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Ask HN: Revolut account frozen – this has to be illegal?

• Wicklow 8y ago
  Actually a small fact I forgot to mention . They banned me from commenting on their facebook page
• Wicklow 8y ago
  I will answer any and all questions
  • slater 8y ago
    To answer my one and only question: "Revolut Ltd is a UK financial technology company that offers banking services including a pre-paid debit card, currency exchange, cryptocurrency exchange and peer-to-peer payments." And founded by two Russians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolut https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolut
    • Wicklow 8y ago
      Could u clarity what u mean/ are asking ?
      • slater 8y ago
        Not asking anything :) Just noting that it's a financial services company founded (run?) by two Russians, and, reading through the Wikipedia article, with some parts facilitated by a Lithuanian bank. Taken individually, not really that noteworthy, but I'd be wary of doing any business with such a setup.
        • Wicklow 8y ago
          hahahah yes your 100% correct, but I still think its important that people know that this start up are assholes and if they are going to become a bank ...God help us
          • slater 8y ago
            Just to be certain: You got your money back/out, yes? If so, name-calling isn't productive (rarely is), and there's approximately 10 squintillion other banks you could choose, so uhh... cut your losses (can't write on their FB page? Those monsters!) and let them worry about their Lithu-Russian online crypto-enabled Super-Duper-Bank :) And report them to company house, I guess?
            • Wicklow 8y ago
              Good point about the name calling , but u cant just silence people on facebook and in your app if your a company without good reason ( this aint the ussr). Yes I got my money sent back to me . I am off to bed ( its 02:31 where I live atm)
    • Finnucane 8y ago
      And former traders for Deutsche Bank and Lehman. What part of this story says ‘I will give them my money’?
• rajacombinator 8y ago
  They actually can, will, and are often legally obligated by regulators to shut down any accounts with suspicious activity for AML reasons. Not sure what you were using them for, but as a Theoretical Physics student running 70k through their service, it’s likely you were pushing the limits of what was acceptable. If you’re going to play this game, be prepared to deal with the consequences.
  • Wicklow 8y ago
    U made the assumption that a theoretical student wouldn't have that money to spend (leave your bias at the door , u dont know my age ) . I sent proof of income to them 2 times . They were happy with that . Just didnt like how I was spending my money ... Which I think is absurd and in live chat they flat out insinuated I was engaged in unlawful activities. They then wouldnt do a live phone call, banned me from asking questions on facebook ... The thing is revoult is a great platform , I loved them . Now if they ever end up becoming even bigger I am bared from the platform . So thats where I have a major issue .
    • Wicklow 8y ago
      Also u say anti money laundering ... see u cannot just ban people on suspicion epsically when your officially now a bank . Also if I was doing illegal stuff hahhah why would I complain online All purchases where done in retail stores . My bank never had a problem with it . I moved to revoult as the ability to get costume cards , live chat (as a premium customer ) and turn off your bank card if u lost it and get a new one within 3 days
• paulcole 8y ago
  > I am no lawyer , but you cant just go around accusing people of being a criminal Isn't this exactly what you're doing to Revolut with this post? Honestly, chalk this one up as a loss and count yourself lucky that you didn't get funds frozen or lost because of this.
  • Wicklow 8y ago
    I was asking a question not making not making a acquisition . Two different things. Cant loss your funds man , I am in the eu . Now that would be illegal .
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• Wicklow 8y ago
  Ok I am new here and is have been brought to my attention that I have gone about this the wrong way . So let me start again and do this properly (unable to edit post) I used revoult for a period of about 5-6 months . I used it for part of my spending, then eventually moved over all of it (note my bank account with a normal high street bank never had any issues with my spending , as there is nothing illegal about it ) Technically the app had no flaws that I noticed . So reasons I moved to revoult : 1.Customer support was great via live chat (especially if you paid for premium, as you would get preference in the line to speak with a customer support agent ) 2.I am a very risk adverse person so , I use my main bank account to protect my savings and I avoid using my debit card at all costs as if any money was very taken out by someone else using my card it would be very difficult to get it back (ie if any fraud ever occurred). The traditional alternative to this problem is to use a credit card , but I didn't want to have pay off a balance at the end of every month (as if I forget it could be very costly for me ) . This is where revoult suited perfectly . I just set up my revoult as a payee and sent money to it via my main bank account and this provided the layer of protection I wanted. 3. This ties in with the 2nd part . Revoult allows the user to deactivate ones card via the app. This was a brilliant feature that I loved as it gave me that piece of mind. 4. Replacement cards, they would arrive within 1-3 days which is brilliant . 5. Could have up to 3 cards attached to an account. Since I regularly forget which pocket I put my wallet in I just put the cards in my wallet, in one of my coats and last one in my room as spare (just in case) 6. I love data , so the ability to track all my spending habits in one place (could see shop name, time of transaction and amount) was excellent. Then the data also was available in pdf form for me to print of at the end of the month or when ever I wanted . I think you could also transfer data to excel or google sheets . I am aware this is a double edged sword as they are getting lots of priceless data on a users spending habits , but this was a cost I was willing to put up with (for anyone who watched the show the prisoner , starring Patrick McGoohan , I would say you already feel like your living in the village ) These are the main reasons I used revoult . So on to the issues I had. As expected I had to prove my income once my spending was fully moved over. I had no issue with this . I actually preferred it as it gave me the feeling that they were more legitimate. So after I passed 20k (limit was 30k at this point ) I asked to raise the limit and they happily did so (went to 70k ). Then after a few months my account was suddenly frozen. I asked what was wrong . They said my account was under review . I sent in all supporting documents (even though my bank never asked for this kind of stuff) and then was told by an under qualified customer support person that they didn't mind my source of income , they just didn't like where and how I spent my money . The support staff then insinuated that I engage in illegal activities ( and therefore implied I was a criminal ). I asked to speak to someone higher up as this person was not reading my messages properly. They were not aware of what their messages where implying . I was then passed on . Was given the same response that they do not like how i spend my money . I requested a phone call on many occasions . Was refused (which I think is a major problem if your company is now a bank )and then blocked from using live chat . So to conclude . I went above and beyond what is reasonable , when it comes to proving that income was legitimate and that my spending was legal ( I have never been accused of illegal spending , I spent all the money at high street stores ). I was refused any phone calls and had my account suspended. I am no legal expert , but soloy on principle I find this to be wrong. I had great hopes for this start up . I just find it very dangerous when you are at the whim of others.