First Direct - Statement Issue

spock999

Hi,

I have banked with First Direct for some years now and am generally very happy with the service. It is a joint account with my wife who is quite happy for me to manage the account. We have online statements.

Recently, they have started nagging my wife because she doesn't log on. Now they are saying that if she doesn't log on by 30 August to check on stuff associated with the account they will start sending us paper statements whether we want them or not.

I thought it was up to us to work out how to manage our accounts not them!! As it happens I print off the statements and check everything religiously every month. This info is all available to my wife but she chooses not to bother. As I said she is perfectly happy with how the account is managed.

She just doesn't want to bother logging on. It is not necessary. I thought First Direct prided itself on being customer oriented and that presumably ought to allow us decide how to manage our account. That is obviously no longer the case.

We haven't yet decided what to do about it but we are both very annoyed. It seems ridiculous but they may drive otherwise happy customers away through this attitude.

[Deleted User]

I think it may be a legal or regulatory requirement that the account holder (or both account holders in the case of a joint account) logs onto the account every so often, failing which the bank is required to start issuing paper statements and correspondence. This is something which I know has happened with other banks, not just FD.

If you are happy with FD, it would be a shame to move away from them over this issue. Your wife has received notice that she should log on to avoid receiving paper statements, so all she has to do is log on. Simple really.

firefox1956

I have exactly the same situation with FD & my wife.
After 20 years with them with a JOINT account they now start all this.
Bl**dy ridiculous but even after a long winded telephone call with them
they insist that she has to log on even though it s a joint account
They also wanted proof of identity about a year ago as well.
My wife does not want to log on...........ever.
So now we will be bombarded by mail from FD
By the way none of this stupidy with our Santander 123 joint account

sausage_time

Yip - I'm in the same boat. Really annoying - and an environmental disaster. My wife has absolutely no need or desire to set up on-line banking, never mind remember to log in from time to time. (What if she were to log in but not look at statements??)

We have power of attorney set up, I'm going to try and play that card tomorrow.

PeacefulWaters

Regulation requires a paper statement at least annually where a customer hasn't seen transactions online.

Don't blame the bank.

colsten

spock999 wrote: »

We haven't yet decided what to do about it but we are both very annoyed. It seems ridiculous but they may drive otherwise happy customers away through this attitude.

It can't do any harm if she is familiar with the log in as one day she might need it in a hurry.

All banks have the same requirement afaik.

colsten

sausage_time wrote: »

Really annoying - and an environmental disaster.

It is in your / your wife's power to avert that "disaster".

The nice by-product would be that she knows how to use her log-in should she need it in a hurry.

spock999

I still haven't decided what to do! I have lodged a question with the FCA through their website just to check what they say about the regulations.

The thing that bugs me about this it doesn't tackle the perceived problem. They want us to be managing our bank accounts properly (ie the regulators) and keep track of expenditure, fees etc so that there is no fraud or other mishap. If my wife (or someone in her name!!) logs on to the account online, it doesn't mean that she is vetting the statements. It just means that she has logged on.

There is no way any individual can be forced to manage an account properly, so they go for ensuring they have the opportunity to do so. Because the individual decided not to use the opportunity it then becomes their fault if they don't check. Which it would be anyway whatever the regulations!! Both the regulators and the banks are therefore in the avoidance of blame game. Which I see as a fairly futile exercise.

The sensible and logical solution would be to allow any individual to opt out of this regulation if they desire - with appropriate warnings etc if the banks/regulators want to cover themselves.

I agree that over the whole of the banking community forcing masses of users to have paper statements when they don't want them is an environmental disaster. However, given what is, after various checks I will probably opt for paper statements (which I assume are cost free) so I actually know what is happening. I already get T&C changes notified in writing as I don't think you can take them in properly looking at the screen.

But it does irritate the hell out of me!!

Ballard

You've queried it with the FCA? Seriously?

The bank have set a certain condition in order to stop sending paper statements. Whether or not it's a legal requirement isn't really the issue. They've opted to do so and it's not terribly onerous for their customers to log on once in a while.

Surely it makes sense for any partner of a bank account to have full access in case the other one becomes incapacitated for any length of time.

msallen

Bleeding ridiculous - and I don't mean the bank.

[Deleted User]

Spock, I don't really get why you are so upset by this.

You said in the opening post that you print off the statements every month to check them religiously. Why not save yourself paper and ink and have them sent to you by FD at no extra cost to you? It seems illogical to complain about the environmental impact of hard copy statements being produced by FD when you are doing the exact same thing at home.

The best way forward would be for your wife to learn how to log on to the account (you can teach her if she can't do it). This is a useful skill for anyone, and essential for someone like your wife who is a joint account holder on an account which you have both signed up to be paperless. Once your wife has logged on, FD won't need to send out any paper statements. You should also stop printing out the statements at home (environmentally unfriendly). If you must have them on paper, let FD take that on and stop bothering them (and the FCA) with complaints about this. They have more important things to do.

You appear to be blaming FD. It is not their fault. They are following the letter of the regulations which are designed to protect account holders such as your wife.