Seems reasonable to me. Although not everyone is happy.
Nigel Farage revealed his account was recently shuttered.
Writing for The Telegraph, the former Brexit Party leader said he was then rejected by seven other banks when he approached them to become a customer.
Sounds tough. Although he should be able to cope with this okay;
The establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts.
Since his ancestors came to the UK fleeing persecution I reckon it is probably in his blood to seek asylum somewhere. Besides, didn't he back the Tory establishment last general election?
Btw that bench he is sitting on in the photo is in the centre of Downe village - home to Charles Darwin, and should be instantly recognisable to anyone who cycles in that part of the Kent North Downs.
OTOH I'm generally ok with the ability of any business to.choose who its customers are - subject to discrimination laws. OTOH I bet the banks have lots of more "dodgy" customers whose activities they happily ignore. For example, Shell, or half the bloody Tory party 😂
Is it because of his views, or is it because he is a PEP and the effort in validating that he isn't dodgy dealing isn't worth having their business for.
https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/anti-money-laundering/peps
So while others may also need similar scrutiny, I should think Shell's business is a lot more valuable
I would be fairly confident in assuming it’s more as a result of them having visibility of his finances and of whom he is being paid by. See: the current crackdown/sanctions on Russian money.
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If a bank or building society doesn't want to do business with someone because of their dodgy financial dealings then that's one thing.
However, to the threads title, rude and discriminatory are subjective qualities and depend entirely on who is defining those terms in order to refuse custom and for what reason they might be doing it (as scotroutes intimates.)
Banks should be ethical, They are not the arbiters of morality.
Anything that upsets that **** is fine by me.
Conservatives are always going on about a business' right to not provide service to a customer if they wish (ie gay wedding cakes).
He's a PEP and couldn't give a suitable explanation of his funding sources. Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
Rumour has it that Laurence Fox has a similar problem.
I suspect the Farage case and Yorkshire BS policy are not related.
"Conservatives are always going on about a business’ right to not provide service to a customer if they wish (ie gay wedding cakes)."
And now we're on about banks rights not to provide a service to a customer based on subjective (and perhaps political) grounds?
An eye for an eye and all that...
Sorry for replying to the actual thread title.
America is going after Russian money laundering atm
I imagine banks are very wary of the likes of farage
Farage account was at Coutts.
Former UKIP leader says personal and business accounts with major retail bank closed because of ‘commercial decision’
The commercial decision:
Clients are required to maintain at least £1m in investments or borrowing (mortgage), or £3m in savings.
https://www.coutts.com/become-a-client/private-form.html
He's probably simply not wealthy enough to be a customer there. They are a bank, you know, those bastions of integrity and ethics... why would they care who he is as long as he has money.
If his account u t is closed because of dodgy finances then of course it’s fine.
If it has been closed because of his unpleasant personality and shite politics I’m not so happy. It’s going ‘our way’ at the moment, but maybe in a couple of years someone else will be in charge who thinks my beliefs are unworthy and closes my accounts.
Protections are for everyone, even those we don’t like.
I imagine banks are very wary of the likes of farage
Wait what? I thought they were supposed to be mates
I suspect the Farage case and Yorkshire BS policy are not related.
No it's just the Daily Telegraph that is trying to tie the two together.
Yorkshire Building Society is saying that they won't tolerate rude and discriminate customers, which is perfectly reasonable and in line with many other businesses, health service, local authorities, etc, and Nigel Farage who claims that there is a weird establishment conspiracy against him because 8 banks have refused to do business with him.
I doubt very much that the decision taken by the 8 banks was politically motivated.
bench he is sitting on in the photo is in the centre of Downe village
think he’s local to the area- seen him in the Old Jail pub a few times when I worked in Biggin Hill.
"I suspect the Farage case and Yorkshire BS policy are not related." -
"No it’s just the Daily Telegraph that is trying to tie the two together."
Not just the Telegraph ernie, you've done exactly the same by starting a thread titled "Building society closes accounts of ‘rude or discriminate’ customers" and then linking to a story not about rude or discriminate customers but about Farage's financial probity.
I don't see much detail around the Yorkshire vicar case. Seems likely either he was less polite with his feedback than he's letting on, or he's done something that falls under "discriminates"
Yorkshire Building Society
@Yorkshire_BS
We never close savings accounts based on different opinions about beliefs or feedback from customers. We only ever close an account if a customer is rude, abusive, violent or discriminates in any way, based on the specific facts, comments & behaviour in each case.
Not just the Telegraph ernie
Apologies if my thread title was misleading, it wasn't intended to be, I thought the article would be self-explanatory.
Yes the Daily Telegraph is trying to suggest that there is some sort of huge woke/establishment conspiracy involving building societies and banks, and among the victims is Nigel Farage.
To be honest what interested me most about the article was the photo of the circular bench at Downe village. It is were we often regroup on club road rides. I just used the article as an excuse to post that photo 😆
Coutts doesn’t have reputation of being too worried about how grubby the money people deposit with them is
they’ve already paid out millions in fines for profiting from money laundering and we’re under investigation years before things kicked off in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions for their role in laundering 3/4bn of dodgy Russian dosh.
so if Farage reckons he’s been cut loose for reasons other than just not having enough money he’s basically saying an organisation that sets a very low bar for morality thinks he can’t get over it.
he’s basically saying an organisation that sets a very low bar for morality thinks he can’t get over it.
Later on we'll be asking ourselves if wrestling's fixed 😉
think he’s local to the area- seen him in the Old Jail pub a few times when I worked in Biggin Hill.
Well it is not surprising if he has been forced to drink at the Old Jail pub in Biggin Hill as he has been banned from the rather patriotically named "George and Dragon" in Downe village:
No doubt Nigel Farage believes that him being banned from his local pub is all part of the whole establishment/bank conspiracy against him, which is apparently trying to force him to live abroad.
I bet he could open a bank account in Russia.
Farage is just desperately trying to remain relevant IMO, hence this latest rant and promising 'more info on GBeebies later!!'
Not to be confused with banks, or any other business for that matter, reserving the right to not do business with people who are abusive and disrespectful.
Farage (rhymes with garage) is a next Tuesday. Why he hasn't been glassed or similar I don't know.
Essentially, imo, any business can choose who they cater to. There was a case in the States recently of a woman who refused to design wedding websites (who knew there was such a thing) to gay couples as it went against her Christian beliefs. I don't agree with her views, but fair enough, each to their own.
Personally I've turned down jobs based on who the end client is. Last job I turned down was for Philipp Morris at a political rally for the CDU party in Germany.
Essentially, imo, any business can choose who they cater to.
halcyon days…
Farage (rhymes with garage)
But that depends how posh you are though?
Is it Fa-rahge or Farridge? 🤔
I thought the article would be self-explanatory.
Read articles!? I only look at the pictures 😉
Igmc
He’s probably simply not wealthy enough to be a customer there. They are a bank, you know, those bastions of integrity and ethics… why would they care who he is as long as he has money.
Except that a number of other UK high street banks have refused Farage's custom. Something about his affairs stinks to high heaven, Farage has been very vocal about deregulating banks in the past. I wonder why?
Yes the Daily Telegraph is trying to suggest that there is some sort of huge woke/establishment conspiracy involving building societies and banks, and among the victims is Nigel Farage.
The Telegraph has morphed from being the right leaning paper of record into something much nastier and less scrupulous, so I've no doubt that they'd publish a headline that conflates a dubiously funded, nicotine stained turd with being a victim of "wokeism" without much in the way of evidence. I'm amazed that they didn't try to shoehorn in a tirade against transgender children somewhere in that article.
But that depends how posh you are though?
I'm grew up in Essex.... The shit bit below the A13. Posh I ain't.
Except that a number of other UK high street banks have refused Farage’s custom. Something about his affairs stinks to high heaven
Fair enough but you'd have to be a very very naughty boy for a 'highstreet' bank to refuse to give you a basic current account.
Maybe he can't afford an account with Coutts, maybe he's just too hot to deal with for legal/regulatory reasons, neither would supprise me.
My money is on dirty Russian shenannigans... banks have no morals at all unless you become too hot to handle, they dont want auditors and regulators breathing down thier necks, that costs money and banks arn't in the business of losing money.
The Telegraph has morphed from being the right leaning paper of record into something much nastier and less scrupulous
The Daily Telegraph never recovered from the Conrad Black years imo - that's when it slipped into the gutter.
He is local to Downe village shown in the photo, he lives in Single Street which is a short distance away.
he lives in Single Street which is a short distance away
It would be a shame if a box full of turds turned up in his post. Maybe he'll wake up to the sight of frozen sausages hammered into his front lawn?
Maybe he can’t afford an account with Coutts, maybe he’s just too hot to deal with for legal/regulatory reasons, neither would surprise me.
I don't think that this is about Farage's solvency, he could shift to an ordinary Natwest account and remain in the same banking group. Likewise, if other banks are refusing to touch his money then it's something else.
Coutts have been fined in 2011 for "for breaches of money-laundering rules after three years of "serious" and "systemic" problems in handling the affairs of customers vulnerable to corruption because of their political links":
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/mar/26/coutts-fined-money-laundering-checks
So long as a businees/bank isn’t being discriminatory on the basis of a protected characteristic, I'm more than happy for them to choose who they want to deal with.
If cheats, liars, rude or obnoxious people find that their behaviour has repercussions, I'm all for it.
He's a politically exposed person (PEP) who can't prove source of funds. Tough titty, Nige.
But I supposed putting Vladimir Putin down as your primary benefactor just isn't viewed the same way any more.
Anyhow. **** him and his treasonable actions. He's achieved more in destabilising the UK and, to a lesser extent, the EU than a hostile foreign government could have ever wished for. Cheap at half the price for Putin.
If he can't get a bank account where is his money just now?
And
If a bank severed ties with you no bank to transfer your funds to, what do they do with your money? Send you a cheque or a briefcase?
Excellent article here:
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nigel-farage-brexit-revenge-conspiracy-theory-b2368056.html
"The banks are obviously making life very difficult for Nigel, and he’s annoyed; but, equally, you can see why, from a bank’s point of view, Farage must be a bit of a pain to look after".
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. And he's even mentioned leaving the UK. That would be like winning the lottery...for the rest of us.
Personally I cannot stand the sob. He's just so false, and putting out a working class persona with his pints of lager and flat cap. Im pretty sure that cap lives in a box 99% of the time and is nothing more than window dressing.
Banks have always reserved the right to choose who they accept as a customer. Back when I worked at Barclays we had two customers have their accounts cancelled for abusive behaviour towards staff and one for their dubious business activities. Pretty good going for a small upmarket town on the Welsh border.
From what I have read on the Farage one Coutts have kicked him off their Premier account service for being a Politically Exposed Person (ie dodgy funding sources) or more likely that he doesn't meet their criteria for the amount of money he has. Both normal reasons. What Farage has done is make it out to be more than it is, not do anything about it during his notice period (a month or more has been mentioned elsewhere) and then go crying to the press for obvious reasons. He doesn't have any protected characteristics that he can claim they're discriminating against otherwise he would have taken that angle.
Mountain out of a molehill as per usual with anything to do with that moron.
Not many working class people were educated at Dulwich College, or got a job in the city because of his fathers connections…..
seen him in the Old Jail pub a few times
I'd like to see hin in the Old Jail. Or a new one or...
He might also want to move and just needs an excuse of course...
I suspect the Farage case and Yorkshire BS policy are not related
They're not. Farage was banking with Coutts, not Yorkshire Building Society, and we don't know the reason why they closed his account but the most likely explanation is that he is a PEP or 'Politically Exposed Person', the same as any politician, and this means that he is screened more thouroughly for money laundering than most.
https://www.cityam.com/nigel-farage-claims-he-may-have-to-leave-uk-after-bank-accounts-closed/
My heart sinks when I see those signs about staff not accepting rude or aggressive behaviour as it usually translates to "you are about to experience the worst imaginable service known to mankind"
More Nigel Farage explanation:
https://twitter.com/mac_puck/status/1675189146132918273?t=ghBoagy_Q2dIEWkvftRjag&s=19
