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
There’s nothing you can do really to make banks accept you – hopefully this has taught you a lesson about fraud.
Generally you have a number of options:
some high street banks are legally obligated to open basic bank accounts to people who cannot access other banking. You may need to visit in person and enquire about it. This will be a more limited form of bank account.
Pockit is designed for those who can’t get a bank account for whatever reason but comes with hefty fees
I know you don’t want to hear it but it serves you right for committing fraud. Surely there would have been an easier way to show proof of address, such as a provisional license etc.
What have you been using for the past three years?
And the repetition of this makes you look even worse to banks.
ndrw is right. Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, LLoyds, and several other banks all offer Basic accounts. I’d suggest giving them a ring or trying to talk to one of them, and see what they can do.
If none of them will take you, then you’re going to have to get used to cash.
Very silly thing to do but it’s done now. Punishment for such stupidity is important, but so is being given the chance to learn from your mistakes and move on with life.
At least he is admitting it, so many would come on here and claim they know nothing about the marker, it must have been a scammer (and definitely not their wife).
There will be a bank willing to take you, you just need to keep trying. There is little point in just applying online and then waiting for them to be closed, you need to actually go and speak to the banks and explain prior to applying.
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.