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A UK bank has given me 60 days' notice that it will be closing my accounts. My activity on these accounts has been low (since I use another bank for everyday transactions), so that might be the reason for the closure. However, when I asked the bank for the actual reason, they refused to disclose it.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) confirms that banks don't have to explain to a customer why their account was closed. However, it also states that a customer may complain to the FOS if they believe their account was closed unfairly.

This leads to the question: How may I know whether the bank closed my accounts unfairly if they refuse to disclose the reason behind it? Is the expectation that I complain to the FOS on a mere remote suspicion that my accounts might have been closed unfairly?

Conversely, would there be any risk to me if I do not investigate or contest this reason now, but it later turns out that the account closure was due to an erroneous decision made by the bank against me, such as an unfounded suspicion of fraud? There have been cases where the bank placed a black mark against a customer's credit file upon closing their account following such a suspicion of fraud.

Note that I'm not seeking to avoid this closure if it's for a valid reason; I don't use this bank for anything important anymore. I just want to ensure I won't suffer any other negative repercussions, such as a hit to my credit score.

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    My gut feeling is that if it was just due to inactivity, there would have been some indication of this, and/or that closure could be avoided if activity picked up... However, I don't know, so it might be a "can neither confirm nor deny" mentality. If you haven't already (and you've not been doing anything "dodgy" :-)), it's conceivable that turning up in person at your branch with closure letter in hand may get more information than over the phone or online chat.
    – TripeHound
    May 1, 2022 at 13:16
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    @TripeHound: Thanks for the feedback. I interpreted the bank's letter as saying that account closure is inevitable at this point. I've edited my question to clarify that I'm not seeking to stop this closure, but just to validate the reason behind it.
    – Richard Major
    May 1, 2022 at 21:35
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    Accounts with low balances and low/no usage are routinely closed to mitigate fraud. I have received such notices more than once over the years, e.g. from the Post Office: "We've noticed you haven’t used your [savings account] in the last year and you have £0.02 in it, so we were wondering if you still need it. We're also concerned as, if you keep an account open that you don’t use, you may be at risk of fraud and financial crime. Bearing this in mind, if we don’t hear back from you [within 2 months] we’re going to close your account. To keep your account open, write to us at ..."
    – Jivan Pal
    May 30, 2022 at 14:37

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There are various credit checks you could do against yourself to find out if there are any red flags against your name or address. That second point - address - you could be associated somehow with something/someone that lowers your credit rating.

There is a very good chance the bank simply looked at your account, decided it was not very profitable and decided to close it.

This is an old news item but I know many banks are closing out less used accounts: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/feb/03/natwest-closed-my-account-with-no-explanation

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