Pockit customer forced to send bailiffs in battle for locked funds and rent money
A customer of UK fintech start-up Pockit, which raised half a million in its crowdfunding debut back in December, has sent bailiffs round to the company’s Wales-based office to recover hundreds of pounds which have been locked since 28 March.
The customer deposited £250 into his Pockit account, which was later locked with no explanation. Pockit blocked the customer’s Twitter account and his email, making it impossible for him to contact the firm directly.
Pockit said it “only restricts access to customer accounts when we detect any form of suspicious activity”
With issue fees, Pockit owes the customer a total of £352 according to the ‘Request for Warrant of Control’ document he sent FinTech Futures.
“I nearly lost my home”
The customer initially took Pockit to the small claims court. But he says this was ignored by the company. So, he then requested a County Court judgment (CCJ) against the fintech start-up. This was also ignored.
“I just really hope the bailiffs can recover my money,” he told FinTech Futures in the lead up to the visit. “I so desperately need it for my family. I nearly lost my home as that money was my rent money.”
FinTech Futures understands that the bailiffs did in fact attend Pockit’s rented office at Basepoint Business Centre in Chepstow, a town on the border of Wales. It is as yet unclear how the funds are being recovered.
On 14 May, following the bailiff visit, the customer still had not heard anything or received his funds.
Approached for comment, Pockit said it “only restricts access to customer accounts when we detect any form of suspicious activity”.
It added: “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide specific reasons as to what may trigger an account restriction. [..] We endeavour to keep all customers updated on the process as regularly as is practical.”
The company did not acknowledge the bailiff visit in its comment.
When FinTech Futures first approached Pockit for comment, the press email on its website bounced. The fintech start-up also claims its telephone lines are “temporarily closed” due to COVID-19.
FinTech Futures then reached out to the company’s old PR firm. Less than 24 hours later, this PR firm was once again representing Pockit.
Not an isolated issue
A number of other customers have complained over locked accounts. According to consumer advocacy website ‘pissedconsumer.com’, the start-up has had 345 reviews on the site since May 2018, at time of writing.
The website totals £110,000 in claimed “losses” by customers. This would mean, on average, the amount locked per customer is somewhere around £319.
Another customer, whose money was also frozen by Pockit, told FinTech Futures she reached out the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which told her to take the company to court.
She did just that. She said Pockit took six weeks to say it wanted phone mediation, and then failed to turn up to the call.
“I’m not in a good place because of what Pockit is doing and I’m quite depressed,” she says.
The customer took out a Pockit ‘Simple Account’ in November, which allows users to top up a card with a cap of £5,000. She took out two, one for her and one for her husband, in the lead up to an operation set to cost her around £10,000.
After trying to transfer money out of the accounts to a PayPal account, she got blocked the second time and the funds were locked.
The customer told FinTech Futures that on 10 May, a journalist from The Times spoke to Pockit’s CEO, Virraj Jatania.
“They told me I would be getting my money back. I told him [the journalist] I have had no such contact or information from Pockit. I think this was done to appease him.”
Hiding behind the law
Under 2017-enacted laws, known as the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations (MLRs), companies like Pockit can limit communication with customers whilst they review their validity.
This is to ensure companies don’t ‘tip-off’ potential fraudsters or criminals.
But there is no specified time frame in the law as to how long companies can carry out these checks. Which means Pockit can, under current UK law, keep funds locked for as long as it likes without maintaining contact.
According to Pockit’s Terms and Conditions, if a customer doesn’t use their account for six years, the company gets to keep the money in it. Regardless of whether some of that inactivity was due to locked funds.
The Financial Ombudsman received 97 complaints about Pockit between January and April 2021, according to a Which? report.
That’s a more than nine-fold increase on the ten complaints which were reported over the same period last year.
Backed by Alex Ferguson
Pockit offers current accounts with a prepaid Mastercard attached. Its co-founder and CEO, Jatania, claims to help those rejected by high street banks.
The fintech’s customers can send and receive money, make payments online and in-store, as well as send money abroad to more than 29 countries.
The start-up claims to serve half a million registered users. It is also backed by the UK government’s Future Fund, which matched its December crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube – taking the total raised to £1.2 million.
Since launching in 2014, the start-up says it has raised more than £24 million. In January, Pockit also announced the opening of a Newcastle office, creating 30 new jobs.
The money for the expansion came from its £15 million Series B at the end of last year. According to Crunchbase, investors in the round included former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, London venture capital firms Concentric and Perscitus – the latter also backs Atom Bank and Money Box – as well as Ingenico founder Harold Mechelynck, and the European Union-backed North East Development Capital Fund.
One of Pockit’s directors is Mark Newton-Jones – former CEO and non-executive director of British retailer Mothercare.
Mothercare UK went into administration in November 2019, closing all 79 of its UK stores, which saw 2,500 jobs lost.
A £4.8m loss in 2019
For the year ended 2019, Pockit filed its audited financial accounts on 28 April – its latest to be published. They show the start-up made a loss that year of £4.8 million, but revenues did increase by 23%, and its loss was less than the one it made in 2018 – at £5.1 million.
In November 2020, Pockit migrated its payment services away from Wirecard Card Solutions (WCS) — the UK subsidiary of Wirecard — and moved them to PayrNet, a subsidiary of Railsbank and the new owner of WCS.
Months prior, the FCA suspended Wirecard’s UK subsidiary from operating, prompting a handful of fintech start-ups — Pockit among them — to suffer downtime of certain key services.
The fintech had to suspend customers’ current accounts temporarily. This stopped customers from being able to get access to their money.
Some Pockit users said on Twitter at the time that they got no warning before their accounts were suspended. The account provider eventually got back online with the help of the FCA lifting the suspension.
But now, with Pockit’s account verification checks locking many customers out of their accounts for months at a time, it seems the upset caused by the FCA suspension last year is still very much a reality for some of them.
Read next: Pockit raises over £500k in its debut crowdfunding
Pockit have locked my account with at least £700 in it, can’t check how much I do actually have as can’t access accounts, all we get is automated replies which doesn’t help.
I had £1400 in my account it was locked for nearly 3 months
Awful company they removed £300 from my account that was December 2020 and I’ve been fighting since to get it back. They claim it’s not on them. Awful awful company I had not long had a baby and they had left me without a single penny. I had to apply for loans just to feed us both! I don’t know how they sleep at night.
Sounds like a scam.
My 400 pounds has been lockup in my Pockit account since March 2021 and this Pockit company is not saying anything about it. If I email them is just automatic reply am getting from them. I need my money please.
There fraudsters and the company is one big scam they stolen my money it’s been locked 6 months bunch of thieves.
Pockit has blocked my account in February this year as well, since that I wrote them numerous emails but only automatic replies came. They wanted me to send again a photo of ID and proof of address which I did many times but still cannot get access to my account. Can’t phone them because they say covid19 caused close the office and no one can answer the phone and suggest to open a chat line in the app which I don’t have access to since being blocked. Recently contacted financial conduct authority they advised ne to take action with the financial ombudsman and trying to get a claim by the court. I definitely would not encourage anyone to open any account with this fraudulent company
They have had over £1400 in my account that is still locked and has been since February 2020. They are a joke! I am currently working with the financial ombudsman but they don’t rush to responded to them either. The lame excuse they are still using as to why you can’t speak to a human on the phone is a joke also.
I sent 271 to someone’s account but they stopped the person from withdrawing it and locked her account
My pockit account has been locked since December 2019 with over £1000 in it, also my son has a linked account.
I had 150 go out my account in 6 transactions of 25 in less than 5 minutes to a company I didn’t know they said I was at fault coz I logged in on different phones which goes against there t& C’s
Another fraudulent company I suspect…my account with over £2.5k in….conveniently locking people’s accounts…bills are needed to be payed.. with none receiving payment…to my detriment…hopefully escalating this..asap ( get away from this lot folks)… dodgy
They locked my account one day before I received salary and won’t return funds to original sender.
Reported to financial ombudsman. I won’t let this bastards take my hard working money!!!
I was using pocket for a few weeks but as my money started to add up £903 pounds they have locked me out of my account been on the online chat now for 3 weeks waiting for a phone call but still nothing worse bank ever don’t use this bank
Pockit is a fraudulent company. Pockit locked and freezes my account since 16/01/2021 and I have £732.56 in my Pockit account. I have contacted them at [email protected] like hundred times but all I get is automated reply and that’s all. They never get back to me. I have sent everything that they have asked for like 15-20 times. And when I send my documents at [email protected] it keeps bouncing back all the time, and it says not found [email protected], it is very sad to see how government gives license to such fraudulent companies and eat our money. Companies like Pockit should be closed down and revoked their license by Bank of England and FCA, trust me their customer service is the worst service I have even seen. They never get back to you, but if you email them for working Pockit account, they get back to you answers all your questions. Such a bastard company
You just start to think maybe just maybe they are finally improving overall, however then you realise its it’s only to flaunt certain USP’s, its all very well saying any money due to be paid in to your pockit account on for arguments sake on a Friday pockit will make the funds available by 6pm the previous day so Thursday evening the money will be available. They didn’t used to charge a monthly fee yet it rapidly changed from 0p to 99p and £1.99 you’d expect this to reflect on the service received. This seems to have gone backwards all it offers is a restrictive limit on the
transactions i can make
Pockit as locked me out of my account for months now they are clearly scammers that are in dept us posting won’t help we need to take action and visit their offices and protest some of us are going through depression because of this people have nearly lost their homes because of this we need to do something about this and fast.
Exactly the same problems with My VERITAS prepaid MasterCard – completely blocked. Unable to obtain answer by email or phone.
Pockit lock my account which I use to get my hard earn salary with, and they don’t reply or respond to their mail, they are fraud!!
They blocked my wifes account in February. I sold a van and had 500 paid in, then I sold a motor cycle and had that 1300 paid in. I was using this card account to save for a secondhand car. We opened this account during the first lock down to give to my daughter to buy us food and various items while we couldnt go out. It was convenient and worked well. We would top it up when it got low and all was hunky dory, Then when the sums from the 2 sales I made went in they locked the account. Ok I thought suspicious activity no problem, sent them everything they needed. Her we are in Nov and still locked. FCA said go to ombudsman which I did . They tell me they have told pockit and pockit have 8 weeks to respond to me!!! That will make 10 months they have had the money. The situation has changed though as my wife ( the card was in her name) dies with Covid. Now I am asking them to close the account and transfer the funds to my account, something RBS did inside a week after I sent them Death certificate, POCKIT, NOTHING. Looks like cout is the only way 1814 they have of my money and I want it back. Does any one think some type of class action should be taken as Finacial companies are supposed to be strictly regulated but in this instance not. They should have their accounts frozen and licences revoked and all account holders have all funds returned. There is obviously a scam going on but I cant work out what it is as supposedly they are not allowed to actually access customers finances directly???????
I just open this bank and I never withdraw any money from that account and I have financial problem and my family and friends sent money to my account 897 pounds and this Pockit bank freeze my account and have been Email this bank every day untill I reported this bank before they replied me after that they still keeping asking me that those that sent money to me they need their statement of account and those people told me that they can’t give me statement of account because they only helped me when I needed money and this money Is for my rent and I don’t know where to go if I don’t pay my rent and I explained everything to this bank but they don’t care I even told this bank that I got 5years old girl and those that sent money to me Email them but they don’t care I even sent them the payment receipts but they don’t care about that now they leaving me in serious financial distress
£ 1800 in my deceased wifes account, frozen since June 2021. FCA useless. Ombudsman not much better so far. They were given a max of 8 weeks to send letter with final decision but 12 weeks later NOTHING
This bank since May 2021 locked my account…my money, not theirs. £ 2 561.00 and I’m still waiting for their ‘account review completion…’ we should all be coming together and logging a petition for retrieval of our moneies…..this company is still trading on companies House website! Robbers these people stay away…keep Ur money in a safe the old way!
These people have had my money since 2016 and I have been trying to get it back ever since then!!. The government are at fault here as well as the fca and the ombudsman who does fuck all to get your money back!. These government agencies like the fca are like everything else in this shithole of a country their all politically run and the shareholders are the politicians themselves!, hence the reason there is no rush to get anyone their money back. The government along with these fraudulent companies are the ones who are doing the stealing!!.
My account was locked almost 2 years ago with at least 1, 350 in it. I contacted 100’s of times but not any contact apart from the stupid reply emails saying they had received my email. I was not able to access the account due to me no longer having the number and I had lost it and the verification number they say they were sending was apparently being sent to the lost number. After exploring numerous times and many many emails and attempts to phone I STILL have had no reply even asking for my account closing and funds placed into my new account this has not happened. I am a widower and have two children and this money caused me to have a near mental breakdown due to the loss of my partner and the stress this pockit bank was causing me. I live with the aftermath of their doing and have to take medication daily to control my mental health thanks to these heartless people. We lost our home due to the months and months of trying to contact them and the getting the money back which I have still not had!!
I would never put pockit account to anyone you can’t get hold of them they are not interested in helping you pockit have got the wrong phone number so cause of this I can’t get into my bank account and pockit are not interested in helping me out so anyone looking for a bank account stay away from POCKIT can’t be trusted at all