Angry customers of HSBC

Readers of this blog may be aware that HSBC has recently introduced new rules about cash withdrawals.  Basically it appears that customers wishing to make large cash withdrawals are being required to prove what the money is for.  I am not a customer of HSBC, but if I were I doubt very much if the new rules would upset me.

Nevertheless a lot of people have been complaining, and tabloid columnist Richard Littlejohn shares their frustration.  Regarding the case of a man who was obstructed from withdrawing £10,000 in cash, he comments that even if he’d wanted to blow the lot on cocaine and hookers, that’s entirely his own affair.

Pardon my impudence, but no it is not entirely his own affair.  Littlejohn is condoning substance abuse and possibly also human trafficking, both of which are quite reasonably circumscribed by law.

Littlejohn's attitude is typical of the selfishness and hypocrisy of far too many people in this country.

Do you aspire to live in a crime-free country?  I will assume that the answer is yes.  Is it then too much to ask that you play your part?

Cash payments are one of the ways in which crime flourishes in this country, and any bank which obstructs  people from making large cash transactions is arguably obstructing crime.

Of course you can argue that you are not a criminal, but anyone else can argue the same thing, and yet the fact remains that some people are criminals.  How is your bank supposed to know for a fact that you are not a criminal?  Even if you have been a customer of the bank for many years or decades, that does not prove that you are not involved in crime. 

I have never in my life withdrawn more than £500 in cash from a bank or building society account in a single transaction, and I fail to see why anyone who is not a criminal should obsess about large cash transactions.

If anyone reading this blog can think of a good reason why anyone other than a criminal should want to make large cash transactions - as opposed to using documented means such as cheques or bank drafts - then please leave a comment.

As an aside, Littlejohn concludes his comment with these words:

Two ‘British jihadists’ who went off to wage holy war in Syria have been killed.
Good.

One of them is reported to be a London estate agent, which counts double.

Britain does not as yet have a law prohibiting incitement to occupational hatred.  If it did, then presumably Littlejohn would be facing a prison sentence.

Relevant previous post:
Money laundering: a cautionary tale