Santander Diabolical customer service and ID rules

metrobus

I needed to deposit some cash and withdraw a cheque from my mothers easy access account with Santander(shes in hospital).

I knew i needed a covering letter from my mother but wanted to know what ID

I phoned the Indian call centre to find out what I had to take in to the branch regarding ID, I realised I may as well be talking to someone on the moon.After about 25 mins and getting no where
I was transferred to a wedding dress shop in Birmingham:mad:

So I thought just take everything I can lay my hands on regarding ID and go into the branch

I took in my mothers Passport,Birth cert,Gas bill,council tax bill,santander statement,water rates bill. And my Passport, birth certificate,driving license,bank statements from Nationwide and lloyds.

I first asked to deposit the cash,no problem 15 seconds and done.

Then handed the covering letter to withdraw the cheque and when asked for ID handed them everything from the above in total
6 id`s from both of us.

I was then told I could not have the cheque since the ID`s were not enough and apart from the passport they do not recognise any of them.

After picking myself up from laughing I asked what else they needed
and told a letter from the pension service for my mother and a bank card from myself.

She has no letter from the Pension sevice ,which I told them (she gets 1 a year normally in January telling her the next years rates)which she has thrown out.

Then basically told if I need to do a transaction for her I will need to wait for the next pension letter in January or she needs to open a card based Bank account .

She has no other Bank account just a Post office acc which her pension gets paid into,The cheque was to open up a Post Office growth bond for her.

So if you are thinking of opening an account where someone may need to do a service in branch for you if your in hospital or something stay well clear of Santander,they will take your money in seconds but make it as hard as possible to take any out.

dunstonh

I am surprised they accepted her passport. Passport is evidence of individual and if she isnt present, the photo means nothing and cannot be accepted.

juicyjude

Oh yet another post of complaint about Santander. Well they have lost my hubbys ID altogether, still waiting for a letter from them. Time is running out for them, soon the Financial Ombudsman will be receiving a letter! They just dont care! Useless shower.

steveksullivan

We are all so used to reading this sort of thing about Santander that you probably cant be bothered to read another one - but here goes anyway ......

Aliance and Leicester promotional period had finished, so I call the call centre to ask what notice I need to give to withdraw the £2500 in the account.

After waiting over 30 MINUTES for the call to be answered....

Call Centre: 'No notice , Sir .... the limit for 'over-the-counter cash withdrawals is now £5000 .... up from £300'

Me: 'What do I need to take in to branch'

Call centre: 'ID - passport or driving licence and debit card on the account'

Me: 'I've never operated the account as a 'proper' current account and probably cut up the debit card a year ago - what else would be acceptable?'

Call centre: 'Hang on, I'll go through to the branch and ask them' ...... (pause).......... 'I've spoken to the branch manager and a statement would be acceptable instead of the debit card'

(I summarise and confirm all the above before hanging up)

I then drive 20 minutes to my nearest branch armed with statement and ID.

Wait 15 minutes in the queue with only one desk manned ..... on the second desk the girl is doing her admin rather than serving......

Make my request, only to be asked for my debit card.... explain all the above and that the call centre had called thru to the branch and confirmed that a statement would be OK instead.

Girl: ' Oh no Sir, limit for cash withdrawals is £300 without a debit card'

Me: 'I think you'll find it has been raised to £5000......'

Girl:' No Sir, all I can do is phone through and see if they will authorise it.......'

Me: 'Cant the manager authorise this ?'

Girl: 'Oh no Sir'

.... so she dials the number out and starts serving other customers........

THIRTY FIVE MINUTES LATER the phone is answered ..... transaction is authorised straightaway..... and I hear the girl say

'oh .... I thought the limit over the counter was £300........'

Was I furious at having been kept waiting for 35 minutes, having first gone to so much trouble to make sure I had everything they needed and then to find the staff didn't know their own procedures....?

No of course not....... (Ha! )

Got home and immediately called to make a complaint. Branch manager phoned me back - he denied having spoken to the call centre earlier (although he said 'it could have been one of his other staff with manager in their title' .....)

He admitted things had gone wrong at almost every level right down to his staff not knowing procedures......but suggested I should have phoned to give notice of wanting to withdraw £2500 (I very gently explained that that was exactly the purpose of my first call to the call centre......)

He eventually concluded that he did not feel able to compensate me in any way for wasting my time........

Guess what ? Formal complaint ......

juicyjude

It just goes on, totally unbelievable this bank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

metrobus

dunstonh wrote: »

I am surprised they accepted her passport. Passport is evidence of individual and if she isnt present, the photo means nothing and cannot be accepted.

They accept passports since they are signed by the account holder
and are on offical records and easily traced.

Going by your thoughts no 3rd party transaction could ever take place since the acc holder is not present .

dunstonh

metrobus wrote: »

They accept passports since they are signed by the account holder
and are on offical records and easily traced.

So, on the certification when the clerk says "it is a true likeness of xyz", how do they do that when the person isnt present?

Going by your thoughts no 3rd party transaction could ever take place since the acc holder is not present .

I didnt say that. There are lots of ways of doing it and Santander are just being overly picky. However, it seems daft to accept passport of someone you cant see and verify the picture.

metrobus

They are not interested in the picture.

Its the signature inside the passport that they want.

Paul_Herring

metrobus wrote: »

Santander

I think I know where you went wrong....

cashbackproblems

This is why you shouldnt open any accounts with Santander and Abbey and Halifax have been just as bad when it comes to id checks.

dunstonh

metrobus wrote: »

They are not interested in the picture.

Its the signature inside the passport that they want.

They have a copy of the signature on file. Why do they need to see the passport one? Especially if they cant verify the photo of the person goes with the signature.

Just seems a pointless exercise that doesn't prove anything. Or more like a bank clerk that doesnt know what they are doing.