I’m a mum-of-three and have £9 to feed my family this week after my bank account was frozen without warning
A MUM-of-three says she has less than £10 to feed her family this week after her bank account was frozen without any warning.
Lisa Cullen, 41, discovered she was locked out of her Suits Me account on Sunday after her debit card was declined at the supermarket.
The mum – who uses the account to buy essentials for her three kids – now only has £9 to her name, despite having over £120 in her account.
Lisa, from Northenden, Manchester, told Manchester Evening News: “I’ve explained to them that I have three children and I’ve got no money to feed them.
“I must have emailed them around 40 times but we’re just going round in circles.”
The account is vital as it is where Lisa receives her DWP payments – a lifeline for the family.
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And now her children, aged 15, 13 and nine are on school holidays, all day trips and activities have been cancelled because the money’s dried up.
Lisa is now even “obsessively watching” her electric meter go down and will be forced to borrow money from pals if the company fail to cough up the cash.
And the timing could not be worse amid a soaring cost-of-living, with Lisa adding how “£120 is a huge amount to people these days”.
She is due her next cash instalment next week.
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The mum claims Suits Me told her they sent an email telling her the account had been frozen, but she claims to have received nothing.
She is now unable to log into her account altogether.
On Monday the mum got so desperate she drove to the company offices in Knutsford to end her cash hell but said “no managers were available to speak to me”.
Suits Me’s Compliance Team have been tasked with investigating the issue and the firm directed her back to the DWP, but the issue is nothing to do with them, she claimed.
Despite her desperate pleas, the company – who boast a ‘hassle-free alternative to traditional banking’ – told her she may have to wait up to 60 days to gain access to her money again.
There has still been no explanation from the bank, which she joined two months ago temporarily, as to why she can’t access her cash.
The firm provides customers with an e-money account and a contactless debit card.
Suits Me said it was unable to comment on the situation, and added that it operated all accounts in line with its terms and conditions.
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A Suits Me spokesperson told the M.E.N: “We cannot comment on an individual customer’s circumstances.
“However, Suits Me operates its customers’ accounts in line with their terms and conditions, relevant legislation and the guidance given by the Financial Conduct Authority.”
BANK ON IT
According to consumer champions Which? - these are the four things YOU should do if you find yourself unable to access your cash:
1 – Ask your bank why your account has been frozen
2 – Call your bank
3 – Complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
4 – Set up a new bank account as soon as you can