The mortgage broker spoke out after Starling Bank froze his business bank account for two weeks, leaving him without access to funds normally used for salaries and operating costs.
The broker, who wishes to remain anonymous, said his account was unfairly frozen after some mistakes made by Starling.
The problems began when the broker was added as a person with significant control (PSC) over his wife’s business, and then she was added as a person with significant control (PSC) over his wife’s business.
The first request elicited a response from Starling seeking additional identifying information about his wife, as the couple has personal and business bank accounts with Starling.
The broker explicitly told Starling that he did not want a joint account as a result of any of the checks, and the bank told him that would not happen.
However, when he logged into online banking, he found that he could view his wife’s bank account through his own bank account.
This included alarming information about balances, transactions, etc.
When Starling asked for additional vetting information about the broker, he refused, because he wanted to fix the original error first.
On September 4, Starling said the broker had 90 days to provide the information, otherwise his account would be closed. This deadline was then shortened to October.
On October 2, the account was frozen by Starling, resulting in significant cost and inconvenience to the broker.
For example, he had to use his personal savings to pay business expenses, and he had to set up another bank account to do so.
“Direct debits can still be paid, and money can come in. I couldn’t use my debit card, I couldn’t pay myself dividends or a salary, I couldn’t withdraw any money. All my processing fees, I couldn’t access any cash,” the broker said.
“My business subscriptions bounced and my subscriptions were frozen. Then I had to pay for them personally. We are a business, and not being able to access tools is a concern.
“I fully understand Starling’s KYC and PSC obligations. The story, in my view, is about what happens when legitimate regulatory processes conflict with a customer’s concerns about access to financial data – and whether freezing an otherwise operating business account is a proportionate response while those concerns remain unresolved.”
He adds that he felt Starling was being ignored despite multiple emails and phone calls about the issue. He also feels that some of Starling’s emails were so impersonal and unhelpful that they appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence.
On October 13, the man received a phone call from Starling’s complaints team and his account was suddenly unfrozen.
A Starling Bank spokesperson said: “We are truly sorry for the issues this customer experienced. All issues have now been resolved, we have offered compensation and have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
If you are a mortgage broker and are having difficulty banking or have a frozen bank account, please send a message to sam.barker@emap.com.
