Signatory on Bank Account

[lscott1009]

Hi All, This is my first post on here so please bear with me! I have been in an IVA for only 7 months but have been a signatory on 2 business bank accounts associated with my job (not self employed and not my own business). When I took out the IVA I asked if this would be affected and was told it would not be. This week I have been suspended from one of the accounts and can therefore no longer do my job. The bank manager told me this was because of my personal IVA. I am with McCambridge Duffy, whom I spoke to before going ahead with the IVA and was told my job would not be affected by this. I now risk losing my job, failing my IVA, going bankrupt, losing my home and probably ending up on the scrap heap with my 4 year old beside me! Does anyone have any thoughts on how I should now move forward as I am really worried now. McCambridge Duffy deny that the bank should have done this.

[kallis3]

Hi and welcome,

Michael Peoples from McD posts on here so hopefully he can pick up on this post and advice.

[Foggy]

I agree with McCD -- the bank are out of order! It is not your account and they are not your funds and your IVA has no relevance.
Which bank are we talking about (not HSBC is it ?? )

[lifenoteasy]

From 2012:

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/financin ... ount.thtml

From 2014:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... ?t=4999680

Basically may come down to the bank.

[Michael Peoples]

This is a new one on me and I would think you have serious grounds for complaint. You are not obtaining credit or guaranteeing any debt so it is really none of their business.

If this bank was a creditor in your IVA it still should not make a difference as your signing for the company gives you no liability to the bank in any shape or form. You could put in an official complaint to the Bank and even go to the Ombudsman as by being removed from the company's accounts has caused you serious problems. I am not even sure the Bank would be entitled to divulge the IVA information to your employer even if they were a creditor themself.

By all means contact us and we can try and help but the advice you were given is the same I would give today or tomorrow as in over 16 years in McCambridge, Duffy I have never heard of this happening before.

[Shining]

Hopefully you will contact McD and they will help you, hope this can be sorted as this isn't good.

[longslog101]

not really my area but as the bank manager has taken it upon themselves to suspend you from one of the accounts I would write him/her a letter asking then to provide you with the written terms of the account which allows them to suspend you asa signatory, such that you can present this to your legal representatives and FSA as by taking this action it will have a significant negative financial impact on your life.

Hopefully it will just be some jumped up tw@ who very quickly gets back in their box when presented with a letter that talks about them individually being named on the complaint.

They might come back and say its bank policy, in which case you could say that you are bound by written terms and conditions with the bank and not "policy".

good luck, keep us posted.

[longslog101]

ps out of curiosity was one of your creditors the bank that the businesses account is with of which you are(were) a signatory ?

[lscott1009]

Its Natwest. My boss has tried to sort it out and Natwest has said there is absolutely nothing they can do!!

font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by Foggy

I agree with McCD -- the bank are out of order! It is not your account and they are not your funds and your IVA has no relevance.
Which bank are we talking about (not HSBC is it ?? )

[lscott1009]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Nobody has been able to sort this out, therefore I have had to stop carrying out certain aspects of my job. I have contacted the Financial Ombudsman and am awaiting a form in the post from them. This has been an absolute nightmare. I will let you know what happens!

[welshwiz]

Did the bank tell your employer or did they notify you? Will be very interested to see what happens, as I am not a signatory on firms account but do have a card for the internet banking, Barclays were a creditor of mine and they are now in the process of changing their internet banking, I hope this will not be an issue as we completed our IVA 16 months ago (3 years early) and I really don't want my employer to know about it. Good luck hope you get this sorted, please keep us posted.

[Lisa Thomas]

Suggest you get a written explanation from the Bank regarding their action to support your complaint.

[lscott1009]

Update. I have a written explanation from Natwest. It is their procedure to override the business owners wishes. They will remove ANYONE as a signatory from a business account if they have an IVA regardless of the business owners wishes. BEWARE OF NATWEST.

[kallis3]

That is really bad and I do feel for you. It should have nothing to do with whether or not you have an IVA and I would take this further.

[lscott1009]

It would appear that this has happened before to A.N.Other with Lloyds. Micheal Peoples replied to a post on 27 October 2009 from someone who had the same problem as me, although their IVA was completed. This does somewhat contradict what Mr Peoples has said in response to this thread. Please everyone take as much advice from as many people as possible before committing to this.