Santander student account and railcard offer

Mouse99

My son was lucky to get a university offer late on, via clearing, to Glasgow uni at the end of August. He signed up for a Santander student bank account on 1st September, lured by the offer of a free railcard.

Anticipating the process to take 3-5 working days, he booked a single train ticket to Glasgow on 8th Sept to move into his student digs.

A single fare was £85 (I know, I couldn't believe it either) but he clicked railcard and got it reduced to £56.

After calling Santander, he was informed that he would not get a code to open an online bank account for at least 6 days and then obtaining the railcard was a whole new process. He won't have the railcard for the journey on the 8th. Virgin then informed us he could buy a new ticket for £85 and get a refund on the £56 ticket minus a £10 admin charge - thus single train to Glasgow costing £95.

Having no idea where he was going, he was unable to plan and arrange transport any earlier and is it so unreasonable to think that a bank will be able to provide you with your bank account and railcard within 7 days?

Can users advise us of any consumer rights we may have or any possible solution before Friday and having to pay for new ticket? My Kiwi mate used to say we get seriously ripped off in the UK and this perfectly illustrates the point.

dj1471

Since Santander didn't promise to provide the railcard in the timeframe you expected I can't see that you have any rights, other than to accept your refund minus fee.

What do the T&Cs actually say? I'll bet it's the standard 28 days or similar for the railcard to be received.

eskbanker

Mouse99 wrote: »

Anticipating the process to take 3-5 working days....

What led him to believe this? If Santander explicitly stated this then he might have some sort of case but if he was just guessing then obviously he wouldn't have a leg to stand on!

Mouse99

Thanks guys, you are probably right but nowhere does it say exactly how long the process takes?

Ed-1

Did Santander actually accept his application for the student account? They are notoriously picky for this account...

alanq

The terms of the Santander offer are that one must "use the account as your main account, paying in £500 per academic term (for example from your income, student loan...)". If the academic term hasn't started Santander will not know yet that Son will be eligible for the offer.

Cost of ticket without a Railcard £95.

Cost of 1-year Railcard bought from a station £30.
Cost of ticket with Railcard £56.
Total cost £86.
He could save £9 and administrative hassle by just buying a 1-year Railcard.

The "free" Santander card would cover years 2-4.
or he could choose a different bank's offer
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/Student-bank-account

jonesMUFCforever

The mistake here is simple - buying the ticket without the rail card.
Others have suggested what can be done.

surreysaver

Can you not just excess the ticket up to an adult fare by paying the difference, rather than buying a new ticket and claiming a refund?

msallen

Mouse99 wrote: »

is it so unreasonable to think that a bank will be able to provide you with your bank account and railcard within 7 days?

Yes, totally.

alanq

Mouse99 wrote: »

...is it so unreasonable to think that a bank will be able to provide you with your bank account and railcard within 7 days?

Yes when its website says that the process will take up to 10 WORKING days.

"A unique code will be sent via secure message to your Online Banking within 5 working days of account opening"
(I don't see how that tallies with the £500 deposit per term condition unless a deposit of £500 is required to open the account)

and then once the code has been received and submitted
"You'll receive your 16-25 Railcard within 5 working days of completing your order."

http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/student-graduate-current-accounts/123-student-current-account

Also FAQs
"Can I buy tickets at a discounted rate before my Santander 16-25 Railcard arrives?

No. Unfortunately you need to wait for your Santander 16-25 Railcard to arrive."

Mouse99 wrote: »

Anticipating the process to take 3-5 working days, ...

A lesson from the University Of Life for your son - don't anticipate, expect, assume etc. always read and thoroughly digest Terms & Conditions.

Mouse99

I disagree