Santander opening an account in our name 'by mistake'!!!

Lucylockett_2

I'm not sure where we stand on this one..

Last week, my husband had a message left on our phone asking him to call into the branch as they had forgotten to get him to sign the forms.. We had no idea what they were talking about as we had not applied for another account. So we visited our local branch and asked to see the person who had left the message. They had no one of that name at the branch so we gave them the phone number left on the message and it turned out to be a London branch! We are miles away from there...
They admitted they had made a mistake and had 'closed' the account! We received a letter today (Posted before we sorted it out) confirming the new account had been opened with a balance of £15,000!!!!!!!!!!!!

1) If they still needed a signature, how come they'd opened it?

2) When I wanted them to add my husbands name to an account, they wanted to know so much about him (We have numerous accounts with them anyway) that we gave up and left it in my name only.

How can this happen? Surely it's gross neglegence on someones part?

Who do we complain to? What compensation should we get? I do hope the person that orignally wanted the account has actually got it now..

jonesMUFCforever

You have lost nothing so why ask for compensation?

It could be that your identification has been stolen - so check your credit files.

Naf

Lucylockett wrote: »

They admitted they had made a mistake and had 'closed' the account! We received a letter today (Posted before we sorted it out) confirming the new account had been opened with a balance of £15,000!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which They? The branch you went into, or the London branch?

Lucylockett wrote: »

If they still needed a signature, how come they'd opened it?

The account is, technically, open on the system before the forms to sign are printed. It would be closed centrally for fraud prevention if the form was not signed or ID provided within certain timescales.

Lucylockett wrote: »

Who do we complain to?

The branch are your first point of contact to start a complaint.

Lucylockett wrote: »

What compensation should we get?

What money have you lost?

Lucylockett wrote: »

I do hope the person that orignally wanted the account has actually got it now..

What if the person that originally wanted the account was someone impersonating you? This sounds most likely to me actually over someone going through an entire application process, taking ID (which they must have as the message you received only asked for signatures), getting the ID and application double checked by a manager and never noticing the name was entirely wrong...

As said already; get checking your credit reports etc. sounds like someone's after you identities...

Lucylockett_2

'They' are the London branch.

'They' also said they had someone with the same name and date of birth.. Hence the mistake. Also, why would someone stealing our identity be depositing £15,000?????

Already checked all our accounts. Everything as it should be.

Haven't 'lost' anything except our faith in your bank!!!

sweetilemon

Just a bit unlucky really. I once had a letter from my bank to say i had a savings account with £50,000. I phoned and the woman had no record of the account as ive never had the money. it was just a bank error. cant really do much if you never had the money in the first place.

Lucylockett_2

Just done a credit report. Everything just as it should be.

Will be phoning the London branch asking for a full explanation in writing, so we at least have something should anything nasty develop!

jonesMUFCforever

Lucylockett wrote: »

'They' are the London branch.

'They' also said they had someone with the same name and date of birth.. Hence the mistake. Also, why would someone stealing our identity be depositing £15,000?????

Already checked all our accounts. Everything as it should be.

Haven't 'lost' anything except our faith in your bank!!!

Probably a laundered/doctored cheque which would go through the clearing cycle - and withdrawn before the ''drawer'' knows what has happened - as the account is in your ''name'' you would be the ones having to clear up the mess.

Naf

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Probably a laundered/doctored cheque which would go through the clearing cycle - and withdrawn before the ''drawer'' knows what has happened - as the account is in your ''name'' you would be the ones having to clear up the mess.

This may be the only time we side together lol...
Unless your name is John Smith its unlikely someone else shares your full name and DOB. More likely impersonation with faked ID.

As an existing customer it's easier to open accounts in your name than in a brand new customer's name. Also, a large cheque would be scrutinised less as it goes through clearing in your account than a brand new customer's as there is already history on your accounts to show you're genuine.

slush

Naf wrote: »

What money have you lost?

Loss does not just relate to money. I have wasted countless hours trying to resolve problems with Santander. Made dozens of phone calls, sent numerous messages, faxes, spent hours in branch. Had the inconvenience to opening accounts with alternative banks.
And still Santander fail to see the problems!!

Naf wrote: »

The branch are your first point of contact to start a complaint.

Been there, done that. Spent hours in there. Provided copies of statements, letters ID etc.

Santander are unbelievably bad. They are a security risk, violate personal data and their complaints system is a nightmare.

Any bank can have a problem. But the measure of a good bank is what they do about it when the problem is pointed out to them.