Tide banking and the prospect of suing them.

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

Hi guys - I'm reaching out to all self-employed and small business owners who bank with Tide Internet banking. Initially for us they were fantastic, all automated, everything on-line and easy to reconcile however at the start of December and with absolutely no warning whatsoever they froze our business bank account. As you can imagine this threw us unto absolute financial chaos at our business time of the year and resulted in tens of thousands of pounds of incoming funds being returned to our clients and us being unable to pay our staff and suppliers. As a a good will gesture over the Xmas period to our staff for the fact we couldn't pay them what was owed, we took out personal loans and gave each one a £250 "thank-you for your patience" payment to allow them at least some Xmas spends - that cost us over £5000.

They can only be contacted via message service or email (no problem when there are no problems) however of the 80 emails and messages we sent to them over this matter we got back a half dozen automated replies saying that they were investigating and would get back to us. They never did and further attempts to communicate get the same automated reply.

3 months later they unfroze the account which we subsequently emptied of all but a penny. Our finances are still in chaos over this event and yet absolute radio silence from these clowns.

Looking at TrustPilot - it seems this is a pretty generic experience and all posters seem to encounter the same wall of automated silence. In addition, their 5* reviews look dodgy as fcuk to say the least.

I've ceased trying to communicate with these people, it's way past that now so I want to sue them, the claim being for <£10k + whatever damages we can get from them. I've never done this before so some advice on WHO to sue would be appreciated - do I just go for Tide or would it be better aimed at the listed directors below so I can have some form of accountability?

Also, should I win, what's the chances of enforcing a Judgement against them. Without visiting their offices I can imagine it's simply a postal address - with a named party would I be able to enforce at their house?

I appreciate any advice guys - Its about £600 to file - no large amount but I don't want to spaff money up against the wall if it's a non-starter. TIA.

​

 

[Archibald]

A quick google search produces the following

Is Tide a bank?
No, Tide isn’t a bank. Tide is a business financial platform and the leading provider of digital business banking services in the UK! We are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offer e-money accounts, provided by PrePay Solutions (PPS), as well as business bank accounts, provided by ClearBan

What is a tidetide account?
Tide is an alternative ‘bank’ account aimed at small businesses, freelancers, and independents. We usually refer to these accounts as being card-based due to the way they work, but in the case of Tide, mobile first, or app-based might be more correct

So no high street branch you can visit, your redress will be through the FCA complaints procedure

Seems it does not get good reviews - I suspect that people go into this thinking it like Barclays or Halifax or Lloyds and it is not

If you have recovered your money it maybe best to put it down to experience and move on - not lose more money or time (= Money)

Trust Pilot

This chap is the Chairman you could sue him

The company was previously

• Predecessor: Starfish Platform Limited

Seems like a very apt name


Archie

 

[MoleBath]

If making a formal complaint ask for a final resolution by a set (reasonable) date .This should alert the other site that you are serious. State what resolution you want (cash, apology. restoral of credit record etc.) Then if they refuse or pass that date you are in a good starting point with the FCA.

 

[Awol]

10K seems a bit on the low side given that they jeapodised your entire business.

I’d go for a least 25K. They’ll notice that quickly enough.

 

[theinventor]

IANAL or an IFA. But I do have some insight into the FCA (working with them on non-regulatory stuff). They are clear that they are not there to protect the careless, naive or unwary- there is an assumption that you have done your homework and know what services you trust the financial body to be regulated for. The Register entry does note that your funds aren't protected through the FSCS if the firm goes bust. NewRegister seems to be the entry for your guys, and it does give their registered address (which you could also find, along with their director's addresses via Companies House). From what I can see they are regulated to hold cash and make payments so you are entitled to expect them to perform these services diligently.

A lawyer will advise better, but any claim needs to be clear what actual loss you have suffered as this will be the basis of your claim against Tide. Assuming they're still trading and solvent.

I would strongly advise £100 on a bit of professional lawyers time before trying to kick off a small claim yourself.

 

[ugly]

Caused me enough grief to send me back to Lloyds
Never got an honest answer from them

 

[76mill]

10K seems a bit on the low side given that they jeapodised your entire business.

I’d go for a least 25K. They’ll notice that quickly enough.

Double that, chuck in stress, loss of reputation and anything else you can think of, get a decent solicitor who specialises in financial matters and take these charlatans to the cleaners!

 

[themutiny]

At the very least you should complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Financial Ombudsman Service: our homepage

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free, fair and easy-to-use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

I believe that they will investigate on behalf of small businesses, although I don’t know what their qualify criteria are.

 

[Banker]

At the very least you should complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Financial Ombudsman Service: our homepage

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free, fair and easy-to-use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

I believe that they will investigate on behalf of small businesses, although I don’t know what their qualify criteria are.

This, and it's free.

That will get their attention. The key is presenting a well prepared brief of evidence. If you intend to spend money, that's where it should be spent.

 

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

If making a formal complaint ask for a final resolution by a set (reasonable) date .This should alert the other site that you are serious. State what resolution you want (cash, apology. restoral of credit record etc.) Then if they refuse or pass that date you are in a good starting point with the FCA.

Done that mate, again more static over the net. It seems their policy is just to ignore things until they go away.

 

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

This, and it's free.

That will get their attention. The key is presenting a well prepared brief of evidence. If you intend to spend money, that's where it should be spent.

Complaint logged. I'll go down this route before whacking in an N1 claim form, that way they can't accuse me of not trying all avenues.

Take a look at their TrustPilot reviews. Dozens of similar fact cases each one diluted with some pretty obviously faked reviews - complained to TP about this as well.

 

[Archibald]

As they are regulated by the FCA then they will be your first point of complaint

FCA Complaints process


Archie

 

[themutiny]

This, and it's free.

That will get their attention. The key is presenting a well prepared brief of evidence. If you intend to spend money, that's where it should be spent.

From my (admittedly dated) experience, a FOS complaint would strike fear into intransigent customer care types. At the very least, it will cost them. In my day it was £580 irrespective of the outcome, and that was 10 years ago.

 

[Archibald]

Complaint logged. I'll go down this route before whacking in an N1 claim form, that way they can't accuse me of not trying all avenues.

Take a look at their TrustPilot reviews. Dozens of similar fact cases each one diluted with some pretty obviously faked reviews - complained to TP about this as well.

Did you look at their trustpilot reviews before you set up the account ??

Archie

 

[Archibald]

Hi guys - I'm reaching out to all self-employed and small business owners who bank with Tide Internet banking. Initially for us they were fantastic, all automated, everything on-line and easy to reconcile however at the start of December and with absolutely no warning whatsoever they froze our business bank account. As you can imagine this threw us unto absolute financial chaos at our business time of the year and resulted in tens of thousands of pounds of incoming funds being returned to our clients and us being unable to pay our staff and suppliers. As a a good will gesture over the Xmas period to our staff for the fact we couldn't pay them what was owed, we took out personal loans and gave each one a £250 "thank-you for your patience" payment to allow them at least some Xmas spends - that cost us over £5000.

They can only be contacted via message service or email (no problem when there are no problems) however of the 80 emails and messages we sent to them over this matter we got back a half dozen automated replies saying that they were investigating and would get back to us. They never did and further attempts to communicate get the same automated reply.

3 months later they unfroze the account which we subsequently emptied of all but a penny. Our finances are still in chaos over this event and yet absolute radio silence from these clowns.

Looking at TrustPilot - it seems this is a pretty generic experience and all posters seem to encounter the same wall of automated silence. In addition, their 5* reviews look dodgy as fcuk to say the least.

I've ceased trying to communicate with these people, it's way past that now so I want to sue them, the claim being for <£10k + whatever damages we can get from them. I've never done this before so some advice on WHO to sue would be appreciated - do I just go for Tide or would it be better aimed at the listed directors below so I can have some form of accountability?

Also, should I win, what's the chances of enforcing a Judgement against them. Without visiting their offices I can imagine it's simply a postal address - with a named party would I be able to enforce at their house?

I appreciate any advice guys - Its about £600 to file - no large amount but I don't want to spaff money up against the wall if it's a non-starter. TIA.

​

Any update on this yet


Archie

 

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

Any update on this yet


Archie

Escalated to FCA mate . If no joy there down legal route. Their trust pilot reviews have taken a smashing , seems prevalent with them

 

[glad rag]

Tide was great for a short time, coupleof years if that, however problems showed their lack of resilience
Got downloads of accounts, then they decided to move me on, as it were, by that time however, my business was long gone onto a real bank....

 

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

Well, Tide have forced my hand. They refused to respond to the FCA complaint and have gone onto total radio silence. Court papers issued today - what an absolute shower of turds.

 

[glad rag]

Escalated to FCA mate . If no joy there down legal route. Their trust pilot reviews have taken a smashing , seems prevalent with them

Seems there are now a lot of very 5 star happy customers. Sure.

 

[MrsSlocumsPussy]

Seems there are now a lot of very 5 star happy customers. Sure.

tidebank.co.uk is rated "Bad" with 1.5 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with tidebank.co.uk's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 137 customers have already said.

uk.trustpilot.com

They've got 2 separate accounts. Tide and Tidebank. Funnily, a lot of the reviews countering the bad ones are replicated on the other site. Dodgy AS fcuk.