“Stay away from these russian vultures and thieves.. The company might be registered in the UK and Lithuania but the owners are
rsussian. If you happen to have a few thousand dollars/ euros, you card will be blocked and it could last from 1 or 2 weks to months.
NO explanations Nothing. They use as a lame excuse the compliance laws. GIVE ME A BREAK- FOR A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS COMPLIANCE??? Meanwhile , while your funds are frozen, the russians are investing your money and getting rich.Here it is a chat with the bot
Rita
Dear Customer, I trust you are well. I can see your account
has temporarily been restricted. I promise that we’ll do our
best to get this fixed as soon as possible. This is just a
security review whereby we simply need to check a few
things about your account. It’s worth mentioning that we
cannot provide you with a specific time frame when we’ll
finalise the review, but rest assured that we’ll do our best to
finish this as quickly as we can. Thank you for your
understanding and patience. Best regards, Revolut Team
And then the agent:
We are currently reviewing your account and we will
provide you with further details as soon as the review is
finished. This is just a security review whereby we simply
need to check a few things about your account. We
understand your frustration but there is nothing wrong in
your account and it is locked due to a standard verification
only. Thank you so much for your understanding on this,
it's truly appreciated.
And this continues for a month.AND THEN, after you threaten them a lawsuit and TV and newspaper exposure, this is what happens:
Hi Jerome.
After reviewing your account, we're sorry to say that due to exceptional circumstances we're no longer able to offer you our services and we’ve made the decision to permanently close your account.
Account closures are complex decisions and unfortunately this decision is final and can’t be appealed.
Exceptional circumstances are that you are complaining to the
authorities about these vultures.
STAY AWAY FROM ANY FINANCIAL COMPANY FROM EASTERN EUROPE! YOU WILL GET FLEECED AND YOU WILL BITTERLY REGRET YOUR DECISION TO DEAL WITH RUSSIAN MOBSTERS.
STAY AWAY FROM THESE PATHETIC THIEVES!!
Why can't we give -100 stars ratings here?”
“Revolut was good to use until I was contacted by several different advisors about proof of my source of income. I have provided them with all I could, unfortunately day after day I got more messages from at least 12 different people to send all those documents again and again. It became annoying as I felt very uncomfortable sharing my savings, bank statements with so many different people employed online. Seem like there is no connection between advisors and sharing my data with all of them seems dangerous and very suspicious. No phone number to call, no answer just repeating messages to send my documents. Seriously I am very disappointed and actually worried now how my information will be use. All of you be careful. I started to believe this is some kind of scam !”
“Absolutely awful, DO NOT USE REVOLUT business. Their customer service is the worst, they make Indian call centres look amazing. After a lot of sending very detailed documents about my business, clients, business integration finances etc etc etc. I still could not pass the Business approval stage. They don't seem to have a model for a freelance IT contractor!!! WHAT!! as the process had taken so long they actually froze my account from being able to make any transactions. So I asked them to terminate my application and asked how long before they will move the funds I had in my business to another account. Seemed a valid question!! but they could not give me an SLA or even a rough guess. So I'm now unable to pay any of my contractors. Unbelievable. Please understand that you just can't pickup the phone and try and work things out with Revolut you only have the chat function. I contacted them at 15:15 and was still trying to get some sort of traction and answers at 19:11. When your busy running a business you just don't have the time to be sitting waiting for someone to respond.”
“Do not use REVOLUT. I am speaking from experience. We opened a business account with them last year and despite a few issues (you quite often have payments into your account fail wihich is apparently an issue with digital only banks) it has been mostly okay. Last week from nowhere we just get a message with a list of documents that need to be provided. From payroll payments to supplier transactions we need to provide proof for every transaction. Which we did. It has taken us hours every day to reply. In many cases the documents were rejected because they simply didn't bother to read them or invoice was in a different currency. We eventually thought we had completed this process after between 50-100 documents sent and today out of nowhere payments are suspended on our account. We were told we had 20 days to get everything to them. We got it all back within a week and without warning, payments suspended. The really beautiful thing about revolut is that you just can't talk to anyone. It's a big black box. There is no reasoning, no questions, no picking up the phone, no visiting your branch and speaking to a human who uses logic. You have one chat box which is generally useless and otherwise nothing you can do. Our money is currently being held by a big anonymous entity that we cannot even speak to. No indication of how or when we can use our own funds. Use them at your own peril as one flick of someones keypad in their back office and your business is done and you have absolutely no way of speaking to anyone about it.”
“Revolut closed my account, giving no reason whatsoever, after pestering me for months for supplying lots of documents proving the source of my funds. I did that, then they wanted private information from my other bank accounts. While they''processed'' the documents, they limited my account (meaning I could not transfer any money anywhere). They are clumsy, way too corporate, inflexible, and make you worry about your own money at their disposal. And also, their customers service is useless. You can't phone them, instead you chat with inefficient, cold and bland agents. Avoid if you possibly can. There are many much better alternatives around.”
“I transferred money £2,250k and after a day it was refunded without explaination so transaction was a failure. I wanted to close my account but they asked me to pay £13.98 for the remaining two months of my premium account to complete the 12month period contract as they say. To ease myself of wanting to close my account so I paid the £13.98 because I just want to close my account out of frustration of not completing transaction including poor customer service. But to my surprise Revolut dors not want me to close my account because it says that I still have some remaining balance in stocks amounting to few pence. I said to myself that I don't need that few pence anymore Revolut can have them all. All I want is to close my account so I get rid of annoying disappointing app that does not work when you need it most. By the way I was charged with service fee when I transferred the money 3times but that charges did come back when money was refunded. The only relief I had was that I got my £2,250 back which I immediately withdrawn when I smelt some suspicious act by Revolut. No, don't use this platform or app it is UNRELIABLE!!!”
“I have been cast into the seventh level of hell with the worst support people ever ever. They locked my account for no reason and then ignored me for hours while I uploaded document after document which they clearly didn’t even read before asking for the same thing again. I had the same experience trying to open a business account too. Waiting days for useless responses. Talking to support is like talking to automatons with no brain! Escalation is a waste of time as the “supervisors” were as incomprehensible and useless as their staff. AVOID AVOID AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
No doubt they will respond with some platitudes and point me back into the myre and morass of their woeful support chat app which is their way of avoiding responsibility for my issue and ever really caring enough to resolve it. Thanks but no thanks.”
“SCAM, company will take your money and freeze your account.
No contact for days on end. Totally scam company should be investigated by the FCA. Do not use if you want to keep your business these guys will take your business down.”
“Revolut blocked my money on April 16, while they review my sources of income. I provided all the info and they rejected to unfreeze the money. This smells like a FRAUD and we all need to unite together and fill a lawsuit against them. REVOLUT is the BIGGEST SCAM BANK. https://www.fintechfutures.com/2020/09/revolut-faces-lawsuit-in-romania-over-blocked-account/”
“Revolut claimed to be a "BANK", but not follow any regulator rules or process to handle CDD/ AML issue. They will just freeze your account without any notice or contact. Hold your balance anytime whenever they like. Even you tried to contact their customer service or so call "Compliance" team, they just reply you after 3months+. Ofcoz, after you talk to them and provided any supporting documents and whatever they want to be answer. They can freeze your account in the next day again :) Worst Banking experience i ever had.”
“its the shittest banking system in the entire universe, fxxxxxxx scumbags, holds on to your money when you do an emergency transfer to someone, when you call them to help o we are doing whaT WE can, 21st century and they can't even sort out the banking transfer disgusting, rubbish, useless waste of time, do not bother with them, I use it once I had the same problem I thought it happens maybe its because first time transfer but 2nd time.
my brother is in Asda doing shopping who over shopped short by £50 so I transferred the money from revolute. its been 2 hours still pending, tried speaking to them on the phone explaining everything no helming whats so ever. fxxxxx scumbags, disgusting disgrace in the name of banking, company like these give bad name to banking, get a fxxxx life. deleting this stupid app along with 9 other family members,”
“I have the card since early 2020 and have been unable to activate it. I have now made almost 100 attempts. I am send a 6 digit code each time because I have forgotten my password and as I am typing my 6 digit code it skips to the password again and again and again. Frustrating and useless..I only wanted one so as I could open a junior card. Such a waste of time.”
“Revolut deactivated my account without any reasonable detail or explanation. The vague, obscure, and superficial messages such as what I have received from them regarding the matter do not fit the character of a transparent, reliable, or service-orientated company. Quoted directly from their email to me:
“After reviewing your account, we're sorry to say that we're no longer able to offer you our services and we’ve made the decision to permanently close your account. These are complex decisions, but unfortunately this is final and can’t be appealed.”
There was no follow up or transparent explanation for why my account was closed. They left me with no opportunity to even query the decision, let alone contest it.
Prior to receiving this email, I had tried to report a fraud incident to Revolut. Indeed, a difficult thing to do on their app as there is no evidence of an actual helpline; only “Rita” the bot and an online chat service. Is that really an appropriate method for the customer to contact them in a serious matter such as fraud? No, it is not and it indicates a severe lack of urgency on their side to resolve such matters. I supplied the employee who requested a police case number with the necessary details. As the fraud case included Barclays and Starling bank, I would have also provided those reference numbers when asked to do so.
Then, without any sort of warning or advisement, my account was suddenly frozen. I had to query this myself since they did not have the courtesy to make me aware of the situation. When I queried this, I was given vague responses such as “this is just a security review”, “it is locked due to a standard verification”, “we simply need to check a few things about your account”. Their use of vague and misleading words such as ‘just’ and ‘simply’ only make them sound dishonest and untrustworthy; particularly now, after the fact. The bottom line being that I was left feeling confused, deceived and discarded by a company that I believed would provide me with good service and take care of my financial needs.
Previously, I would have recommended Revolut to anyone. Now, I feel that I can not in good conscience lead anyone to use a company that clearly does not put its customers first, does not operate with transparency, and which will disappoint you when you most rely on them to assist you in financial matters. Reading between the lines of their final email to me, I can only surmise the following possible reasons for why they cut me off as they did:
1. They think that I am a scammer, involved in money laundering or fraud. To that I say, I did my best to provide them with details of the situation, a police case number and I reported it to Action Fraud. They could have contacted Barclays or Starling bank to verify the case. I am not a scammer and resented the insinuation that I am.
2. They don’t put their customer’s needs above their own desire to profit off of them. This results in poor customer service which in turn leaves the customer to wonder whether they are even bothered to give them the time, effort and consideration to resolve their issues in a fair and transparent manner.
3. The system that they use to detect fraud is AI driven and is therefore, in their minds, ‘infallible’ - so its word is final and that’s that. I put it to them that AI is not infallible, it is created by people, and people can make mistakes. Thus companies should understand how AI works and how to challenge automated decisions to ensure at all times that the customer is being put first. Companies should also insure that any AI systems they utilise respect all fundamental rights. AI can affect people’s rights - not just those of privacy or data protection. It seems to me that either they may know this and don’t care, or they may not know this and still don’t care. Perhaps, even worse, they may know this and use it to their advantage. In other words they appear to have an agenda and whatever that agenda may be, it is not for the benefit of their customers.
Now, I am quite certain that I won’t ever receive a response to the complaint I made to them following this incident, considering my previous experiences with them. But that does not matter to me because nothing they say or do will convince me to stay with them as a customer. What matters to me, is that others are aware so that they don’t get pulled into the same trap. I would not want another customer to experience what I have. And judging by what I’ve seen online, through reviews, forums and articles, I’m not the only one who has experienced this, and this problem seems to be slowly but surely catching up with them.”
