Drowning in paper from a bank

biscit

Couldn't decide whether this was a savings post, or a rant.

In the end I've decided I'm mainly having a moan. (I will try and treat those with opposing views as nicely as those who agree!)

I've just opened a savings account to put some money away every month for a specific purpose.

I'm happy with an account I have for general purposes, so decided to apply for another. I imagined, as an existing online customer, it would be a simple task, press a button, read a quick precis of the terms, tick a box and off I go.

No.

I'm faced with almost an entire new application. OK some of the questions are filled in but many have to be answered again.

And is my account opened then?

No.

I wait a few days, until I get a welcome pack in the post. Not just a form to send back, but 250g of leaflets and terms and conditions. Some of which I already have.

Now I can imagine the purpose of some of these leaflets is to inform the sorts of people who find banking confusing. But I question their effectiveness. When faced with such a pile of literature, I think people are going to be less informed as they are going to be less inclined to read it.

I think there should be an opt-out box on such forms- ie I will read the Terms on-line so as to stop so much paper being wasted.

So my question is- is this a symptom of the financial crisis to make sure no-one can say they weren't told. Is the FSA mandating such an overblown application procedure. Or is my institution unusually onerous in this respect.