Santander - funny or stupid bank?

Hominu

steve9214 wrote: »

The only offer I got was that we could take the documents into a branch, they could photocopy them for me and then....
...this is priceless......
FAX the copies to Santander Applications Dept.

Well, you do have a choice, you can either post the copies, or fax them to the applications team. Which you choose is up to you. I'd go with the later as it would cost me the least. Insulting the staff by asking them if its 1985 is a bad idea IMO if you want your account opened!

Buzby

Also is the expectation that you can turn up when it suits you and speak to a staff member for an administrative service (other than normal counter service). The days of branches that have spare staff able to be called upon at short notice is long gone.

As your son is already an account holder, there should be no need for a full ID check. Arrange an appointment and get the specialist capable of getting things moving.

Gromitt

So your title of "Been refused to open Childrens account at Santander" is incorrect. They informed you of the account opening process and you refused to follow it.

You turned up without an appointment and expected someone to open you an account there and then and was surprised when they refused.

You then opened an account on-line and refused to send any identity documents via approved means.

Now you are considering other banks rather than just letting them have the documents.

Morglin

Smaller branches of Natwest often have a three bag limit, other than for kid's accounts.

Lin

username

Hominu wrote: »

Well, you do have a choice, you can either post the copies, or fax them to the applications team. Which you choose is up to you. I'd go with the later as it would cost me the least. Insulting the staff by asking them if its 1985 is a bad idea IMO if you want your account opened!

I think steve9214 is entirely welcome to have a poke a bank's policies, given that we're in 2013, and ironically the bank would get a higher quality image if it was scanned/emailed or ingested into the bank's system via upload than by faxing or photocopying and sending it via normal mail.
It's all so archaic, it's unbelievable. I can understand if this was some 10 years ago maybe but seriously, what person owns a fax machine in this day and age?!

Money-Saving-King

username wrote: »

given that we're in 2014

Are we already? God I must have been asleep for a long time!

username

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

Are we already? God I must have been asleep for a long time!

Well spotted time machine now fixed.

GwylimT

Our local halifax is the same, no bagged coins unless it is for a childs account or charity, but of course number of bags within reason.

Gromitt

username wrote: »

It's all so archaic, it's unbelievable. I can understand if this was some 10 years ago maybe but seriously, what person owns a fax machine in this day and age?!

We have 3 of them at work. They are still the preferred medium of transferring small documents. To open an account with us, we fax an application form to the company concerned, they fill it in and fax it back. Yes you could fill in an online web-form, upload your details, scan your signature (or even digitally sign), etc, but all that requires IT resources at both companies. Faxing someone a form can be done by an accounts clerk or intern, and can be easily modified to suit. End result: Fax is far cheaper.

It's just not cost effective to modernise all these systems when they work fine as they are. Banks wouldn't get anything back by spending millions updating their account application systems apart from a less grainy images of documents. Likewise, we could get slightly more clear application forms, but they are clearly readable as they are so why spend the cash? (and of course the companies we are dealing with would have to spend the cash also to upgrade their own systems)

steve9214

Buzby wrote: »

Also is the expectation that you can turn up when it suits you and speak to a staff member for an administrative service (other than normal counter service). The days of branches that have spare staff able to be called upon at short notice is long gone.

As your son is already an account holder, there should be no need for a full ID check. Arrange an appointment and get the specialist capable of getting things moving.

I DID explain that my son already has a savings account but apparently the "Administration dept" are solely responsible for account openings and will not accept someone opening an account without showing ID - even if they have already done so to open another account.


Each branch of Santander has its own webpage with details on "branch finder" with directions, so I asked why is it not possible to detail restrictions like "you need an appointment" - or maybe even (from other posts) how many cash bags the branch can accept ?
I was told that was "up to the administration dept to do that, and they don't do it".


Finally - I am the bloody customer - they do not have the right to talk to me like I am stupid, or treat me like something they stepped in, which is what this local branch manager did.


We now have gone to our local Halifax branch which has the same 3% interest rate - and the branch has a 10 cash bag limit.


It seems to me Santander are allowing their Administration dept and some branches, to behave like it WAS 1985 - when banks only opened Mondays to Fridays 9.30 to 3.30 and also closed for lunch.
And the Bank manager was all-powerful and decided who could - or could not- open an account.


I explained in my OP that I am not at work over Xmas, so have no access to a photocopier until 2nd week of January.


The main problem with a lot of large corporations is that they refuse to deal considerately with customers who do not have intimate knowledge of their own procedures and processes.


I had a nightmare last year with Hewlett Packard where I ordered a laptop, and despite their website taking my order, saying it was in stock and giving me delivery date, did not deliver at all.
I did not find out that they did not actually have any of these laptops in the UK whatsoever, until my wife waited in all day for the delivery that never showed up.
HP seemed to think it was perfectly acceptable to take orders for goods that they did not have, and did not intend to deliver for weeks on end - someone doing that on Amazon or Ebay would be banned for life !!


Think of "The Incredibles" movie where Mr Incredible gets chewed out for actually helping a little old lady at his insurance claims job, by telling her what forms she needs to fill in to get her claim moving.