Miffed trying to open bank account

amosworks

Well today I had a totally productive day. At 04hr30 I finished writing 12 letters to chase up unfair charges from some debt collection agencies I've dealt with in the past (bitten with the BAG-bug I suppose ). I got a few hours kip then in to town. Stopped by the post office, did some bits and bobs then with plenty of time left, I went to open a bank account. The reason being is that tomorrow is the deadline for my legal action against RBS to begin for their unfair charges. I wanted a backup account in case RBS get crappy with me.

I was reading on here that Natwest is a good place to go for accounts with people who have had a bad history with debt and so on. So I went to Natwest armed with a huge folder of ID of various sorts. I don't have a passport or a drivers license (never needed either but applying for a passport now). I've always found it a bit interesting to prove my ID but have always managed to get there eventually - my theory being just throw everything at them and common sense will prevail.

Today, for the first time ever, that never worked :-O It doesn't help totally that I've just moved house (as part of my grand moneysaving scheme) and am now sharing, and some of the bills haven't been updated yet.

But I could prove so much about who I am, where I live and pretty much everything. The fact that I've been with RBS since I was 16 and the fact that RBS now own Natwest didn't even seem to make a difference to them, they just wouldn't budge. It was a total waste of an afternoon, going to and from home and town to try and find various bits of additional paperwork and proof to keep them happy.

On top of that I felt like I was totally being judged and treated suspiciously. OK, I acknowledge that they have duties to prevent fraud etc., but still - no common sense whatsoever. I felt like it was up to me to prove why I should have a bank account with them rather than them prove to me why I shouldn't.

To say I was a bit miffed when I got home was an understatement. I think I'm gonna f*ck Natwest out the window and try with Nationwide on Thursday.

Meh

Broken_hearted

Maybe you could try again once you have your bills updated, It's not Natwests fault you didn't have the right id. Abbey is much worse I have my current account there, when I wanted to open a savings account they asked for id. Needless to say I told them where to stick it.

Ceri_2

Had the same problem last year when mom & I tried to open a joint bank account for the bills. Mom had no id, (no passport or driving license) and we had just moved.

So we now use my 2nd account with barclays. Only my name on it but she see's the statement each month so knows whats going on with it.

poppy_f1

Broken_hearted wrote:

Maybe you could try again once you have your bills updated, It's not Natwests fault you didn't have the right id. Abbey is much worse I have my current account there, when I wanted to open a savings account they asked for id. Needless to say I told them where to stick it.

abbey wanted id from me and i worked for them at the time and had a staff card which wasnt good enough

amosworks

It's ridiculous. Didn't the government say that everyone should have fair access to banking etc. Not everybody has a drivers lisence and passport, not everyone is always a bill payer. Even though, I'm still not in favour of ID cards, no way am I having my .net passport implanted in my !!!!!! :-\

amosworks

Broken_hearted wrote:

It's not Natwests fault you didn't have the right id.

But that's my point, anybody with common sense would have realised I'm obviously not faking it. I have *loads* of different stuff with me. I feel like I'm being penalised for not wanting to drive or fly anywhere. Is that weird??

Tootsie_Roll

amosworks wrote:

It's ridiculous. Didn't the government say that everyone should have fair access to banking etc.

Well you have a bank account already but choose to go elsewhere - your choice. Frankly I'm amazed you went to the same bank effectively as ultimately you would have been treated in exactly the same way, the back office functions are merged.

Perhaps not surprisingly I am not a fan of all these Bank Action Group type things, run your account in order and you wont get charged - simple, I have managed for over 20 years despite having had a few hiccups along the way. I also think that we run the risk of losing free banking if claims such as your continue - the banks will want to make up the money somewhere. This then means that everyone else will be penalised for your mistakes. Currently the banks are in the main caving in and paying as they do not want a test case with some leftie judge - they are lobbying hard for legislation which will exempt them from the 'unfair charge tag'. I hope it come soon.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

i am not a fan of these bank action groups ? ive managed for over 20 years with out any charges apart from the odd hiccup-WHO CARES THE BANKS DONT, TO THEM YOUR POINTLESS .....AN ABBY WORKER TOLD ME WHEN I SAID IVE HAD NO CHARGES FOR 15 YEARS ,NO OVERDRAFT , IVE PAID IN EVERY MONTH DONE MY DD ETC SHE THEN SAID WELL THERES NO REAL POINT TO YOUR TYPE AS YOUR GETTING FREE BANKING AT OUR EXPENCE HENCE WHY WEAND BANKS ARE INCREASING HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO PAY IN A MONTH TO OPEN A CURRENT ACCOUNT ,AND DONT BECOME AN OAP BECOUSE YOU WILL BE STUFFED.......

Tootsie_Roll

THE_LONE_RANGER wrote:

i am not a fan of these bank action groups ? ive managed for over 20 years with out any charges apart from the odd hiccup-WHO CARES THE BANKS DONT, TO THEM YOUR POINTLESS .....AN ABBY WORKER TOLD ME WHEN I SAID IVE HAD NO CHARGES FOR 15 YEARS ,NO OVERDRAFT , IVE PAID IN EVERY MONTH DONE MY DD ETC SHE THEN SAID WELL THERES NO REAL POINT TO YOUR TYPE AS YOUR GETTING FREE BANKING AT OUR EXPENCE HENCE WHY WEAND BANKS ARE INCREASING HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO PAY IN A MONTH TO OPEN A CURRENT ACCOUNT ,AND DONT BECOME AN OAP BECOUSE YOU WILL BE STUFFED.......

Your point is ? Sorry but your post makes no sense.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

You Seem To Post Confrontational Posts ,and You Seem So Clever And Run Your Life In Such A Perfect Way Why Visit This Site ?

Broken_hearted

The point is the banks are there to make money and we are here to save money. If we can get our money back why shouldn't we.