NatWest won't open a new account without an email address

Razoo

!!! wrote: »

Maybe the banks are just doing their jobs?

Maybe so, if their job is to discriminate against potential customers who don't have an email account.

Personally I wouldn’t want you as a customer were you to refer to their staff in such manners

Don't worry yourself GD - personally I wouldn't bank with you if that's your grasp of grammar

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Razoo

Herbalus

Razoo wrote: »

Don't worry yourself GD - personally I wouldn't bank with you if that's your grasp of grammar

You refer to workers as drones, accuse banks of being discriminatory, and point out mistakes in people's grammar (even with the wink).

Perhaps that's why nobody has deigned to answer your question.

For information, access to the internet is not a protected characteristic like age or gender, so refusing to provide an account or service because of a lack of internet service is not unlawful. It may be unreasonable, but not illegal.

EarthBoy

Razoo wrote: »

My friend no longer drives and is basically housebound, so she must have telephone banking.
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Razoo

If telephone banking is a priority, she will probably find First Direct the best option as telephone banking is what they excel at.

Katiehound

Unfortunately these days very many institutions (think Govt, local council etc) assume that everyone has internet access so it is so much easier to pay road tax / TV licence / green waste service etc.........so not surprising that banks are coming up with the same idea.
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Vortigern

BoGoF wrote: »

Calling people who are just doing their job drones is uncalled for.

Not only uncalled for but totally wrong.

The correct term is Jobsworth.

Emily_Joy

Razoo wrote: »

Maybe so, if their job is to discriminate against potential customers who don't have an email account.

Your friend may or may not prefer to stay loyal to NatWest but NatWest doesn't have to accept her as a customer. Probably she might be better off with a local building society which is still doing things "the old way" and uses passbooks.

Tom99

I am with Halifax, what is funny is that Halifax do not have an email address. You cannot email Halifax.

18cc

To answer your specific question:
1. I have opened accounts with most of the well-known banks over the past couple of years (to get switching bonuses etc) and all required an email address

2. that said, once the account was opened, and I sent marketing preferences to 'no contact by email', I have received no emails!

Probably the simplest thing is to create an email address for her.

Razoo

Vortigern wrote: »

The correct term is Jobsworth.

Or possibly 'automaton'.
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Razoo

Razoo

Emily_Joy wrote: »

Your friend may or may not prefer to stay loyal to NatWest but NatWest doesn't have to accept her as a customer.

True, but as I stated in my originating post, my friend has a current account with NatWest that she has held for the past 50-years. Consequently she already is a NatWest customer, unless or until NatWest choose to close her current account because she doesn't have an email address.

Probably she might be better off with a local building society which is still doing things "the old way" and uses passbooks.

My friend is housebound and needs telephone banking.
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Razoo