Warning - New Clydesdale Bank MasterCard Debit Cards

bs7

Yorkshire_Bank_company_representative wrote: »

I've looked in to this and I'm no lawyer so I don't want to get in to the nitty gritty on whys and wherefores, but it's not as black and white as might be suggested.

benoit wrote: »

What's not as black and white as might be suggested about sticking an application form in an envelope? Seems a bit ambiguous really & does not really provide a clear explanation.

As already suggested by benoit, the claim that it's "not as black and white as might be suggested" is an extremely foolish and naive statement to make on a public forum. I would strongly urge "Yorkshire Bank company representative" to speak to their in-house solicitors before making any other such statements (i'm genuinely not being cheeky by saying that - the comments being posted could be used with regards to a claim of disability discrimination and would appear, on the face of it, to be detrimental to any position being advanced with regards to 'reasonable adjustments being taken).


@ savagej - you may wish to put in an official complaint to the Bank directly and/or seek advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (their helpline details are as follows: England - 0845 604 6610; Scotland - 0845 604 5510; Wales - 0845 604 8810)
'Yorkshire Bank company representative' is correct to some extent in saying that it's not black and white but only with regards to what is considered a 'reasonable adjustment', it is not correct to state that it's not black and white that the Bank is required to consider 'reasonable adjustments'. I would direct your attention to the information that may be of assistance here: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/rights-in-different-settings/shops-and-services/making-reasonable-adjustments/

The fact that steps have been taken to perhaps address this issue in the future is to be commended, however, as noted above - this legislation is not new and it does seem that, again from the information posted only, absolutely no consideration has been given to those that are less able up until now - that is quite damning and shameful. Likewise the attitude of staff at the branch - as mentioned above again.

savagej

YB/NAG Rep I would be grateful if you would consult the company lawyer and reply to what reasonable adjustments you are making NOW to comply with the law. Then please post details of how people can obtain help, to open an account NOW when they cannot access a branch due to a disability definied in law.

I yesterday called, LTSB, HSBC, Barclays, Co-op, Abbey and many more and they all had answers that were very helpful and complied with the law in relation to reasonable adjustments. The either suggested applying on-line or they would happily send out an application form with a return envelope and details of all the ID that must be returned to open the account.

I called a branch of the Clydesdale Bank who were not willing to entertain the issue of sending out an application form, due to anti-money laundering rules inspite of me stating I was disabled and the bank was legally required to make "a reasonable adjustment".

Your response is eagerly awaited.

James

benoit

savagej wrote: »

YB/NAG Rep I would be grateful if you would consult the company lawyer and reply to what reasonable adjustments you are making NOW to comply with the law. Then please post details of how people can obtain help, to open an account NOW when they cannot access a branch due to a disability definied in law.

I yesterday called, LTSB, HSBC, Barclays, Co-op, Abbey and many more and they all had answers that were very helpful and complied with the law in relation to reasonable adjustments. The either suggested applying on-line or they would happily send out an application form with a return envelope and details of all the ID that must be returned to open the account.

I called a branch of the Clydesdale Bank who were not willing to entertain the issue of sending out an application form, due to anti-money laundering rules inspite of me stating I was disabled and the bank was legally required to make "a reasonable adjustment".

Your response is eagerly awaited.

James

I would also be interested in an explanation of what measures are taken at the present time to ensure disabled are not effectively excluded from applying.

Would like to add i have no issue with the Rep on here and do appreciate the feedback given, my issue is the policy itself as it is a tad lame to cite Money Laundering rules.

As far as i am aware the Money Laundering regulations Banks abide by do not request that application forms must not be sent by post or that it is reasonable to exclude the disabled because of 'Money laundering Rules'.

Which specific 'Rule' is this in accordance of?

inspace

Littlewoods just rejected my card details now seeing it as Maestro again - ive emailed them to see if that helps - but if your aware Rep maybe you can nudge from your end - I tried to make it clear for them but im no technical advisor - just tried to tell them the problem best I could through customers services. No need to answer just a nod from me to inform you.

Yorkshire_Bank_company_representative

All, I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner and clearly I'm sorry if my response appeared unhelpful.

I’d like to reassure you that we do take the issue of access to our accounts and services – and the feedback that you’ve posted – very seriously. We are taking steps to improve access and the new current account application process we will have in place this summer will enable the type of telephone applications you suggest.

In the meantime, if you can't access a branch it is possible we could arrange a home visit to open an account.

If you're experiencing a problem opening an account with us, please contact our Customer Engagement team and we will look at what we can do to help you based on your specific circumstances.

The contact details are:
Telephone : 0845 602 5410
email : [EMAIL="customer.engagement@eu.nabgroup.com"]customer.engagement@eu.nabgroup.com[/EMAIL]

I hope this helps provide a point of contact for anyone who needs it and we will let you know when the new application process is available.

benoit

Yorkshire Bank company representative

Thank you very much for clarifying this. I appreciate the input and it has been helpful, more helpful in fact to learn that there will be a new process in place in the summer for telephone.

As i've alluded to previously it is only the limited means to apply for a basic account with the Bank which has so far been a barrier for me, otherwise i'd jump at the chance if it had been easier before.

I'm going to look into the telephone option when it arrives & in the meantime will keep a note of the contact details you've supplied.

Thanks again.

savagej

Thanks YB rep, I cant' see anyone else trumping a home visit if the circumstances warrant it. Good work, well done.

I hope all goes smoothly too with the implementation of the new applications process.

Cheers

James

Travelsaver

YBS Rep:

Three Questions I hope you can help me with:

1. Could you advise us when airlines such as British Airways, bmi, Easyjet, Ryanair etc will accept Mastercard debit cards as debit cards rather than charging us fees as they do for credit cards?

2. When will MBNA (who I believe is now the UK's largest non bank credit card provider) will accept payments via Mastercard debit? At the moment this facility is restricted to Visa debit and Maestro and my recent communications with them seem to indicate they are unlikely to move quickly on this.

3. With the upcoming Olympics in London in 2012 only accepting Visa cards, is Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank (NAGE) going to provide us with some alternative facility to purchase tickets as you don't seem to offer a Visa card alternative?

Finally, whilst it is good to see competition coming from Mastercard in respect to providing a proper debit alternative to Visa, I'm quite surprised the UK decided to go down the MC route especially since your parent bank seems to have gone down the Visa route.

coolcbr600

The Yorkshire Bank Mastercard Debit card is still having acceptance problems, particularly on-line. I first experienced problems last December and even an advisor in my local branch told me that "because of problems that he had heard of he was not going to activate his own card until after christmas", thanks for that! I did eventually get some phone call charges refunded and a £10 goodwill gesture from the bank. Now 4 months later I tried to book a room on the Travelodge site, (card not recognised), and also paying off my VISA credit card is still not possible. Again I contacted YB customer engagement who despite earlier statements of "No more Maestro cards are being issued", have now ordered me a New Maestro. Unfortunately they did this without first informing me that the existing Mastercard Debit card would be rendered totally use less whilst the new one is on order. Great! I now have no debit card at all. YB are still blaming retailers for the mess as they are not updating their systems quick enough.

Travelsaver

I'm quite surprised the YBS rep has not responded to any more recent questions....