It’s easier to rob a bank than to make a deposit

Park_Ranger_2

Actually it's all pretty simple.
The banks need ID, proof of address and NI numbers to comply with money laundering legislation and Inland Revenue regulations. However banks being banks have tried to turn this to their advantage and use it as an excuse to get you sat in front of an 'advisor'. Same thing applies with opening a bog standard account. You are not legally required to be interviewed they simply want to sell you more products.
It's a slightly different matter if you're wanting to open an account which is FSA regulated where they have to prove to the regulators that they have given you certain information. In these circumstances, even if you know exactly what you want, they'll probably still want to carry out an interview.
Most bank staff are targeted to obtain a number of referrals to their financial services arm and as a result the staff don't actually listen to what you want. As soon as they learn that it involves new investment it's straight to the financial services advisor.
It's happenned to me twice in the last 6 months

dolce_vita

Top post jada

:T