County Derry woman loses £2,000 after bank error closes account

A County Derry woman who lost out on thousands of pounds after a bank error closed her business account has branded her treatment as 'disgraceful'.

Hazel Patterson, who runs Crindle Stables in Limavady, had her Ulster Bank business account closed without warning in August 2022.

She only became aware of the issue after a customer raised a query about why her payment had been sent back to her.

“Initially, I didn't even know, it was one of my clients who asked if I'd sent them back money,” Hazel told the County Derry Post.

“That was on a Saturday though, so there was nothing I could do until the Monday when I got through to the profiling team.

“They got the information that they needed and said as of that evening, or at the very latest, the next day, the account would be up and running.

“But thereafter, the account never re-opened and the profiling team kept saying they were no restrictions on the account, but the business team was telling me there was.

“We just bounced from one to the other; one hand didn't know what the other was doing, but eventually, about a fortnight later, I got through to one very nice lady.

“She got a few more details off me and went back to check. It turned out that when they initially opened the account for the business, they had put it as a joint account.

“It was only my name that was on the cheque book, the card, the account, but they made a mistake initially with the set up and that apparently was what created the problem.”

Hazel's account was closed for just over a fortnight, with the mix-up costing her more than £2,000 in missed payments, as well as causing credit issues.

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“I lost over £2,000 because when clients paid me, that money hit my account, bounced off and went to a holding account and then went back to the owner,” she said.

“That money is gone, because with data protection I'm not keeping information on people, so we have no way of contacting them. The bank can't contact then; that money is gone and remains gone.

“October 3 was the first time I heard from the complaints department, who acknowledged they had made a mistake.

“They gave me a small amount of compensation - £400 – and said it was the best they could offer, but that the business team would be dealing with the rest.

“I tried first with the business team before contacting the Ombudsman, because I just want my money back, but I am fed up. They won't reply to me; one doesn't know what the other is doing.”

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The Limavady woman said the episode has had a detrimental impact on her health and well-being, as well as hurting her reputation.

“It impacted my credibility with regard to my suppliers. It's taken up a huge amount of time and affected my own mental health,” she said.

“We were on the way to the Dublin Horse Show at the time - we would have always got things there - but I had no access to any of my money; I couldn't spend it or pay the bills.

“It's not just the money. I have business suppliers whose cheques were bounced back and O2 closed our phone line because I didn't pay the direct debit.

“You feel degraded, you feel stupid. They are telling you there's not an issue and to go to another team. No one can tell me who is responsible to get me my money back.

“I think the way I've been treated is disgraceful; there are so many departments and no one can answer questions.”

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The personal trainer first noticed problems with his account in June.

Last week, business owner Odhran Fleming told the County Derry Post of his business account issues with Ulster Bank and both he and Hazel have been in touch with the Financial Ombudsman.

A spokesperson for the Ombudsman's office said they had received 54 complaints against Ulster Bank between April 1 and November 28 this year.

Less than ten of those complaints were about business accounts, while the most complained about product was current accounts.

The County Derry Post approached Ulster Bank to ask if they were aware of issues around bank account closures and if reviews into the complaints process were carried out.

No response was received at the time of writing.

Last week a spokesperson said they are sometimes 'required to delay or refuse to act on a customer’s instructions, and suspend or restrict a customer’s accounts and services.'