I have had a Barclays Bank account for nearly 40 years and retained it when I moved to Greece. When, following Brexit, Barclays decided to close accounts for non-UK residents, I was unhappy but accepted it was their decision to make.
However, they have closed my account and, weeks later, no one can tell me what has happened to my money or when it will arrive. My account contained nearly €6,000 (£5,070).
I received a letter from Barclays which contained an “account closing instructions” form to fill in and return by 12 June at the latest. I did this and sent it by recorded delivery to the UK, with the tracking service confirming it was received on 18 May.
I heard nothing further, so I called them on 6 July for a status update. They confirmed the account had been closed at the end of June but were unable to say if the money in the account had been transferred or not, and I should “wait and see”.
Given that my account balance was just under €6,000, I was even more concerned to receive another letter from Barclays dated 25 May (one week after they received my closure form) advising me that they would close the account if they had not heard from me by 12 June. I received this second letter on 15 July.
Can you help me find out what has happened to my money?
MC, Thessaloniki
The good news is that we have been able to reunite you with your cash. Barclays explains that it was unable to accept the closure instructions you supplied, and it wrote back straight away, but unfortunately you did not receive this letter, and this resulted in the account being closed.
Barclays says: “As a ringfenced bank, our Barclays UK products are designed for customers within the UK. We continue to review the services we offer to retail customers within the European Economic Area. Where we make the decision to no longer offer products and services, we are contacting impacted customers to give them advance notice of this decision and outline the next steps they need to take.”
In order for the funds to be released, the bank needed more information from you, which you have supplied, and the funds will now be transferred to your Greek bank account. It has also added a £200 payment to the total sum for the inconvenience caused.
You are very grateful for our help but wonder how many other people might be in a similar predicament.
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