MSE News: Santander to charge for 'free' business accounts

magpiecottage

Malcolm_Foster wrote: »

Many thanks magpiecottage for being a leading light in this campaign.

I did not do very much - I simply showed people where to hit back individually, in the knowledge that if a lot followed my guidance it would get very uncomfortable, and expensive, for Santander.

If they had not followed my lead, though, Santander might, instead, have persuaded FOS that they should instead make a financial settlement to me and bought me off.

MakeitgoRIGHT

magpiecottage wrote: »

It is a quote of Margaret Thatcher: "if you must do a u-turn do it quickly whilst waving the white flag of victory."

That sounds like a mess-up by Thatcher.
There is no victory in raising a white flag.
Just like a politician, she tried to make it look like she had won.

(I think Mountbatton did the best one of these, leaving India in "triumph" with all the great pomp and ceremony available. Looked like we had just won a war or something.)

cheapread

Especially MagpieCottage who should think about creating a website to establish a centre of excellence..in one form or another...

This victory should also be a lesson to the 'roll over and die' contributors on here, who said they wouldn't contest the issue but would move elsewhere.... I wonder how successful many of them are in business, as running a successful enterprise is not for the fainthearted, but anyways..

Even though I will now continue to use my valuable
FREE
BUSINESS
BANKING
F O R E V E R,

my parting shot is to SANTANDER's Board of Directors... SHAME on you for your best efforts at CHEATING and your mealy mouthed volte face released to the media - pathetic.

magpiecottage

MakeitgoRIGHT wrote: »

That sounds like a mess-up by Thatcher.
There is no victory in raising a white flag.
Just like a politician, she tried to make it look like she had won.

I think she said it tongue-in-cheek.

cheapread wrote: »

Especially MagpieCottage who should think about creating a website to establish a centre of excellence..in one form or another...

My turn to join Susievintage, blushing on the medal rostrum eh?

This victory should also be a lesson to the 'roll over and die' contributors on here, who said they wouldn't contest the issue but would move elsewhere

That is a matter of commercial judgement on their part - just as it was a matter of commercial judgement for Abbey National to offer free banking forever.

That carries the risk that you may have to live with making the wrong judgement.

my parting shot is to SANTANDER's Board of Directors

Not really interested. Their regulator knows what they attempted, as does everybody else.

I somehow doubt they will offer me any contract work in a hurry and maybe they will console themselves with the thought that I could have earned a lot more than £90 a year.

But then I would consider it poor commercial judgement to enter into a high value deal with somebody I knew did not always honour their contractual obligations.

Justdesserts

Now that the dust has settled a little, we await the 'letter' to clarify just what Santander is saying. It is reported that they are scrapping plans to impose the charge and are retaining the free banking option for those who want it.

This may well be far short of an acknowledgement that the accounts will be 'free forever' so best keep some powder dry

MakeitgoRIGHT

I expect that free banking will only be available to those existing customers that can argue the terms and conditions. Any new customers will be excluded, of course, and have to pay the going rate from Santander.

And there will be an offering of a feature package to tempt out of the free corner, those that might be willing to pay for extra features. Fair enough. That is how it should have been.

magpiecottage

magpiecottage wrote: »

This has come at an inopportune time because I am away for most of the next three weeks.....
I'll write more after my holiday.

Just to say, I had a couple of good breaks - a week on the Gower then 9 days (8 nights) in Jersey.

We got an extra night in a hostel at the zoo which cost less than we saved by sailing out on the Friday rather than the Saturday - and we got a free day pass to the zoo itself, too.

That is probably all for this thread.

Lets hope Santander has learned to behave!

madonnamustache

Thanks so much to magpiecottage and everyone else that has written with support and advice in this thread! Looks like a victory for now, but I am keeping my newly opened HSBC account as backup, just in case Santander makes another u-turn.

brookhouse

MakeitgoRIGHT wrote: »

I expect that free banking will only be available to those existing customers that can argue the terms and conditions. Any new customers will be excluded, of course, and have to pay the going rate from Santander.

Are you suggesting that those who did not complain will still get moved to the £7.50 a month?

My reading was that the threat was withdrawn for all. Is that other peoples' interpretation?

magpiecottage

brookhouse wrote: »

Are you suggesting that those who did not complain will still get moved to the £7.50 a month?

My reading was that the threat was withdrawn for all. Is that other peoples' interpretation?

I believe so - they said that the notification letter would not be sent to anybody it has not yet gone to, so obviously they would have no grounds for complaint.