A Santander customer has accused the bank of unlawfully withholding £2,500 after staff refused to release his own money unless he provided proof of its intended use. The man explained the funds were for purchasing a motorbike for his son, yet the bank insisted on seeing evidence of the transaction and, when he objected, security was called on him.

The bank’s actions breach several fundamental principles. Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (UK law implementing the EU Payment Services Directive), banks are obliged to make funds available to the account holder without “undue delay.” The customer’s balance is his legal property, not the bank’s, and refusal to hand over cash without lawful justification may amount to “conversion” in civil law – the wrongful interference with someone’s property.

While banks must comply with anti-money laundering duties under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, these powers cannot be applied arbitrarily to ordinary customers making legitimate withdrawals. By holding back funds without a clear, lawful basis or a court order, Santander is accused of crossing the line from cautious compliance into unlawful deprivation of property – behaviour some would call nothing short of theft.