Cheque Account

Z

ZEGAR

Registered User
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Folks.

I dont know if I should feel foolish or not..I went to open a cheque account with a new bank recently and was asked all manner of questions.
Apart from the obvious Name,DOB ,Address and the like ,I was asked about children ,I was asked what my last ESB bill was.
All these things were answered but then bells stated ringing when I was asked to provide a copy of my P45 ?? and a copy of my own bank accounts statement for the last 12 months....

Is this normal..My gut feeling was no so I rang the bank in question and cancelled my application for an account.

I could understand all these questions if I wanted a loan or a mortgage but I only wanted an account to lodge a few checques in ???
 
Last time I opened a current account (c. 15+ years ago) I was asked for id, proof of address and some previous bank statements. I think they're even more particualar about this stuff these days so it would not surprise me if they looked for more info. However the minimum that they need is listed and they might unilaterally ask for more as far as I know. If you don't like it then you can try elsewhere.
 
I myself was in a bnk yesterday trying to open a new bank account, got all of that, yor job, if ur wife works, income, payslips, did I have pasports etc.. list goes on ... bank statements etc ... seemly is normal
 
Some of this information is necessary under money laundering legislation and some is the bank being nosy and getting more information to allow them to try to sel you more "banking products".

My advice is to know what is required under the legislation and refuse to provide any other information which you are uncomfortable, unless the back can give you a convincing explanation of why they need it.

I have found that when you refuse the answer the silly questions, they fade away very quickly, as they know they cannot oblige you to give this information and they are not going to turn down the business because you object to them being nosy.
 
About 10 years ago I wanted to open a current account in a branch where I held a savings account. I was told that it was not possible to open a current account until I had met with the assistant manager. I thought this was too much hassle, and walked out of the bank, accross the road to a different bank and opened a current account there straight away. This was before the days of the more stringent money laundering regulations.
 
Current accounts carry a potential risk - loss to bank through forced credit, abuse of lasercard / cheque guarantee card etc
Therefore sufficient information must be gathered at the beginning to assist with credit scoring the application to open the account.

From experience I found that the people who were reluctant to divulge information at the account opening stage were the very same people who caused trouble later on - i.e unreasonable demands / spurious complaining / poor account operation / systematic unpaid items / broken promises to lodge etc.
 
I agree that banks have to know some information about customer to assess suitability for overdrafts, cheque books etc, but I refused to divulge my husbands earnings as it was none of the banks business and I was within my rights to do so, and I'm afraid nlgbbblth, that you are taking a big leap to accusing me of being a a risk for bad payments and lying to the bank.
 
When I returned to Dublin after several years away three years ago my bf and I was not able to open up a bank account without a job, even though we had full ID required for money laundering including PRS nos, bank statements from previous banks, proof of where our savings came from, passports, etc...my bf was out of work for four months and was unable to get a bank account for most of that time. We only wanted deposit bank accounts and were happy to waive overdraft and credit facilities. We had full and good credit histories.

I wrote to our local TD who passed it onto Bertie's office, and received a letter stating that it was illegal for banks to turn anyone down for a deposit-only bank account with the correct money laundering paperwork. My bf brought this letter into a bank and they still wouldn't give him a bank account! In the end the cashier gave in and overrode the system to give him the a/c.

The feeling I got from the whole episode was that Irish banks (and we approached all of them open to us) used the EU money laundering regs to reject people without an income, because they would not be "viable customers".

Cynical I know, but until a few years ago banks in England did the same - but they used the credit check excuse instead - if you didn't have a credit record, they wouldn't give you an account.
 
huskerdu said:
I agree that banks have to know some information about customer to assess suitability for overdrafts, cheque books etc, but I refused to divulge my husbands earnings as it was none of the banks business and I was within my rights to do so, and I'm afraid nlgbbblth, that you are taking a big leap to accusing me of being a a risk for bad payments and lying to the bank.
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Your husband's salary details are not relevant if you are applying for a bank account in your own name - and should not have been asked at account opening stage. Therefore your objection is a reasonable one.

It is the people who objected to legitimate and relevant questions that I had difficulties with.
 
Things like banks soliciting PPS numbers is worrying me, seeing as they have no right to ask that at all.
 
bond-007 said:
Things like banks soliciting PPS numbers is worrying me, seeing as they have no right to ask that at all.
Click to expand...

in the past it was sought.
and was especially relevant when opening SSIAs.

Should not be requested anymore.
 
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