bank changed my address

ran123ran_2

i'm looking for some advice about a recent blunder / breach of confidentiality by my bank (I have been a current account customer with this bank for 9 years)

a few weeks ago i opened a NEW joint account with my partner but my bank card/pin etc for this NEW account hadn't come through.

when i contacted the bank they said it had been sent to a branch 300 miles away because they had returned mail from my address.

they had somehow sent out bank statements (for my current account) to one of my neighbours who had then returned them to the bank. so my neighbours now have some insight about the state of my finances and i am now concerned there maybe a security issue here.

how can they change my address without my consent/knowledge?
surely theres been some data protection breach?

i didn't get an apology or an explanation of how this even happened.

Gromitt

I've had the occasional bank statement or other post delivered to my next door neighbour even though it has my correct address on it, so I can only assume it's a lazy post person. They just push it through the door when it happens. Likewise, I sometimes get post for them.

Maybe the same happened in your case? I don't think the bank would deliberately write the wrong address on the letter.

ran123ran_2

they did change house number - had to go into branch with id, etc to get them to change back to my home address

EarthBoy

ran123ran wrote: »

... so my neighbours now have some insight about the state of my finances ....

You don't know this. They will only know about your finances if they opened the post. If they returned it as "not known at this address" they won't know anything. In fact, it sounds like your neighbours don't even know who you are, otherwise wouldn't they have brought the post round to you?

It sounds like an unfortunate mistake, but no major breach of privacy.

ran123ran_2

we went and asked them once we found out what had happened, they had opened it without checking who it was addressed to and then were embarrassed to bring round to us.

DUTR

ran123ran wrote: »

we went and asked them once we found out what had happened, they had opened it without checking who it was addressed to and then were embarrassed to bring round to us.

My road has a similar name to two other roads near me, sometimes I get mail for one of the other addresses, I didn't know until one time I had a statement from Halifax I have an account with them too) , it wasn't until I thought I was max'd out on a CC that I realised it was their statement. (phew) talk about sailing close to the wind .
Anyways the posties can sometimes get mail mixed up.

ran123ran_2

i get that postman can mix up mail but i don't get how bank can change my address on their system to my neighbours address.

they would have had to go into their system and physically change it.

innovate

If you never got a card, a PIN or a statement, it sounds as if your address has been entered incorrectly in the first instance. Probably just human error - mistyping a number can happen. Or who knows, may be you grave them the wrong number? Everybody can make a mistake. You need to have proof that it was the bank who made the mistake if you want to take the case any further.

ran123ran_2

Its not my mistake as I didn't give them any number in the 1st place.

i have had a current account with this bank for 9+ years.
In that time I have never moved house.

In the last 9 years they've managed to send my current account statements addressed to me at my home address and not addressed to my neighbours address.

I don't know why they would suddenly change that.

BMN

Are you definitely sure the address was changed on the banks system? When? The same day the new joint account was opened?
Are you definitely sure the statement was addressed to yourself at your neighbours address?

If not this is most probably what happened:
Bank sent out the statement as usual.
Postman/woman accidentally posted it to your neighbours.
Neighbours opened statement in error.
Neighbours return it to sender.
Bank makes note of returned mail and instructs all mail to be sent to the branch where you originally opened your account. This is just a security precaution because the returned mail led them to believe you might have moved without updating your address with them.

Otherwise, like others have said its probably a typing error. I imagine that when opening a new account the system prompts the member of staff to update/confirm the customers address.

ran123ran_2

wasn't a postal mishap - my address had changed on the banks system....