Harassment for not switching to online banking

Fighter1986

I'm not at all surprised this was NatWest. They seem to have a systemically churlish attitude unbecoming of a bank.

I'd certainly file a formal complaint although this is unlikely to change their stance; for that I'd up sticks and leave.

Halifax seem to have a more welcoming in-branch approach. 

washingclip5

 It could be interpreted that the staff were overly harsh with the choice of lexis when conversing with you. However, you can also exercise your freedom of speech and not need to hide behind complaints or litigation and simply tell them your opinion.

Thrugelmir

perfect10 said:

 I found the staff member rude today it was very  much ‘in your face’ pressure which I didn’t need, I just wanted to finish my business and leave. I now wonder if the branch is earmarked for closure soon?

After months of dealing with ignorant members of the general public. Understandable if customer facing staff are becoming frayed at the edges. Stress levels must be high. As with many other people, i.e. supermarket workers , who simply wish to keep themselves safe while earning a living. 

jonesMUFCforever

''I dont want the branch to close and if no one uses it then there is no way it will stay open and yes the staff will be out of work.''

Believe me your mum and dad visiting the branch to do day to day transactions will not keep your branch open.
Only if the branch is profitable will it stay open - this is done by customers taking out mortgages, loans, credit cards ,insurance and profitable current accounts (not Basic) etc.
Even if your family is super rich and you threaten to transfer your accounts it would make no difference - it's sales sales sales.

jbuchanangb

You are absolutely right to be cautious. It is entirely possible that were you, as the Attorney, to enrol your parents' account in online banking you might find that the bank branch staff would not let your father or mother perform transactions at the branch. There is a difference between an Enduring POA and a Lasting POA. In the former case, as soon as the Attorney takes charge the Donors are excluded, but with the latter the Donor can instruct his/her Attorney on actions to take. 
When my sister and I were joint Attorneys for my father, who had stipulated "joint" in the LPOA, his bank were fairly unhelpful. They did not have a method to permit joint (two-signature) access to their online system for personal accounts, and were repeatedly grumbling about things when we went together in person to conduct business.

colsten

There is one bricks & mortar company which offers, amongst other accounts, an online - only account. That is Nationwide, not Natwest.

It’s complete nonsense to suggest that people would not be allowed to transact in a Natwest Branch if their account has online access. OP has specifically been told by Natwest that online access for him/her would not affect the parents. 

born_again

perfect10 said:

Thanks for responses. It is my parents who do not want the online banking on their account at all so I am not in a position to dispute this, they very much manage their own finances. I support their choice on this.Step back a bit and think.

Please take a step back and think about your situation.
You having online for access to their account when you have POA is a major plus point for keeping a eye on their account. As you may not always be in a position to visit a branch or even visit them, should they need cash.
While it is their decision not to have online facilities, it should not affect your decision & you are not undermining their choice either.
Otherwise what is the point of you having POA? Which is about protecting their accounts as it is not felt that they are able to manage them, themselves.

As to branch staff asking all the time it is something they get told to ask people, not anything about branch being shut down. People having the ability to check accounts at any time of day or night is a major security plus.

Tokmon

brianposter said:

Bank branches are not needed until something goes wrong - which happens quite frequently.

eg;   https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6231440/debit-card-frozen#latest

There is no reason that a bank can't verify someone's identity online and many banks do this quite effectively currently. So it certainly is possible for all banks to operate without branches they just don't have all the technology in place yet.

pafpcg

perfect10 said:

It is my parents who do not want the online banking on their account at all so I am not in a position to dispute this, they very much manage their own finances. I support their choice on this.
.................

I understand your parents' concern about enabling any online access to their bank account - it could be an opportunity for some malicious person to defraud them.  You would have to convince them that complex random passwords and codes would be used, changed regularly and held securely.

My late mother-in-law had this attitude but she changed her mind after we pointed out that banks are keen to switch customers to online access and, by not setting-up online access herself, she would still be vulnerable to a faudster setting-up access without her knowledge - once the banks make the facility for online access available to anyone, then everyone is at risk!

brianposter

Tokmon said:

brianposter said:

Bank branches are not needed until something goes wrong - which happens quite frequently.

eg;   https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6231440/debit-card-frozen#latest

There is no reason that a bank can't verify someone's identity online and many banks do this quite effectively currently. So it certainly is possible for all banks to operate without branches they just don't have all the technology in place yet.

And when something really goes wrong are they still going to be happy with online verification ?