Bank complaints - Santander

Cambridge32

Hello,

How do I go about getting my bank to accept a complaint? I telephoned the complaints line and verbally complained, but the gentleman on the other end of the telephone simply said "we do not accept your complaint", irrespective of what I said. We continued the conversation in the same manner for about 5 minutes until I got bored and hung up. There was no apology forthcoming.

Specifically, I was complaining about the bank changing the spelling of my name on my account without asking me or notifying me. To get my name corrected I had to visit my local branch (who were very surly) with my passport and 2 other proofs of my identity, although before this I exchanged around 15 emails with their "Customer Service" people, who were actually pretty rude in their emails (they insisted that I needed to provide legal proof of my name change and would not accept that THEY had changed my name, not I). They had even cancelled my original bank card and cheque book and sent me new ones with the wrong name on them :-( Sorting this out took 6 months.

More recently, I contacted the bank using the online contact centre and requested the interest rate for my account. The reply gave me the wrong rate (0% - wrong for sure, as I was still being paid interest). I had to telephone to get the correct rate (at least, I think it was correct, as the lady in the call centre didn't speak coherent English).

Now I am attempting to close my old Alliance and Leicester account as the interest rate has dropped to 0.1%, and I have emailled Santander to ask how to do this. They sent me an email telling me that they had sent a secure reply to my online account, but when I logged in there was no message.

I am really running out of patience with this awful bank. I would complain to them but I know that they simply would refuse to accept the complaint.

Can anybody suggest what I could do please?? I want them to accept my complaints, and I want to close my account.

Cambridge32

maninthestreet

I often wonder how they stay in business.

FunnySaving

If you write to them, recorded delivery, giving them a timescale to respond to your letter which is in line with their official complaints procedure then they won't have much choice but to accept. If they fail to acknowledge or respond to you then you can take it up with the Financial Ombudsman but they will want proof that you have exhausted the bank's own complaints procedure first before taking on your case.