Lloyds Bank Emails

x11x

Hi
Hope its ok to ask this here.....I have received an email from Lloyds that includes the words "We noticed your Direct Debit arrangement with VODAFONE LTD increased recently."   A previous email said "we notice you have not changed home insurance providers for many years".  These come in the guise of helping to reduce bills.
I am actually really taken aback that my account, or "our" accounts as it will not just be me, is being scrutinised as to where my money is going, how much I am paying and for how long.  Its is their business to prevent money laundering, I can undertand that, however I am very angry at my everyday transactions being gone over and commented on in an email.
There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection.  What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.
So, am I over-reacting or is Lloyds doing something they shouldn't?
Thankyou 

wmb194

x11x said:

Hi
Hope its ok to ask this here.....I have received an email from Lloyds that includes the words "We noticed your Direct Debit arrangement with VODAFONE LTD increased recently."   A previous email said "we notice you have not changed home insurance providers for many years".  These come in the guise of helping to reduce bills.
I am actually really taken aback that my account, or "our" accounts as it will not just be me, is being scrutinised as to where my money is going, how much I am paying and for how long.  Its is their business to prevent money laundering, I can undertand that, however I am very angry at my everyday transactions being gone over and commented on in an email.
There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection.  What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.
So, am I over-reacting or is Lloyds doing something they shouldn't?
Thankyou 

I think you're massively overreacting. I think these are called 'Smart Alerts' and I see there's an option to turn them off in my iPad app via 'Notifications' in the settings menu (it doesn't send me these sorts of alerts as emails but rather as notifications to my iPad and phone). Perhaps also check your marketing preferences.

These are the sorts of things that the banks' fraud alert systems do to try to spot things that are out of the ordinary so the bank will continue to scrutinise your transactions in the background.

EarthBoy

x11x said:

There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection.  What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.

There's a simple solution to that breach of your security: don't let anybody else have access to your email address.

bundoran

x11x said:

Hi
Hope its ok to ask this here.....I have received an email from Lloyds that includes the words "We noticed your Direct Debit arrangement with VODAFONE LTD increased recently."   A previous email said "we notice you have not changed home insurance providers for many years".  These come in the guise of helping to reduce bills.
I am actually really taken aback that my account, or "our" accounts as it will not just be me, is being scrutinised as to where my money is going, how much I am paying and for how long.  Its is their business to prevent money laundering, I can undertand that, however I am very angry at my everyday transactions being gone over and commented on in an email.
There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection.  What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.
So, am I over-reacting or is Lloyds doing something they shouldn't?
Thankyou 

Your anger is your own issue, and nothing to do with the bank.

There is no breach of security or data protection unless the bank is sending the emails to someone other than you.

Yes, you are over-reacting.

jonesMUFCforever

OP You can opt out of e-mails (as I have done) in internet banking (not sure about the app)

Dr_Crypto

Why would a colleague see your emails? 

bradders1983

Dr_Crypto said:

Why would a colleague see your emails? 

Maybe the OP has been foolish enough to give his bank his work email address.

dunstonh

There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection. 

It is your choice to show people your emails or not. As such, there is no breach of security or data protection.

 What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.

Again, it would be your choice to show someone else.

So, am I over-reacting or is Lloyds doing something they shouldn't?

Massively overreacting.   

PRAISETHESUN

I agree that you're over-reacting a bit. The alerts can easily be turned off in the app/online banking. Any "breach of privacy" will not be an issue as if others see the alerts/emails, it's because you failed to secure your device/email account. Lloyds only provide this info in line with the contact details/preferences you provide them with so you can't hold them responsible for what you subsequently do with it after they provide it to you.

I don't mind the alerts myself as they help me to spot anything out of the ordinary and keep track of SOs/DDs being paid in/out on time - it's not like the banks don't hang onto that data anyway even if you opt out of the alerts...

Don80

I think you are over reacting.  These are automated, and are no more scrutinised than generating your statement.  I find them very helpful.  I was with Virgin Media until earlier this year and they messed up my bill almost every month, and with several "corrected" bills it was hard to trust what was actually going to come out of my account.  I get these notifications on my phone, so it was good to get that without having to remember to log in and check.  These alerts also helped a family member who had her account hacked, she knew immediately that something was wrong.
The bank already know where your money is going as you have a DD/SO set up, they're not gaining new information, just telling you what's happening with your account.
As for privacy - it's our responsibility to ensure that when you access your account, you keep your information safe and secure.  If you're worried about colleagues then don't check at work (and don't use a work computer).  The other thing is that these alerts are optional, so you can switch them off.  As for husbands and wives, as you say each to their own, but if someone has something to hide... lol

nick74

x11x said:

Hi
Hope its ok to ask this here.....I have received an email from Lloyds that includes the words "We noticed your Direct Debit arrangement with VODAFONE LTD increased recently."   A previous email said "we notice you have not changed home insurance providers for many years".  These come in the guise of helping to reduce bills.
I am actually really taken aback that my account, or "our" accounts as it will not just be me, is being scrutinised as to where my money is going, how much I am paying and for how long.  Its is their business to prevent money laundering, I can undertand that, however I am very angry at my everyday transactions being gone over and commented on in an email.
There is also the privacy issue where someone may see the email, wife/colleague etc , re increasing my payment to vodafone...and that is surely a breach of my security and data protection.  What if I had a direct debit with a !!!!!! site (I dont btw but each to their own) and that D/D arrangement increased and that was mentioned in an email and accidently seen by others.
So, am I over-reacting or is Lloyds doing something they shouldn't?
Thankyou 

Is it possible to subscribe to !!!!!! sites by direct debit? (asking for a friend..)
Seriously though, if someone had access to your emails they would already see what sites you had subscribed to, and probably who your mobile provider was, who your insurance renewal was with etc wouldn't they?