Bank asking for proof of income

[tomallen123]

Hi
My bank is asking me for proof of income as part of their money laundering checks.
I am a full time trader on BF and all my deposits and withdrawals go through this bank but apparently that isn't enough!
Been with the bank (Santander) for 7-8 years and never had a problem.
They've told me that they will lock my account in a couple of weeks unless I can provide proof of income.
Anyone else been through something similar or any ideas of how I can satisfy their requests?
Tom

[LeTiss]

Wow, I've never heard that before

Have you had an opportunity to speak to anyone at Santander?

[tomallen123]

I've spoken on the phone to them a couple of times and tried to explain the situation, however it's one of those situations where you can't speak to the necessary department directly and you're reliant on the person you're speaking to, to pass on the message.

There is a very clear paper trail on my bank statements and you'd think that would be all the proof they would need but apparently not!

[Dallas]

Is there no chance of an in bank face to face appointment with someone?

In regular times this would appear the best way forward then they can put it directly to the best person

[spreadbetting]

Maybe speak to your Betfair account manager they should be able to do a letter for you, we pay them enough.

[LinusP]

Maybe speak to your Betfair account manager they should be able to do a letter for you, we pay them enough.

They will do this.

[eightbo]

better shift your funds before that 2 week deadline comes as well to be on safe side.

[Andriy]

Are you doing multiple large deposits / withdrawals on a weekly basis, maybe that could be raising an issue of some kind? If so, is it possible to just leave sufficient funds in Betfair (even if a significant amount) and make an adequate withdrawal fortnightly or monthly.

[Derek27]

better shift your funds before that 2 week deadline comes as well to be on safe side.

I was going to say it would be pointless warning a customer that their account will be locked in two weeks if they were going to allow the funds to be withdrawn. But as I write I'm thinking, where are they going to be moved to? Another bank will be asking the same questions and moving money along a chain of banks won't make things any easier.

[Euler]

Maybe speak to your Betfair account manager they should be able to do a letter for you, we pay them enough.

Let us know if you would like us to try and help if you don't have an account manager.

[eightbo]

better shift your funds before that 2 week deadline comes as well to be on safe side.

I was going to say it would be pointless warning a customer that their account will be locked in two weeks if they were going to allow the funds to be withdrawn. But as I write I'm thinking, where are they going to be moved to? Another bank will be asking the same questions and moving money along a chain of banks won't make things any easier.

disagree, move the funds to 2nd current acc. if avail.

Doubt 2nd bank would even call to check what it was about, seems like it's the transaction/account history Santander have an issue with not the sum itself.

OP has done nada wrong 1st time round & last time I checked moving cash between bank accs you own is legal too.

Even if Santander have premise to force the other bank to co-operate it would at least give OP additional time to figure out the best way forward?

@OP If it's a decent sum maybe seek professional legal help asap. You'll probs get the information you need as part of a free consultation.

[tomallen123]

Have spoken to Betfair asking me if they can provide me with something that I could show to my bank, they sent me a spreadsheet with my P+L for the year in.
No chance the bank will accept this as proof as I could easily have just made this myself.

I asked Betfair if they could send me a letter, with some official letterhead on so that it looks a bit more legitimate.
Betfair told me they don't do this anymore.
(I did throw the "I pay you a small fortune each year and all I want is one letter sent to my house" line but no dice!)
I'm not worried about the situation, I can just move the money to another account if the worst comes to the worst, it's just a hassle I can do without.

I've made a total of 26 deposits/withdrawals (combined figure) this year from Betfair, so it's not as if I've been moving large amounts of money back and forth non stop and the agent with Santander said it was just a routine check and I hadn't been targeted because of anything I'd done.
I have been moving large sums of money into Betfair/Share dealing accounts/Savings accounts for as long as I've had this account and never had a problem, so it's just frustrating that Santander don't seem to be able accept that Betfair is my source of income.

It also doesn't help that every time I want to speak to Santander I have to spend 30+ mins on hold but that's a different story

[eightbo]

Santander are shocking in Spain be glad you'e at least dealing with the UK staff!

Have you asked Santander to define what classifies as "proof of income" ?
If not statements what exactly do they expect of you ? Presumably they are following some internal procedure which should outline the requirements.

If you're still stuck mid-next-week drop me a PM I've got an inside man we can reach out to maybe he'll be of some help.

[ilovepizza82]

Thats super worrying.
At least they havent closed your account....yet like some other banks are doing lately, namely Natwest which is closing peoples' accounts for absolutely no reason. There is even a fb page dedicated to that and some of the mainstream media covered the topic lately as well and even local MPs, politicians are involved but not sure if its gonna change anything tho.