AWAY!!!!!
Awful service/ staff hang up on you and talk over you constantly, not considerate of your situation that you can not access you own money!
I tried to transfer money from my account, all of a sudden I was logged out of the app and the fraud team call me to confirm the transaction. I confirmed all was fine and it was myself, I then got told another team would call me back in 12/24 hrs.
After 48 hours of waiting with no call back, I decided to call the same number that called me, (the fraud team) so I could speak to someone and find out what was going on, I had to call back numerous times and being on hold for over 1hr & 10 mis the first time, then got hung up on and then called back and waiting 48 mins to get shouted at by some mouthy little girl who couldn’t even spell. I was told I would have to wait 24/ 48 hrs for a different team to call me.
Lucky I have a credit card.... NOT WITH NATWEST, but would have been left with no money to feed my little girl and pay my bills etc. MASSIVE INCONVENIENCE & VERY CRUEL OF THEM.
Here it is x3 days later and they have decided to text me advising that my account will be closing and that they no longer want to provide me with banking services.
Like what the hell?!
I was advised by Warren in their fraud team I could go into branch with my I.D. to withdraw my money from both my business and personal accounts, which I attempted today, a Saturday only to arrive at branch and branch advised me that they need authorisation to release my money... IT IS MY MONEY!!!
Apparently I have to go back on Monday as they didn’t have cashier desks open on a weekend... that is not my problem. What an absolute shambles of a bank, I really do not know what they are playing at and DO NOT recommend them to anyone, I will also be convincing my family members and friends to change banks to anything other than NatWest.
UPDATE....
Popped into branch today with my I.D. as advised on the Saturday to withdraw my money from my accounts due to NatWest closing them for no valid reason what so ever.
Rachael, branch manager in Bristol was very helpful and called the fraud team while I was there to try and rectify this and get me my money but unfortunately the fraud team advised me that regardless o previously being advised I could go into branch to withdraw my money with my I.D., that they wouldn’t release my money from my account for me and was told that I have to fill out a form to request a withdraw to another account and this could take up to 60 DAYS??!!
Absolutely ridiculous, they are thieving swines and messing me around, the fraud team are rude and not clear with what needs to happen to get my money back. They go back on their word, advising you to do one thing then changing their minds when it suits for what? To annoy customers and antagonise them. Still do not have any reason as to why my account has been closed either.
I am appalled at the way I have been treated and stand by my comment that I DO NOT recommend NatWest to anyone ever due to their complete disregard for customers and resolving situations. It’s almost as though they know they have power as a bank and like to bully and abuse people during a pandemic this has been dreadful to say the least.
I look forward to the day NatWest go through the hoop and cease to exist.”
“What a joke of a bank. Don't become a victim of fraud with these clowns. Their investigation consists of ensuring they don't have to recover your lost money, don't follow up with the police and see where to money went and info you, it's gone. That's it. As for after care, they tell you, that you'll receive a new card and details in the mail in 3-5 working days. Nearly 3 weeks later, nothing. I can't access my account. Pay anyone. Can't contact the bank by phone because my details no longer work. You get the run around on their website. Avoid this bank at all costs.”
