I transferred money to my current account for exchange of contracts, but the bank refused access to the funds
Two weeks before completing on my new home, I notified my bank, NatWest, that funds would be transferred via my current account to my solicitor. It assured me there would be no problem and sent a congratulatory bottle of alcohol.
I duly transferred £260,000, whereupon NatWest refused access to my funds. First, it instructed me to use a public fax bureau to transmit sensitive details, then that I had to resubmit my biometrics in a branch.
I was sent the addresses of a branch in Cornwall and one in the Hebrides. I live in Northern Ireland. After I’d booked a ferry to the mainland to comply, the bank U-turned and let me renew biometrics at Ulster Bank.
The vendors, meanwhile, had lost patience and placed the property back on the market.
