Sorry... When I posted my reply I wasn't really aware of the location difference. Only picked up on that fact later. And I guess I don't read the forums enough to recall ever having read a post about banking differences in different locations.

But I wonder why bank account information is treated so differently in different countries? Things sound very similar to US in most other respects -- we also have account info printed at the bottom of every check, but most of us tend to guard that information a little closer these days due to the threat of identity theft or scammers who might try to access the bank funds illegally. (A very real problem -- happened to my husband!)

I, too, have moved almost entirely away from paper checks. Now I use a debit card (which requires my PIN number ID in most cases) for most in-person transactions at stores, pay most of my monthly bills electronically, and use PayPal for online transactions whenever I can. But I can't imagine giving my bank account number out to people I did not know very well -- how odd that it is different there!

Banks in all western countries have very strick Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecey Act (BSA) laws. In the US, banks also have to screen participants in all trasactions against a list maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. Think of the OFAC list like the no-fly list you always hear about. If someone involved in any particular transaction is on that OFAC list, the bank must sieze those funds and notify the feds. The UK has a similar list, although I don't know what its called. The bank may also be concerned that this new person depositing funds into your account is attempting to launder money, which is a serious criminal offense. With all the issues above, the bank is prohibited from telling you the details. Think about it, how do they know you're not involved until the investigation is complete?

Don't be mad at your bank, they're doing their jobs. In fact, you should be thanking them. Who knows, they may have just saved you all your money by freezing the account and preventing this person from committing fraud on your account. I could give you a hundred different ways this could happen. If you really want some examples, let me know, and they you'll understand how this may have saved your butt.

thanks again all

timhenk, I am not mad at my bank because the froze my accounts, I am mad at mybank for not contacting me in any form.

My accounts have been unfrozen today. but I have had it confirmed, no letter would be sent, no phone call would be made, my internet and hpone banking priviledges as well as my ability to withdraw funds cut off.
and no one would tell me, they said, as to not tip off the fraudsters.

I pointed out to them that as a customer of 7 years who has been through university with them, work, has bills, and normal activity on their account that I am first a customer, and if they were truelly out to protect me from bank fraud and identity theft, they could have simply contacted me to let me know there was an issue.

instead of protected i feel accused. Unless someone has taken over my home, my life as well as my bank accounts (and if they had, man i needed help from somewhere) They had to have a way of contacting me, and the half a dozen security questions I answered would have proved my identity, and warn me that there was possible fraudulant activity and inform me straight off everything I needed to help them help me.

I'm glad it seems to be over now. I will be closing the account in question. I unfortunately have some debt with the bank in question, thankfully not my mortgage, phew. I will be clearing that off or finding another lender to take it and then I will be done with them all together, they lose my wages, my business income, and loans mortages etc I may have taken out with them in the future. will never come back to them and I will bad mouth them till the day I die an old lady with my matress stuffed with money I've hidden from the banks.

Thank you for all your help and support, I will post if i get a reply to my complaint and let you know the result.

For the UK cakers, apparently the sending account raised suspicion because of activity on their part, but it was the odd number £43 that rang alarm bells. So in furute I will be simply taking a £50 deposit and not a 20%. THis will apparently help avoid this appening again