Metro Bank New Account Nightmare. Any Advice?

Walda_Wild

Hi guys,

I need some advice on this strange situation. I applied for a basic Metro bank account in the central Bristol branch on the 30th of September with the premise of opening it on that same day. At least that is what was advertised when I popped over there to check which supporting papers I had to bring on the 30th. I was then told that their main office required to perform "extended checks" and to return next week. 

The next week and the week after I kept being told that " the checks" did not come through, but nobody called or emailed me in the meanwhile. By the time I came to the branch for the 5th time, although promised no one rang me up again, I was really frustrated. I asked the duty manager if they could clarify which exact checks were causing an issue since they confirmed both my credit rating and address history were fine. I also never had any problems openings bank accounts before. She then suggested that maybe it's something to do with me being born in Russia. That came across as casual discrimination, so I filed a complaint based on criminalising me by my place of birth and a complete lack of communication from the bank. This was on the 18th of October.

I was apprehensive about going to another bank to open an account whilst in the process of opening the one with Metro. Especially as it looks like holding dual citizenship may cause delays. Today Metro bank called telling me their "office" require at least another two weeks because of a high customer backlog. I thought they were joking but no, they offered me £25 compensation without any guarantee of an account. Seriously? 

What would you do going further: go to another bank and forget the nightmare, complain to Financial Ombudsman, or anything else?

Many thanks in advance.

subjecttocontract

What would I do ?
In your shoes, I would just accept that having dual Russian nationality whilst Russia is waging war in Europe is very likely to cause me issues anywhere. I realise it's a problem for you but it's hardly unexpected. Metro are usually very quick in opening accounts so, I assume they have a set procedure to follow. I wouldn't expect it to be any quicker elsewhere.

elsien

Also no-one is criminalising you. You have not been accused of doing anything illegal. 

If you’re going to complain, it’s generally best to keep it accurate. 

Walda_Wild

No one does? How about the message from Subjecttocontract? She or he suggests that because the country of my birth is at war, I by proxi should accept being criminalised/ discriminated against. Regardless of the fact that I am living and working in Western democracy for nearly 20 years and have nothing to do with either " the regime" or the war.

wmb194

Just try to open an account somewhere else. Metro's terrible anyway so it's no great loss.

Band7

Walda_Wild said:

No one does? How about the message from Subjecttocontract? She or he suggests that because the country of my birth is at war, I by proxi should accept being criminalised/ discriminated against. Regardless of the fact that I am living and working in Western democracy for nearly 20 years and have nothing to do with either " the regime" or the war.

@subjecttocontract didn't criminalise you or discriminate against you. They just stated a fact - anyone with a known Russian connection is bound to be subject to extra rigorous checks in the UK and other Western countries, for obvious reasons. Your dual citizenship is such a known connection. You will have your reasons for why you have not renounced your Russian citizenship, which means you will have to live with extra checks for some time to come, I'm afraid.

Walda_Wild

I was born in the USSR. The country doesn't even exist anymore. Or should all USSR-born citizens renounce theirs in order to open a bank account?

I was asking for advice on how to go about no communication on behalf of the bank, if it's common at all from that particular bank, practical steps, etc. Because if there was a case of fraud and they took a month to deal with, it would have been quite worrying.

I have never come across this "cancel culture" attitude in the UK, which has a very strong regard for " fair play", and it's actually quite disturbing.

The_Fat_Controller

Hardly "cancel culture" just due diligence on the part of the bank.

[Deleted User]

Walda_Wild said:

I was born in the USSR. The country doesn't even exist anymore. Or should all USSR-born citizens renounce theirs in order to open a bank account?

I was asking for advice on how to go about no communication on behalf of the bank, if it's common at all from that particular bank, practical steps, etc. Because if there was a case of fraud and they took a month to deal with, it would have been quite worrying.

I have never come across this "cancel culture" attitude in the UK, which has a very strong regard for " fair play", and it's actually quite disturbing.

The USSR was a union of countries (not unlike the UK) and all parts have now become Russia or their respective republics e.g. Estonia. So you will be a citizen of one of those independent countries. 

People aren't making a judgement on your dual nationality but simply being realistic that you may encounter problems due to sanctions regime currently in place.  

Walda_Wild

"People aren't making a judgement on your dual nationality but simply being realistic that you may encounter problems due to sanctions regime currently in place."

So you are another one of these people who believes that I should " put up or shut up" (decoding messages above) with non-existent customer service and accrue collective guilt for the actions of one madman in Ukraine?

Zuzi

While I feel for you, you need to look at the facts:

You are Russian.
Sanctions are in place concerning dealings with Russia / Russians.
Businesses will be penalised if they are found to be in breach of the sanctions.

Also, any bank can do their own risk assessment for new clients and based on this they can refuse your application (for many varied reasons). You are not entitled to the bank account.

I would look at accounts with another bank, if I were you.