My sleeping money
30 Jul 2017
We want to draw our readers attention to this crazy situation.
Dear LPG,
At age 36 I am not a pensioner yet but I like to think that saving is something I have learned the value of. So soon after I started working, I opened a current account that my salary is paid into and a savings account which came with the usual penalties if one decides to take money out at short notice.
About seven years ago I decided on an extra bank account because I also liked the thought of having an emergency fund that I can get my hands on in a hurry. I deposited just over £7000.00 in this new current account and left it there ready and waiting. I recently found the car of my dreams and went to dip into my emergency stash of money but I found that the bank had frozen my account.
I asked and was told that I have not used the account since I first deposited the money. I am a regular visitor to the bank and use my other current account weekly. The bank has been happily getting interest on my money but when I wanted to spend some of it, I had to jump through hoops to get it back. Needless to say, the car of my dreams was still just that for a lot longer than I planned!
OB, Woolwich