MSE Blog: How to get what you want from your bank – some insider tips

JuicyJesus

Archi_Bald wrote: »

surely nobody would suggest these days that you check your bank account just once a month?

Once a month would be an improvement for MSE's new target audience of reckless idiots.

JuicyJesus

chambta wrote: »

Publishing such 'inside' info is at best unhelpful and at worst could see staff being pressured by customers who 'know' because they're read it on here.

Yes. All this article will do is make Santander's staff's lives miserable.

chazzee

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Yes. All this article will do is make Santander's staff's lives miserable.

Agreed not a smart move to publish this, and if anything MSE should be promoting otherwise. It should be said that all bank staff sign non-disclosure about systems, procedures and thresholds to protect the interests of all involved.

Although this is probably what could be considered a low sensitivity threshold, it is still open to abuse by those in the know.

JuicyJesus

chazzee wrote: »

Agreed not a smart move to publish this, and if anything MSE should be promoting otherwise. It should be said that all bank staff sign non-disclosure about systems, procedures and thresholds to protect the interests of all involved.

While they're employed, they already do as part of their contract of employment. But the woman who wrote this article isn't employed by Santander any more...

Lokolo

Having re-read the article and posts on here I am starting to feel a bit bad for Eesha. I assume this is her first article given she recently left Santader.

Perhaps something more positive to people rather than "how to **** staff at Santander off by demanding bank charges are lifted as you know they can do so".

How about an article on what you, as a previous member of staff at a bank, would do to help those in financial need and recommend others do if they get in the same situation?

Uxb

Archi_Bald wrote: »

surely nobody would suggest these days that you check your bank account just once a month?

Pretty well what I do - when I get the monthly statement.
I know what the balances should be - only approximately I have to say as I have lots of stuff going in and out.
I run a finance package on my computer
I then cross check this against the monthly statement - which is done carefully and accurately modifying the computer data for the variables which are different in practice to that expected...so its fully reconciled.
CC cards likewise I keep all the slips and again cross check carefully every month against the statement.

Hominu

"Hi, I'd like to deposit this stolen money into an account of someone I don't like. I have their name and address"
"No problem sir, I'll do that straight away for you"
"Thank you"

then leave it a few days, call the police and report the theft. Give them the details you have and a few fake witnesses to the 'crime'.

Watch how they eventually notice the deposit of an exact amount of the value reported stolen and then start questioning the customer at the local police station.

Personally, I'd prefer that only people with my account details be able to deposit funds in my account. If anyone else wants to give me money, then fine, I accept cash or cheque, from friends and family.

fxt576

Uxb wrote: »

Pretty well what I do - when I get the monthly statement.
I know what the balances should be - only approximately I have to say as I have lots of stuff going in and out.
I run a finance package on my computer
I then cross check this against the monthly statement - which is done carefully and accurately modifying the computer data for the variables which are different in practice to that expected...so its fully reconciled.
CC cards likewise I keep all the slips and again cross check carefully every month against the statement.

May I ask what financial package you use? As you use it I assume you think it is good value but I would be interested to know how much time it takes to fomally go through everything once a month...hope I'm not being too intrusive.

Hazzanet

My opinion is it's a bit of a weak article. I also think that the title is misleading - "How to get what you want from your bank"; it doesn't tell me anything of the sort. Only how to ask the staff to do their jobs properly.

opinions4u

I thought I'd read the article. This has really irritated me.

After a long wait, I finally reached the counter and handed the cheque to the cashier. I didn’t know my dad’s details, so I asked the cashier to look them up on his system.

I received a blunt response: "Sorry, I can’t. The customer needs to be present for me to look up their details."

I understand it’s for security reasons,

No. It's to comply with the law of the land. There is thread after thread on these pages about banks giving out personal information to third parties and the customer being so miffed they don't consider £250 compensation to be enough. This girl, who really should know better, has tried to coerce a member of staff to break the law.

but I didn’t want to find out my dad’s details. All I wanted to do was put the cheque into his account,

This is a red warning light about Santander's training or this individual's ability to understand that training. The mere act of disclosing the existence of an account is in itself a flagrant breach of the DPA unless the bank can show the account holder gave them authority to do so.

I know from working in a branch that you can pay in a cheque on someone else’s behalf.

I cannot believe that, without the account details, this is possible. I'm genuinely shocked.

If I was a senior official within Santander I would have my lawyers knocking on the door at MSE right now because these words suggest that the bank is overtly lax in complying with the DPA.

If Santander aren't lax about the DPA in the way the article suggests they should be I'd suggest the reputational damage of the article will be more than they are prepared to put up with.

A few words were exchanged but the cashier still refused, so I left extremely frustrated.

She seriously doesn't get it. It's extraordinary.

Yesterday MSE warned me about the tone of one of my posts. I'm on the verge of being booted off the forum for asking somebody who couldn't afford his bills, but had a holiday booked that he didn't want to cancel, if he could afford the sun cream.

Maybe I overstepped a mark. But I was merely trying to ascertain if there was a possibility of cancelling the holiday, using the refund to clear debt and save £7 a bottle on the Ambre Solaire.

I wasn't stood in front of a cashier petulantly stamping my feet demanding that a cashier tells me which of my family members have secret accounts with their bank. An act that could, potentially, see an individual sacked and unemployable in financial services.

I'm a great believer in getting the best deal out of the banks. But MSE have stepped over the line here and that article should be taken down.

Most likely it won't be. More likely I'll be away for a couple of weeks.