Do Banks Drive You Mad?

[FredPuli43]

I have a company whose account is at a local branch of Barclays. I wanted to know the account number but hadn't got to it to hand. So I rang the company secretary at home. She hadn't got it either, but lives close to the branch, so I asked her to go in when next shopping in the town.

The bank wouldn't tell her what it was ! This dangerous information could not be divulged to someone who is not only the company secretary ,and known to the staff, but a signatory to the account at that very branch. She was given a name and number to ring, as though that person, presumably the business manager,was going to be allowed to say more from the branch records, to an unknown person on the phone, than staff were to her when she was facing them.

[Buenchico]

Hadn't either of you got a company cheque book?

Anyway, it's not just banks. When my father died, I had to seek probate. The form from Probate Registry (which I took to an HMRC enquiry office, together with my father's death certificate, a copy of his will and proof of my identity) required me to find out how much tax he'd paid in that financial year; without that information I couldn't get probate. I was told that HMRC would be happy to provide the information - but they couldn't do so until I'd obtained probate!

[Arksided]

Ask to speak to the TAX man, he'd have sorted it fast enough for you.

[FredPuli43]

No,BC, if we'd had a cheque book to hand, rather than in the office some miles away, we'd have got the info from that; it just seemed easy to ask in the bank. There was quarter of a million to pay in and the conveyancing solicitor holding it in client account wanted to transfer it to the company account, so she needed the number. I did say to pay it to me instead, but she muttered something about ethics and professional liability !

[Arksided]

LOl

[mrs_overall]

I was with Barclays for years. I asked them to transfer money from one account to another which they failed to do. This meant that a cheque I had written put me overdrawn - by 8p. They then bounced the cheque.
I moved to another bank.

[lcg]

barclays are bastards. they lied to me and mr kicker repeatedly during our ppi claim, will screw every penny they can out of you and are extremely unhelpful.

[abstibus]

Add Ulster Bank to the list.

[mrs_overall]

I keep a current account with a bank whose nearest branch is 80 miles away, and I keep a current account with a bank in the town where I live.
Living in a small town everyone knows everyone elses business. Every time I go into the bank in town I get asked the same question:
"We don't appear to have any details of your source of income. Would you like to provide it to update our records?"
The less they know the better.

[DTCwordfan]

Add RBS to the list.

The family have various properties - different ownership relationships in them, no real benefit to a company. I had (have) it nicely set up. One savings account for each, the money coming in either quarterly or money. A cheque book for each account (property) making it easy to identify what goes on who and transparency to the taxman, the profit (minus something for contingency) distributed by standing orders to the various "shareholders."

Simples as that rodent says.

Until RBS in their infinite wisdom announce by letter that they are terminating standing orders at the end of this month.

I go in, you can do it by having a current account (that means two accounts for each property - not efficiency but I don't have to go back to the tenants and RBS say no hassle to set up the new standing orders. Until.....

How do you get the money from savings to current?

We need a monthly instruction by internet (I don't do internet banking other than Paypal and as soon as there is 300 there I transfer it to another bank, one of whom I use but not RBS). Telephone....?

You are telling me that with all this computing power you can't set up an order to transfer automatically, I am even willing to sign a letter for this to happen to further notice or perhaps annually. Answer - can't be done.

Telephone - look you plonkers, I can be away and overseas, but why should the obligation be on me, particularly when it worked like clockwork beforehand?

Result I am looking at a new home.

The thing I can't understand is why, why are they doing this? I can understand attacking accounts with loans on and lowering their exposure but tackling the very base that gives them liquidity, particularly when they need to up this ratio for EU Banking regs makes no sense at all. Truro RBS admitted that 6 others have walked with their accounts and, given they are savings and lets say two accounts per person at £2k, that's 24k of liquidity down minimum plus mine to come........

Unbelievable. I am now with their Complaints unit and they have a week to find a mechanism for the auto-trigger between savings and current- also I have the name and e-mail of a board member through another source and will be asking them to forward this lunacy onto the Head of Domestic Banking for his/her explanation of the removal of a perfectly good service.

[DJHawkes]

move to lloyds tsb, i am amazed at how simple they make everything, especially the internet banking, i can change anything or set up anything in seconds. Avoid santander they are bandidos

[DTCwordfan]

Dotty, they can't do the above though. I checked with them as one of my candidates.

[shoota]

Data Protection Act paranoia - I rang the power company to get a telephone number of one of their contractors who was due to fit a new meter and they wouldn't give it to me until I had told them my date of birth and mother's maiden name etc.
(They did in the end 'cos I can shout louder than them....)