Santander giving me Nervous Breakdown

Deborah_from_North_Yorksh

I am at nervous breakdown stage. I cannot use my credit card without the the need to call and go through security, my card has a fraud block put on every day, yesterday I had to drive in the snow to a Santander branch I had never been to before with my passport and proof of address to have the block lifted. This was done. Today the block has been re applied. I have had to move £2000 from my Santander savings account into my Santander current account so I can do my Christmas shopping using my debit card. Some people may not have been able to do this. I need to move all my accounts to a new bank. Any suggestions. This bank is appalling the stress this has caused me is immense, and it's not over yet, as I need to go through the pain of moving all my accounts. I wish I'd never joined, I didn't have any issues with Alliance and Leicester. I'm on here looking for a contact number for their head office, but it's constantly engaged. I think the finance Ombudsman should close them down. I will be writing again ( 4th complaint in 3 months ). But they don't contact you or do anything they just send a standard letter. I'm worried that every time I try to buy something and it's declined they make me tell them my card number, expiry date, my date of birth and 3 digit security code on the back. Anyone in the shop could record that detail now with iPhones etc.... and could have all the info they need to make purchases over the phone. Their ineptness is a risk to my financial security and something needs to be done. Their staff don't care, and when I say I'm moving to another bank they don't even comment and carry on with their script. I absolutely hate this bank. I've wasted god knows how much money calling them, my time, and feel life has been shortened due to the total stress they cause. AVOID FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH.

Deborah_from_North_Yorksh

Interestingly Jo Legg Head of Fraud department could not make it in yesterday due to the snow I had to drive through snow and ice to have the block removed, which has subsequently been put back on today when I tried to make a £20 donation to Christie Cancer Charity.

This instance (my 5th this year, and have complained twice before but just got a standard response letter) all started on 11th December when Bev Smith in fraud at Milton Keynes 0845 602 1582 was so rude to me, the shop assistant was shocked. My purchase was declined and I had to call fraud department, I'd been in Egypt the week prior and had a small purchase declined at Sharm airport, and then they called my mobile which was not with me leaving a message to contact them. I did this through the automated service and confirmed I had attempted the small purchase in Egypt. The end? NO. This automated response had not been recorded on their system, and now my purchase being made on the 11th was declined although I was present in the shop. Bev Smith asked all the usual questions, which I sailed through. But I failed security when she insisted on me confirming the month and year that I opened the Santander Zero credit card. I could not remember this. The shop assistant in Curry's could hear her on my phone as she was so loud and rude. She ended by hanging up on me. This call was made to Santander at 15:53 according to my call list, and lasted almost 20 minutes, a call I will have to pay for as iPhone charge for 0845 numbers. After she hung up I called straight back at 16:13. I passed security no problem and was not asked for the year and month that I opened the card. I made my purchase of an Mac Book Pro for my son. Then in Debenhams the card was declined again. Since then I have not been able to use the card, no manner of calls will resolve and I had to drive in through the snow - the rest is included below.

These are the people I have spoken to Bev Smith - Jo Legg not in due to snow, Matthew Adams informed me that a manager was willing to talk to me! How pleasant, and they would call me back as they were on a call. I asked for the name and was told either John Seaton or Barry Rooney would call. This was when I was in the Sandanter branch yesterday 20/12/10. No one has called. Today when my Charity Donation was declined I spoke to a very helpful call assistant, and her manager Martina McAuley. But they confirmed that the Fraud Block was re applied, and I would have to go into a branch. I have refused to do this again, my card is blocked, I've called Santander Complaints department to be told no one can talk to me until they send me a letter - no doubt the standard, we are sorry your disappointed, but we do this for your security letter with no address to write back to....... I'm at my whitts end. I will move banks, this will mean a loss to Santander of a Mortgage, 2 Current Accounts, an ISA, a Saver7 and a credit card. But you know what people - THEY ACTUALLY DON'T CARE. But maybe when other people do the same they will start to care and it will be too late. There was an article in the newspaper the other week, worst customer service, and they asked you to vote. I didn't do it - wish I did now as Santander were one of the 5 companies being voted for worst customer service. Please share your bad experiences of this company, you never know someone there may do something? Or maybe customer will, they'll vote with their feet.

BadgerFace_2

They are a joke, I applied to move my current account to them.

They waited a month after my application, then when I chased it, made me start again.

A few days later, they'd opened up two current accounts and three savings accounts. Luckily in dealing with this mess I found out just how they treat their customers and was able to close the lot down...not without having to travel to a branch, which really annoyed me seeing as I'd opened them up over the phone.

They sent me £10 compensation for the 3 searches they left on my credit file, but wouldn't remove them.

redpete

I'm usually quite dismissive of long rants about what are often trivial issues, but in this case I think the OP is entirely justified to be frustrated and angry. So much unnecessary inconvenience is caused to customers under the excuse of improved security when improvements to the banks' security systems and procedures could make things so much easier without compromising security.

However, I don't think naming names in this way is helpful, it is not usually the individual who answers the call that causes the problem. Further, if I was Deborah from North Yorkshire I wouldn't make my identity so obvious from my MSE username (would it be so difficult for one of those who's name you've published to identify you from the details you've given and make your life even more difficult?).

Of course, the OP might actually be Richard from Essex and the disguise is very effective.

Degenerate

Their automated fraud detection certainly is becoming ridiculously stringent and throwing up lots of false positives. When I use my card with certain vendors I can almost guarantee to get one of the robo-calls the next day. Typical Santander to take something that's supposed to be clever and make it so dumb it can't spot the pattern of regular transactions, which indicates I am a frequent customer of a particular vendor and therefore the transaction is likely genuine.

BugsyBrowne

I think someone who works for MSE must bank with santander as my post has been deleted after cursing how useless they are.