English Chess Forum

Hi, hope it's ok to post this on behalf of a request from a lead county organizer:

'This a message to warn all club secretaries and treasurers. A club in the midlands has today been informed by its bank that the club’s bank account has had no transactions for a year and therefore faces closure.

With no league fees or room hire costs to pay and an understandable reluctance to ask members for annual subscription with no chess matches, other clubs will probably not have used their bank account. If a club gets a similar letter, advice from the bank is to make a transaction or two. Maybe pay your own subscription or pay in any cash float.'

Yes, my club had that from HSBC; fortunately, we then had to buy something, so did the transaction

HSBC also have introduced a detailed online safeguarding check, to check all our details; time consuming, but quite handy to update a couple of points

Thanks Peter. Banks don't like small accounts or ones that aren't used much.

Thank you for that. Presume fees in are ok?

Little tip : transfer a tenner to your own bank account and then right back immediately - I do that all the time to qualify for promotions or minimum pay in limits on bank accounts and they never question it

Joey Stewart wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:53 pm

Little tip : transfer a tenner to your own bank account and then right back immediately - I do that all the time to qualify for promotions or minimum pay in limits on bank accounts and they never question it

Wonder if that sort of thing flags you for money laundering checks?

I think the accounts are flagged as inactive or gone away, after a period of time.

Yes, but not usually before making at least some kind of enquiry with the account holder.

Stephen Westmoreland wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:13 pm

I think the accounts are flagged as inactive or gone away, after a period of time.

I'm surprised the press don't seem to have picked up on this, evil banks etc. It should not have escaped the notice of banks that many voluntary clubs and organisations have been forced to suspend their activities for the past fifteen months by government diktat.

It's perhaps just as well the ECF grading team aren't bankers otherwise we would all have lost our ratings through inactivity.

It will be pre set rules on systems. Actually fair enough for banks that are governed on a certain rule set.

Stephen Westmoreland wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:32 am

It will be pre set rules on systems.

You don't think then that someone should have had the common sense to modify the rules in the light o the last fifteen months?

Did the bank close the account or was it just a warning to do something as it was triggering as non active?

HSBC have now told us that they will be charging £5 per month from November for them having our money; does anyone know of any banks that don't charge?

Metro are good once you have an account, but setting it up might be a nightmare. You could be laundering £20 per month for a Russian oligarch.

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 10, 2021 9:29 am

HSBC have now told us that they will be charging £5 per month from November for them having our money; does anyone know of any banks that don't charge?

Is that for a community account? They do not charge under a certain threshold off memory. If they are, then I will be moving too! Co-op may be an option.