Bank has closed my current account

Catplan

MacSue said:

The bank has restored the account fully and is offering me £200 compensation. Do you think that is a good amount and I let it go?

"technical error"!

Have you lost out financially as a result?

It seems very stressful regardless, I got £60 recently for a far more trivial technical error.

flaneurs_lobster

Are offers of compensation from banks et al ever negotiable? Has anyone here ever haggled them up or is the next step always to make a formal complaint if you want more cash?

GeoffTF

I am very glad to hear that MacSue's account has been restored. It must have been a very trying experience. £200 is what you get for transferring a current account nowadays. £200 compensation does not look generous to me, even assuming that there has been no financial loss.

MacSue

flaneurs_lobster said:

Are offers of compensation from banks et al ever negotiable? Has anyone here ever haggled them up or is the next step always to make a formal complaint if you want more cash?

I did say that I thought it wasn't enough but she said that that was the most she could offer so no, I couldn't haggle it up. 

MacSue

GeoffTF said:

I am very glad to hear that MacSue's account has been restored. It must have been a very trying experience. £200 is what you get for transferring a current account nowadays. £200 compensation does not look generous to me, even assuming that there has been no financial loss.

Yes, I was thinking to accept the £200 and then earn another £200 switching! Someone earlier said they thought having a longstanding account is good, but how important is that I wonder? 

I'm very glad the account is back too! It has been so stressful! I feel like I lost a week of my life! And now I'm left having moved my pension payment to another bank and so my Santander has all my DDs coming out and no income!!! It's still good that it's sorted though. Thanks

eskbanker

MacSue said:
Someone earlier said they thought having a longstanding account is good, but how important is that I wonder?

It's generally considered to be beneficial in terms of perceptions of your credit status but as with anything else to do with obtaining credit, it's not particularly transparent.  No harm in pushing Santander to flag the original opening date to the credit agencies as part of their reparations, but to be honest a 50 year old account was unlikely to appear on your credit files anyway, as it would have predated the reporting that happens now.

MacSue said:

I'm very glad the account is back too! It has been so stressful! I feel like I lost a week of my life! And now I'm left having moved my pension payment to another bank and so my Santander has all my DDs coming out and no income!!!

If you're hoping to negotiate a better offer from Santander then it would be worth trying to quantify the financial impact and also emphasising any inconvenience arising from DDs not being taken correctly, such as the one to your landlord.

friolento

Have you checked your credit files? Are there any late / missed payments? If yes, I would ask Santander to correct these.

Also check whether they have given you a CIFAS marker.

Once that is cleared, I would be cheaky and ask for £400, and be prepared to settle for £300.

MacSue

eskbanker said:

 to be honest a 50 year old account was unlikely to appear on your credit files anyway, as it would have predated the reporting that happens now.

The credit report does say the date of opening the account surprisingly! - 12/02/1973!

eskbanker

MacSue said:

eskbanker said:

 to be honest a 50 year old account was unlikely to appear on your credit files anyway, as it would have predated the reporting that happens now.

The credit report does say the date of opening the account surprisingly! - 12/02/1973!

Fair enough, I stand corrected!  On reflection, I presume that it will have gone through various iterations over the years, as I don't believe that Santander was present in the UK market fifty years ago, so presumably came under their banner via one or more of the institutions that they acquired over that time, which may have resulted in it being notified to the CRAs?

MacSue

lcooper said:

Have you checked your credit files? Are there any late / missed payments? If yes, I would ask Santander to correct these.

Also check whether they have given you a CIFAS marker.

Once that is cleared, I would be cheaky and ask for £400, and be prepared to settle for £300.

I have but the latest reading on Experian (via MSE's Credit Club) was before the account was closed and I can't have another till 1/09/23. There are no CIFAS markers either. I don't think there will be anything like that as there were no failed payments as I got onto them quickly and paid urgent ones by credit card. I have already asked for more and been told that's the maximum. I've been reading case studies on the Financial Ombudsman site and I feel I'm borderline between the £100-300 compensation and the up to £750! I think, though, that the hassle of collecting proof of the inconvenience and stress and then waiting months for the answer means I will go back and accept the £200. It's been a ride! 

Thanks for your encouragement though!