Debanking

[Mussels]

I would quite like a Coutts account too, but they are quite up front about the requirements. I dont qualify either. Now if Farage got a job ........

He has a job but I guess it doesn't pay well enough, which is a shame as he won an award for it recently which really pissed off every other news presenter who now know they are inferior to him. They weren't gracious loosers.

[demographic]

Nigel defenders Hoooo!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Farage is pointing out that banks are powerful and can have a significant impact on your life, not just by crashing economies but by singling out people to cancel, if and when they feel like it.

I don't think anyone would, or at least should, be surprised by that. At least, not if they cared to consider it. To a large extent these sorts of things have to remain "hope it never happens to me", but at least I don't have to serve my local lord any more right?

There's nothing physicaly stopping all supermarkets, power companies and hairdressers black listing me either.

"They" are looking into when and how banks cam close your account etc. The timing of the news would fit Farage saying its down to him, but looking a little deeper the wheels started turning long before this story broke.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... al-grounds

[Count Steer]

Don't forget, we are talking about the genius who campaigned ceaselessly to basically put himself out of an MEP's job, and then was mightily upset when the money stopped rolling in.

You realise of course that your comment reveals you think it would be "clever" for a politician to carry on riding the gravy train. Taking as much money as they can grab. Our money. Taxpayers money.

That's not the sort of "clever" politicians I want working for me.

Riding the gravy train? I expect he'll not be taking his £73k pa pension from the European Parliament, (payable at age 63) - being a man of principle and not a gravy train rider.

(£73k! No wonder one or two of his own crew hoped the vote went the other way. That level of wallet stuffing by the EU is one of the best arguments against it. How many years do you have to do and how often do you need to turn up to get £73k for, potentially 30 years+?)

[DefTrap]

No, like I said, my insurer refused to insure me (they didn't tell me, I only found out when they didn't auto-take the premium). I'm sure they have their reasons. My own circumstances hadn't changed one jot. But ultimately it's up to them. Of course I challenged it. Maybe if I had a media profile I'd have tweeted my posse of Beaujolais-faced lackeys about it.

Farage is just using his network to make the most of it, raise his profile. This has nothing to do with right or wrong or fairness. The only thing surprising about the whole affair is that he hasn't somehow made it the fault of the EU.

[cheb]

I'd take it a bit more seriously when they start to debank normal people.

My cushty driving job was with a bank, happily I didn't have to deal with any customers, I was but a driver. There were several I'd have happily thrown off the van followed by the balance of their account in small coin bagged and aimed accurately.

Maybe Farrage is rude to the staff? And the vicar thing is just another bit of manipulation, he's a vicar ergo he must be nice. Like describing someone, usually female, as a grandmother, it paints a picture, possibly an inaccuarate one.

[cheb]

There's a lot of things I'd change about the banks in the UK but the ability for a niche elite one to choose clients based on wealth isn't one of them.

We could all start making a fuss about legal tender and being refused service when we try to pay for our supermarket shopping in tupp'ny bits.

[Screwdriver]

There's a lot of things I'd change about the banks in the UK but the ability for a niche elite one to choose clients based on wealth isn't one of them.

We could all start making a fuss about legal tender and being refused service when we try to pay for our supermarket shopping in tupp'ny bits.

That is not the issue here. It is not about your "rights" to use the bank of your choice, it's not about a particular individual, it's not even about what heinous "crime" they are alleged to have committed. It is about the banks ability to pull the rug out from underneath you at their whim and for any number of ESG, DEI bollocks they can think of.

These banks don't issue a warning, they don't investigate allegations, there is no process for appeal, they literally just switch off your ability to bank. Any sane or reasonable person would know that's going to immediately cause a HUGE amount of angst so it is a deliberate punishment.

In that instant, you lose all ability to pay for anything. All of your credit/debit cards will cease to function immediately. The utilities goons will be after you, rent, mortgage, loans, telephone, service providers - every single company you are engaged with will start hammering on your door insisting on payment. You can't call an Uber, top up the car with fuel, you can't pop to the shops for groceries, you can't grab a Big Mac. You no longer exist as a viable citizen within our modern society. You have been depersoned.

[cheb]

It's long been the case that a company doesn't have to trade with you if they choose not to.

I've forgotten the case law but it's going to be offer, consideration, acceptance. Having items on display is an invitation to treat, hence the big T&C signs as you go into a car park.

I'm way too idle and uninterested in this to look for my self but has anyone but Farrage said anything concrete? Have the bank(s) said anything officially?

[Count Steer]

Been doing a bit of digging. The main multilateral debanking appears to involve Fintec/crypto companies in Australia and China + a few charities that several banks felt they didn't want to be associated with. (Which seems fair enough if you think it'll do reputational damage. Don't suppose it'd bother the Swiss though).

Anyone got any examples of legit UK citizens that have found no UK banks will take them?

[DefTrap]

Suddenly banking where you like is a human right or something? Where does it end? Having a fit because your gardener is sick of your butthurt moaning and decides he can get work elsewhere?

I'm enjoying this, something else for you tinfoilhatters to get upset about, (obviously as the thinnest excuse for defending farage.)

'depersoned' that's a good one.

[mangocrazy]

The bank thinks they should have total control and do whatever they want because it’s their bank, but the people need to hold them to account, for the good of the people.

My, my - Potter going all Socialist when it suits him.

[Screwdriver]

It's long been the case that a company doesn't have to trade with you if they choose not to.

I've forgotten the case law but it's going to be offer, consideration, acceptance. Having items on display is an invitation to treat, hence the big T&C signs as you go into a car park.

I'm way too idle and uninterested in this to look for my self but has anyone but Farrage said anything concrete? Have the bank(s) said anything officially?

Indeed but in this case, the customer had been with them for decades. Yes they can choose not to supply a particular customer with service but the issue is the manner in which that deletion occurs. Instantly. With no warning. On top of that, there appears to have been some "behind the scenes" activity among the banking community to ensure this particular customer had nowhere to go. They all refused to open an account. That's creepy...

I don't know all the various ins-outs and I'm less interested in a specific case than I am the strategy being taken by a public service industry which has managed to create an extraordinarily powerful political tool without consent. I mean ultimately, it is OUR money we have entrusted these corporate entities to manage. We did not grant them authority over us beyond following the letter of the law which should (but clearly does not!) include anyone money laundering or supporting terr'ist activities etc.

Instead they have extrapolated these mechanisms to include the ability to debank an individual based at their whim for "no reason". There is a rather obvious statistical skew in their "non reasoning" which "coincidentally" targets right wing political activists, anyone who does not support the alphabet people and any other ESG nonsense they can dream up. It is a power grab pure and simple. If they can get away with this, suddenly the entire democratic process is eroded to the point where we live in a totalitarian regime where we are enslaved to the diktats being made by the rich and powerful.

I often hear the argument "of course a business can choose their customers" or "of course a business puts profits first" and the old "of course they will operate purely for the benefit of their shareholders". That's fine so long as we have a functioning democratic process which allows us to choose how our society is governed which we hope, will benefit the citizenry.

The WEF (for it is they) are busy inventing new methods to circumvent the democratic process, give themselves more power and authority. Once again, I'm not even suggesting there is anything we can do. They have all the money in the world ergo, they are the de facto political power in our modern society. I'm just calling it out for what it is.

[cheb]

See my question about whether the banks have actually said something or we have to take it on trust that he's been refused by all the other banks.

The training I barely paid attention* to about PEPs was mostly fraud prevention.


*As said, I'm idle. Why spend any more time than necessary watching tedious video clips about something you'll never do? I used to get paid to sit in the branch and do nothing, I refused point blank to have anything to do with customers. And to prove how vital I was and why they put up with me was the the van service I drove was withdrawn when I resigned.

[demographic]

If only there was a place that mandated banking as being a basic right for all.

Oh, hang on a bit, is that an EU law?

"Directive on payment accounts
The directive on payment accountsEN••• gives people in the EU the right to a basic payment account regardless of a person's place of residence or financial situation. The directive also improves the transparency of bank account fees and makes it easier to switch banks.

The European Commission makes the process of opening bank accounts easier and clearer for consumers."

[Noggin]

Surely, if the same bank offered him another account (which it has been stated a lot here that they did), then how has he been refused banking?? To be offered a different, albeit less ‘prestigious’, account is not being ‘debanked’.

What have I missed. How is being offered another account instead of the one he had being debanked?

[Mussels]

Banks do seem to have too much authority to mess people about on a whim.
I had a business account with Barclays and they kept sending me mesages saying I need to fill this form out or I might be denied new services, the company wasn't trading so ignored it but after a while they suddenly closed the account without notice and sent me a cheque for the balance that I couldn't cash.
As it was I didn't care and the balance wouldn't even pay for a burger in a pub but their warnings were wrong and could have really screwed me up.

In the end was the problem was a director's name had a hyphen with companies house but not on the bank account, they didn't tell me that until afterwards.

[demographic]

Its interesting to note that some of Nigels funding has dried up recently though, is it "Cos ee got Brexit done" or due ro economic sanctions affecting Russian money?

This threads great, I wonder what will unravel if we pull on it a bit?

[mangocrazy]

Having worked for a UK bank for 20 years prior to retirement, I am under no illusions as to their mendacity and profit-driven nature. But it is an inescapable fact that Banks have an increasing volume of regulatory compliance to observe, most of which is driven by anti-money laundering (AML) legislation. If they screw up on that then their licence to transact in USD or EUR can be withdrawn, and that would be a very, very serious outcome for any Bank. It's entirely likely that poor, unsuspecting, defenceless Mr Farage-balloon fell foul of either dodgy AML-related transactions and also being a PEP, as well as seeing his net worth deflate to levels where he no longer matched the profile required by Coutts.

No persecution, just business.

[MrLongbeard]

If only there was a place that mandated banking as being a basic right for all.

Oh, hang on a bit, is that an EU law?

"Directive on payment accounts
The directive on payment accountsEN••• gives people in the EU the right to a basic payment account regardless of a person's place of residence or financial situation. The directive also improves the transparency of bank account fees and makes it easier to switch banks.

The European Commission makes the process of opening bank accounts easier and clearer for consumers."

UK too, SI 2015 No.2038

Part 4 requires credit institutions that have been designated by the Treasury in accordance with the procedure set out in Schedule 6 to offer eligible consumers a payment account with basic features. Regulation 19 sets out the nature of the services that will be offered as part of a payment account with basic features, and regulation 23 prescribes the eligibility criteria.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... k-accounts