Hello everyone, i have a Cifar marker since April 2021 when Starling bank reported me to Cifas as i tried to open a bank account with them using a Fake bank statement as proof of address
They opened my account and then not very longer after they closed it and reported me.
At this point right now i’ve got 2 missied salaries as I don’t have any bank account. Even prepaid banks are refusing me straight away, I don’t know what to do.
My employer is waiting for me to provide them a new bank account in order to pay me my last 2 salaries but I couldn’t open any kind of account. I tried current account, Basic, Prepaid, every bank its closing it after i open it.
Please some advice or any bank in UK who accepts people with cifas marker, i’ desperate
I wholly disagree. Inability to open bank accounts for 6 years, making it almost impossible to receive a salary or benefits (or any income at all) isn’t in any way proportional to what’s happened. Nor should a bank (a private business and the aggrieved party) be the ones deciding on the punishment for fraud.
CIFAS markers have been a bugbear of mine for a long time, leaving people unbanked has serious consequences even though they are issued in secret with no hint of due process.
Anyway, unfortunately @Samuel1999, this is hard to solve. Basic bank accounts are normally no more open to people with CIFAS than any other types of account. You can try as many banks as you can, but many people in your situation have to resort to getting paid into someone else’s account, despite the risk of financial abuse this exposes them too. I wish I had some better news, but first step just try everywhere you can think of.
You may also want to try going into branches and talking to them, they might be able to help more than just online.
You’re legally entitled to the right to have a bank account. However. You will need to go and apply for a basic account in person.
I’d recommend Nationwide’s FlexBasic. It will allow you to build a relationship with the bank over the next six years. When your CIFA expires you can then have a fresh start with a bank who knows your history.
Your entitled to have your CIFA appealed
You have a right to have your CIFA adjudicated. To do this you first need to complain to Starling and explain to them why you are unhappy with the CIFA and how it has impacted you.
Due to the low level fraud (if you lived at the address but couldn’t provide proof. It’s different to completely lying about an address that you did not live at) they may offer to remove it as a GWG.
When Starling finalise your complaint you will get a FRL to go to the Financial Ombudsman.
They could ask Starling to remove it as a remedy if you can provide that you did genuinely live at the address, and explain why you did what you did and apologise for it.
I agree with appealing the CIFAS but this part isn’t accurate. Banks can (and mostly do) refuse basic accounts based on CIFAS markers, as they can refuse basic accounts that they have any reason to believe will be used for fraud.
This can also be appealed with a complaint to the financial ombudsman, but I don’t know of any such appeal that was successful.
The same one as you. I have represented a small minority of claimants in cases where they have been targeted as a a money mule etc. I can’t go into detail with my past casework.
CIFAS and National Hunter loads are done in categories based on severity. It also depends on how the information has been loaded to the service.
Some banks don’t load cases properly or provide adequate data within the load to provide the severity of the case.
You might not like to believe it but there is low risk fraud and high risk fraud. Document forgery is low risk because it’s easy to prove against.
EG: lots of people lie about salary and income, this is easily proven. So it’s low risk to the bank as they will find out with data it holds or obtains over time.
Interesting, I have worked with a person who has been refused basic bank account due to a CIFAS. We appealed this to FOS and got nowhere, we were told banks have the right to refuse the account if they suspect the person of fraud. They applied to many accounts and were refused to all of them without being told why (this was 2019), and so I assumed it’s common practice? But the link you posted suggests there’s some way to force the bank to accept the customer?
Banks are reluctant. But you can force them. It depends on the nuances of the situation. It’s really not an easy process. But for the most part the best thing to do is appeal to the bank.
It’s a bad place to be in, and it’s going to be a stressful journey for the OP but hopefully they get the support they need. I definitely recommend they start with Citizens Advice and work through the complaints process with Starling.
At the same time visit the branch of a bank and explain they have no access to banking and need a basic account for basic living needs.
"If you’re bankrupt or have a record of fraud, you will not usually be allowed to open a bank account. Also, you may be refused permission to open a current account if you have a poor credit rating. However, if you’re bankrupt or have a poor credit rating, you may be able to open a basic bank account.
A bank or building society can refuse to open an account for you. They don’t always have to give you a reason, and there’s usually nothing you can do about it."
This is a general approach, but there are nuances to different situations.
Different Banks have different approaches and policies to CIFA markers - I can’t comment on who has the most laxed policy but I did signpost to a certain bank above who’s underwriters would consider the circumstances.
The guidance to visit Citizens Advice was more directed towards the CIFA appeal.
The OP will need to put up their fight in a branch and make the best case possible. There is an applications appeal process and the same journey via the FOS can be exhausted for the application complaint vs the CIFA appeal.
There’s no nuance involved when somebody commits fraud by submitting forged documents. They either did it, or they didn’t and they’ve confessed that they did. They should be lucky they didn’t end up with a prison sentence.