Closed petition Require banks to give a specific, contestable reason before closing an account

Closed on 6 January 2024

Please impose the following legal requirement on banks:

"Before closing a customer's account, the bank must provide the customer with:

1) a valid, specific reason

and

2) an independent route of appeal."

Banks are currently able to close customers' accounts with neither of the above, a situation which is open to abuse given that such lack of transparency could conceal the reasons for closure, up to and including something as trivial as the institution's personal dislike of either the customer or their opinions, particularly if the customer is a public figure of some description.

The law should require transparency and a right of appeal, and I ask that it be amended as suggested to ensure this.