Zarah ChoudharyFollowing an unexpected account lock by Santander, Liverpool-based charity Paper Cup Project was prevented from settling bills and paying staff ahead of the Christmas break.
On 16th December, Michelle Langan (pictured, centre), chief executive of the Paper Cup Project, was preparing to set up payments for bills and staff wages, when she found her Santander account had been locked.
Speaking with Workplace Journal, Langan said she immediately contacted Santander, providing the necessary paperwork and a list of current trustees, as requested.
A representative assured her that the issue had been escalated and promised a follow-up call to confirm the account would be unlocked.
However, no such call was received by 18th December, at which point Langan made several more calls to Santander, speaking with five different employees over an hour and a half.
Despite her efforts, the account remained locked, and she was unable to pay her staff before Christmas.
As a result, Langan had to borrow money to cover the payments, but the account remained locked as the new year approached.
On 3rd January, with the situation still unresolved, Langan reached out to the BBC, which escalated the issue to Santander’s complaints department.
On 6th January, Langan received a call from Santander, asking for additional identification details for the trustees.
She has since submitted the necessary documents and is in the process of gathering further identification from the trustees.
The account was eventually unlocked, and Langan is now hopeful that the issue is behind her.
However, she reported that the ordeal caused significant stress, particularly during the busy holiday period.
Langan remained optimistic that the charity would return to normal operations now that the account has been unlocked.
She said: “Hopefully, this will be sorted soon once the documents are submitted. It’s just been incredibly stressful for everyone involved.”
A Santander Spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the placing of a block on The Paper Cup Project’s charity account.
“After carefully reviewing the account, we have removed the block and are working closely with Ms Langan to ensure all required information on the account is up to date.”
