Bank Froze My Account (UK): What to Ask Them and How to Get Your Records

Don't go in expecting an explanation. Bank staff in the UK can commit a criminal offence by revealing that the bank has reported its suspicions to the police, HMRC, the National Crime Agency or its own nominated officer, or that an investigation is being considered or carried out, where that is likely to prejudice an investigation. So the person at the counter may not be allowed to tell you why your account was frozen. What you can ask for is narrower, and it gets you further: who you should be dealing with, a complaint logged with a date on it, and a copy of your own records. The complaint starts a clock. The Financial Ombudsman Service says a business has up to 8 weeks to consider most complaints, and only 15 days for some types, payment services such as bank transfers among them. For your records, you send the bank a subject access request; the Information Commissioner's Office says organisations usually have one month to respond.

If you sell USDT peer to peer, the usual picture looks like this: a handful of buyer payments sitting in a current account you can no longer move money out of, and a bank that won't say much. Our view is that a branch visit or a call is worth making for paper, not for an argument. Nobody at the counter can lift a freeze that came from outside the bank.

What to ask the bank

No rule we checked lists what a bank must tell you at this stage, so treat these as our suggested questions, not a script the bank is bound to answer. Ask them at the branch or on the phone, and write down each answer with the date and the name or reference you're given.

Is this a restriction the bank has placed itself, or is the bank acting on an order from a court or another authority? The answer decides who you talk to next. If it sounds like the bank's own block, a restricted account is a different situation from a frozen one.
Which of my accounts are affected, and is it the whole balance or a set amount?
Who should I contact about it? If an authority is involved, ask for its name. "The police" on its own is not something you can ring.
Can you log this as a complaint, and when will I get your final response? It is the easiest one to leave out, and it matters more than the others; more on why below.

Keep it short. Explaining every P2P trade at the counter doesn't help the person in front of you decide anything, and anything you say should match your paperwork. If that paperwork isn't together yet (the first steps after a freeze list what goes in it), sort it before you go in.

Why staff may not tell you the reason

The law behind the silence is section 333A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, headed "Tipping off: regulated sector". Subsection (1) reads: "A person commits an offence if— (a) the person discloses any matter within subsection (2); (b) the disclosure is likely to prejudice any investigation that might be conducted following the disclosure…; and (c) the information on which the disclosure is based came to the person in the course of a business in the regulated sector."

So when a member of bank staff says they can't discuss the reason, that may be the law talking rather than the branch being difficult. It doesn't tell you a report has been made about your account; it explains why pushing harder at the counter is unlikely to get you a reason.

What silence does not stop

Section 333A covers disclosing that a report has been made (subsection (2)) or that an investigation is being considered or carried out (subsection (3)), and only where that is likely to prejudice an investigation. It doesn't stop the bank logging your complaint and sending you a final response. Nor does it stop the bank answering a subject access request.

The statutory waiting periods that run while a bank waits for consent from the National Crime Agency are set out in restricted, not frozen. The complaint steps below apply either way.

Make it a complaint, in writing

A conversation at the counter leaves no trace you can point to later. A complaint does, and it is the step that eventually opens the door to the ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman Service puts the business's side of it like this: "For most complaints, a business has up to 8 weeks to consider a complaint. But a business has only 15 days to consider complaints about: fraud and scams / payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits / electronic money…"

That page doesn't say which group a frozen account falls into, and we won't guess for you. Ask the bank which timescale it is applying to your complaint, and note the answer.

Put the complaint in writing, by the bank's complaint form, secure message or letter, and keep a copy. Say when the account stopped working, which accounts are affected, what you were told at the branch and by whom, and what you want: at minimum, a clear statement of what the bank can tell you and who you should contact. Then put the date you sent it in your diary, so you can tell when 8 weeks, or 15 days, have gone by.

When to take it to the Financial Ombudsman

Two situations let you go to the ombudsman. If the bank hasn't answered in time, the service says: "If you haven't received a response to your complaint within the time limits, you can refer your complaint to us." If it has sent a final response and you disagree with it, there's a deadline on your side: "You will need to make a complaint to us within 6 months from the date on your final response."

Six months sounds generous until the letter sits in a drawer. Write the date on the final response somewhere you'll see it.

It costs nothing. In the service's words: "Our service is free and easy to use. You don't need to pay anyone to represent you, for example, a lawyer or claims management company (CMC)." Anyone charging a fee to "handle the ombudsman" for you is selling something you can do yourself, and paid unfreezing services tend to be worse than that.

Get your records with a subject access request

Whatever the bank won't explain at the counter, you can still ask for the personal information it holds about you. That's a subject access request, and the ICO is plain that "Anyone can make a SAR. You don't need a solicitor or a lawyer." On timing: "Organisations usually have one month to respond to a SAR."

The ICO suggests including:

a subject line or header that says "subject access request";
the date you're making the request;
your name and contact details;
your customer account numbers;
what personal information you want, being specific;
dates or other details that help the bank find it;
how you would like to receive the information;
and, if you want to, why you're asking.

"Be specific" is the item that does the work here. Something like: statements for each affected account from a month before the freeze to today; notes or recordings of your calls and branch visits about the account; and copies of any letters or messages the bank sent you about the restriction. Send it to the bank, not to a fraud database; a request to Cifas is a separate one, covered in whether a frozen account affects your credit score.

Go in with realistic expectations. The ICO's own wording: "You can ask for all the information an organisation holds about you. However, this doesn't mean you will get all the information they have about you." It adds that "An organisation can sometimes refuse to provide you with all or some of the information" and that "Sometimes, the organisation is allowed to take longer to send it as well." Given section 333A, don't expect the reply to spell out why the account was frozen. Expect your own statements and the record of what you've been told, which is still worth having if the case goes further.

How this was put together

Written from the published pages of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the ICO and from section 333A on legislation.gov.uk, read on 27 October 2026, not from accompanying anyone to a branch. We have not checked any individual bank's process, so no bank is named. The questions in the first section are our suggestions. Your own papers, the bank's written responses and your solicitor's advice are what count in your case.

Sources (checked 2026-10-27): Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 333A (tipping off in the regulated sector) · Financial Ombudsman Service, How to complain (8 weeks and 15 days for the business, referring after the time limit, 6 months from the final response, free to use) · ICO, Getting copies of your information (SAR) (who can ask, one month, what to include, when information can be withheld or delayed). Rules differ by country; the papers you receive and your local rules govern. Independent guide, not a bank, police force, court, regulator or exchange channel; general information only, not legal advice. We only cover lawful self-protection, and we do not explain how to evade law enforcement or move funds.