How to get humiliated by your bank - by Jo_R!

Jo_R_2

Hi guys

Wanted to say thanks to those who replied to my feeling sorry for myself post. Been feeling sorry for myself even more today!

I went to the bank this morning to try and salvage back some of the charges I have incurred over the last two months as a short-term measure to get myself back within my overdraft limit. Due to being off sick and maternity and some bad maths on my part, wages been shorter than usual thus incurring charges.

Spoke to a customer advisor who after asking how she could help me, stood and gave me a lecture - at the customer service desk in front of everyone waiting - about how I needed to handle my finances better, especially already having a child (which she helpfully pointed out she had realised from the nursery DD on my account) and another on the way (pretty obvious from my 43-week bump...) She said I needed to check my account and why wasn't I doing this? I explained I was, and then throughout the rest of the conversation she kept asking me why I wasn't checking my account, I didn't need to come in, I could do it online or on the phone, I needed to keep checking, etc... I don't think the answer "I have been doing" was the one she was looking for obviously!

She asked me about my pay and I explained the situation, and she asked me about maternity leave and pay, and I explained I would only be on SMP and hoped they could waive some of the charges so that I might get back within my limits and be able to handle my outgoings, otherwise I could see things spiralling due to the effect of my reduced pay and the vicious circle of charges. I said, yes, this is my fault, and I am looking to rectify the situation but need this help to do so. Seems humility wasn't good enough either - she kept going on about how there were so many charges, I needed to do better, etc etc. And so I started crying, at which point she told me to go and sit down and she would speak to her manager but didn't hold out much hope.

Of course the only seats were right next to the cash machine queue so there was I sobbing away with the whole bank watching whilst I waited for her to come back. In the end she waived the unauthorised overdraft fees but that was it - still it saves me nearly £60 so am not complaining... She then walked off without a goodbye (aw) and left me crying like a complete idiot whilst various well-wishers kept coming up and asking if I was all right.

The complete clincher was having to walk through town to meet OH and DD, OH all ready to go to the bank and have words...!

So feel totally humiliated and so stupid for crying (hormones say I) but at least have £60 credited back and am sorting through DDs and rearranging money and payments so something has come of it. It only makes me more determined to bank with someone else when I am fabulously rich and famous :rotfl: and they want to know why I have closed my account

Has anyone else been ritually humiliated by their bank? Just to make me feel a bit better

jessicamb

:grouphug: Well done - you got £60 waived thats great. Ignore the nasty CSA - she probably had her knickers on too tight this morning or something.

Whats life without a little humiliation :rotfl:

Really pleased you managed to get something sorted.

ZTD

Jo_R wrote:

So feel totally humiliated and so stupid for crying (hormones say I) but at least have £60 credited back and am sorting through DDs and rearranging money and payments so something has come of it. It only makes me more determined to bank with someone else when I am fabulously rich and famous :rotfl: and they want to know why I have closed my account

Well first of all :grouphug:. Second of all, name and shame the bank. I don't think the CSA has done her branch any favours by reducing a heavily pregnant woman to tears in front of all the other customers. You may not be fabulously rich, but some of your fellow bystanders may well have been.

Don't close your account with them. Leave a very small nominal amount in, and standing-order (is that a real verb?) part of it all over the place. It gives them costs, but insignificant revenue.

Thriftylady

I've been humiliated by my bank, and I was an employee! Years back my husband was made redundant, and a few weeks later the nasty accounts clerk from the branch demanded to know, in front of my colleagues, why my husband had no salary coming through his account and if I was aware of it......So not only nasty, but also really a breach of his confidentiality too.....And then the company policy is also to put a note on your records with HR, just to add to the humiliation, so its always there to be thrown back at you in the future.

Don't know if this makes you feel any better or not, but I thought you might be interested to know that most banks treat their staff just as badly as they treat their customers......for that matter, your nasty customer adviser had maybe just had the same lecture herself and was taking it out on you. Not that that excuses her behaviour anyway...

lynzpower

NO WAY

there is no way its acceptable to reduce customer to tears. Sorry, this is not on.

Write to the head of the bank and tell them you want compensation. A mate of mine did it and she always gets it, if they are doing wrong by you and theyve hurt your feelings by HUMILIATING you, then !!!!!!, stand up to them. they are not the big I am, shes a little cog in a big wheel trying to bully you.

COMPLAIN. this is not "custmer care" might well be against thier code of practise and standards ( dig out thier leaflet they probably say "if you are in financial trouble we will do our utmost to help) and check te banking code of practice. Not acceptable.

Josie64

lynzpower wrote:

NO WAY

there is no way its acceptable to reduce customer to tears. Sorry, this is not on.

Write to the head of the bank and tell them you want compensation. A mate of mine did it and she always gets it, if they are doing wrong by you and theyve hurt your feelings by HUMILIATING you, then !!!!!!, stand up to them. they are not the big I am, shes a little cog in a big wheel trying to bully you.

COMPLAIN. this is not "custmer care" might well be against thier code of practise and standards ( dig out thier leaflet they probably say "if you are in financial trouble we will do our utmost to help) and check te banking code of practice. Not acceptable.

totally agree with this - TSB at a guess??? could you argue that as it was in front of everyone , it is a breach of confidentiality that people could hear your private matters?

scottishspendaholic

Hey Jo-R,

I've just replied on your other thread - go and sit down and wait for that baby to come - are you due to be induced soon? - and let someone else worry about money for the next few days. I can't believe how stressful all this must be for you.

Is it worth writing to your local paper and naming/shaming the bank and CSA? You can't lose by doing this - at worst, they might lose some customers - at best, you might get more charges refunded/a more sympathetic bank?

I have been humiliated in my bank before - and made to feel like a total imbecile for going 13p over my overdraft limit and requesting £28 charge be refunded. I could quite happily have punched the smarmy woman.

scottishspendaholic x

patchwork_cat

Hi
I would let my husband speak to the manager. Where is there customer care. For a start she should have taken youinto a little room and asked if you wanted a seat. Seriously you deserve an apology - complain - maybe in writing - you never know you might get some more money knocked off -unlikely, but at least her managers will know what this woman was like. My posts have crossed with others, but there is no way that she should be able to get away with that.

scottishspendaholic

Hey again,

For some reason I can't thank Lynz's post above - where she says COMPLAIN to bank head office/FSA - I think that this is an EXCELLENT idea.

scottishspendaholic x

wuckfit

I know it's easy with hindsight, but why didn't the OP demand to go into a private room? or perhaps kick up a fuss until someone senior was summoned?
At which point, before anything further was discussed, a loud vocal complaint in front of the banks customers regarding the laws of privacy, data protection and sexual harrassement, and suggest that if the matter is not resolved immediately, that the ombudmsan will be receiving an official complaint and would they like the details, including names of obvious sexual harrassement reported by the tabloids?

Thriftylady

yeah, I meant to say in my post too that you should complain complain complain. Banks will continue to do this to people for as long as they can get away with it. I think the problem is that banks often don't really have any concept of how sometimes even with the best intentions, customers find themselves struggling for money. They just see it in black and white, in that you owe them money and either you choose to pay them or you choose not to. I'm sorry to say that being heavily pregnant probably harms your cause more than it helps it, as the banks attitude is likely to be that its your responsibility to ensure that your finances are in order before having a baby.

Please don't be offended by me posting this, its certainly not my own opinion, unexpected problems can arise for anyone and I think the way you've been treated is horrendous. But sadly as it all comes down to money, the banks sometimes see peoples family responsibilities in just the same way as they would see any other expenditure.