Santander free forever bank account changes

Section62

Lightning360 said:

And yet they've done it before and haven't collapsed with the weight of the complaints. Whether you like it or not, most people won't care about this. It won't matter if you think trust in banks is low. You all stayed with them despite them trying this before. You clearly didn't care enough to leave.

Doesn't matter whether "most people" care or not.  What matters is whether enough of the right people care.

In case you missed it, Santander backtracked in 2012.  Why would people have left Santander's free banking after they decided to drop the charging proposals?  Makes no sense.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2012/09/santander-u-turn-saves-free-business-banking/

Lightning360

Section62 said:

Lightning360 said:

And yet they've done it before and haven't collapsed with the weight of the complaints. Whether you like it or not, most people won't care about this. It won't matter if you think trust in banks is low. You all stayed with them despite them trying this before. You clearly didn't care enough to leave.

Doesn't matter whether "most people" care or not.  What matters is whether enough of the right people care.

In case you missed it, Santander backtracked in 2012.  Why would people have left Santander's free banking after they decided to drop the charging proposals?  Makes no sense.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2012/09/santander-u-turn-saves-free-business-banking/

Some people are acting as if this is going to have a massive impact on their reputation. It won't. People didn't care in 2012 and they won't care now. 

gt94sss2

GW19 said:

Out of interest I noted that HSBC (no affiliation) now offer their Business Account as free of all charges and suspect that might be in response to the Santander move. 

HSBC announced the end of monthly fees to their small business accounts over a month ago - so it predates Santander's attempt to introduce fees..

solidpro

I think those saying 'most people don't care' is counterproductive and pointless. I don't care about your interest rate at your bank. I don't care what Hotpoint offered as a sales incentive because I didn't buy hotpoint. But still here is a forum where people are helping on things they're not directly involved in.

Section62

Lightning360 said:

Section62 said:

Lightning360 said:

And yet they've done it before and haven't collapsed with the weight of the complaints. Whether you like it or not, most people won't care about this. It won't matter if you think trust in banks is low. You all stayed with them despite them trying this before. You clearly didn't care enough to leave.

Doesn't matter whether "most people" care or not.  What matters is whether enough of the right people care.

In case you missed it, Santander backtracked in 2012.  Why would people have left Santander's free banking after they decided to drop the charging proposals?  Makes no sense.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2012/09/santander-u-turn-saves-free-business-banking/

Some people are acting as if this is going to have a massive impact on their reputation. It won't. People didn't care in 2012 and they won't care now. 

It depends entirely on what happens next.  If someone (or a group of people) took Santander to court and Santander lost then the impact would be significantly greater than if Santander quietly backtracks again.

Are there some particular examples of people "acting as if this is going to have a massive impact on their reputation" you have in mind?  I don't remember reading any comments like that, although I suppose "massive" can mean different things to different people.

GW19

gt94sss2 said:

GW19 said:

Out of interest I noted that HSBC (no affiliation) now offer their Business Account as free of all charges and suspect that might be in response to the Santander move. 

HSBC announced the end of monthly fees to their small business accounts over a month ago - so it predates Santander's attempt to introduce fees..

Ah, fair enough then.

sdd56

I managed to get through on the phone today (second time of trying), and got a case number with no problem.

Just a reminder in case some are not aware - if you are a sole trader, it's not essential to have a separate business account, you can use a personal account. HMRC don't care as long as you keep track of all your incomings and outgoings. 

Section62

sdd56 said:

...

Just a reminder in case some are not aware - if you are a sole trader, it's not essential to have a separate business account, you can use a personal account. HMRC don't care as long as you keep track of all your incomings and outgoings. 

Many of the banks do care though - if they see business-like activity on a personal account where this is prohibited by their terms and conditions then they may close the account down.  And many banks do prohibit business use of personal accounts.

PyroJunky1

This morning, I had a call back from Santander to say that my complaint had been looked into and not upheld as there is no case to answer. I have now requested their formal ruling re my complaint, in writing as I will be taking it to the FOS

LadyJaz

PyroJunky1 said:

This morning, I had a call back from Santander to say that my complaint had been looked into and not upheld as there is no case to answer. I have now requested their formal ruling re my complaint, in writing as I will be taking it to the FOS

I too have now had a formal response from Santander, reiterating their commitment to the charges, so I am now preparing my case for the FOS.