Inconsistent details no grounds to withhold release of funds

Categories:
Account information,
Summary:
Freddy, a British resident, had been trying for four years to withdraw money from his New Zealand account to send to the United Kingdom. His New Zealand bank declined his requests, saying the date of birth on his identification documents did not match its records. It said it had to comply with New Zealand banking regulations when transferring money overseas and advised him to obtain a court order to send the money to the United Kingdom.
Published:
October 2019

Freddy considered this unacceptable and contacted us.

Our investigation

We found that his date of birth was, indeed, different from that held by the bank. Neither Freddy nor the bank could explain why this was. However, Freddy was able to produce clear records for the New Zealand bank account going back many years. The bank recognised it was possible that someone had made an error when recording Freddy’s date of birth.

Outcome

The bank agreed to let Freddy withdraw and transfer the money.

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