Santander free forever bank account changes

Smurrfmo

Lot of misinformation in this thread.  To repeat the fundamental point that the 2015 terms would need the explicit agreement of the customer to override the "free business banking forever" core term.  No customer has given their agreement.  This is what a court would likely decide, I say likely as anybody guaranteeing the outcome of litigation is a fool.  The FOS can also rule on the fairness of the process and an underhand change of terms which sought to remove a core term is obviously unfair.   

Section62

eskbanker said:

I think it may have been mentioned earlier on in the thread but the FCA view is that a complaint is "any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction" so any attempt by Santander to differentiate some would appear to be contrary to this anyway:

https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/glossary/G197.html

It was, and it is.

The point being that a complaint about Santander not handling a complaint as such (apparently in breach of FCA rules) should be a mic drop one.  So if GeoffTF's predictions come true and FOS don't uphold complaints about the new charges, then someone who was able to complain about their complaint being stonewalled into the 'dissatisfaction' pile potentially has a consolation 'win' over the way the complaint itself was handled.  If so, an award by FOS might cover the first few months of charges.

eskbanker

Section62 said:

The point being that a complaint about Santander not handling a complaint as such (apparently in breach of FCA rules) should be a mic drop one.  So if GeoffTF's predictions come true and FOS don't uphold complaints about the new charges, then someone who was able to complain about their complaint being stonewalled into the 'dissatisfaction' pile potentially has a consolation 'win' over the way the complaint itself was handled.  If so, an award by FOS might cover the first few months of charges.

Possibly, but FOS has form for rejecting complaints about complaint handling as being out of scope, in that complaint handling isn't a defined regulated activity (despite being mandated by the regulator!).

GeoffTF

Section62 said:

So if GeoffTF's predictions come true...

I did not go so far as to make a prediction. An expectation was more than bold enough.

The_Maluka

Dear Santander,

With reference to your letter of 2 July 2025 concerning account ending ####

The principle of relativity states, “The laws of physics are invariant in all inertial frames of reference”.  Since to a first approximation Santander in Sunderland and my company in Kent are in the same inertial frame of reference, time passes at the same rate at both locations.  Therefore, I find it strange that you predict the end of time in Sunderland, presumably at midnight on 30 September for that is the instant at which, according to Santander, “forever” ends.  As far as I am aware, there is no such prediction for Kent.  Please explain your reasoning with the associated mathematical proof?

ElDickster

eskbanker said:

Section62 said:

sdd56 said:

I made my complaint by telephone on the 24th of July, and got a reference number. But I've heard nothing from them since then. Should I expect some sort of response from them, or in the absence of that can I open a case at FOS 8 weeks after the complaint date?

Are you sure it was logged as a 'complaint' rather than a 'dissatisfaction'?  Did you explicitly state you wanted to make a complaint?

Do they issue reference numbers for expressions of dissatisfaction?

Easiest way to validate if it's being treated as a complaint will be to phone again, quoting the number....

Yes, they do give reference numbers for Dissatisfaction Cases. It's not the same as a Complaint, as they ignore Dissatisfaction Cases. They didn't point this out to me until I chased it up, but I'd suggest you ring them up and stress you want it logged as a Complaint and investigated properly. And get a Complaint reference number!

MeteredOut

ElDickster said:

eskbanker said:

Section62 said:

sdd56 said:

I made my complaint by telephone on the 24th of July, and got a reference number. But I've heard nothing from them since then. Should I expect some sort of response from them, or in the absence of that can I open a case at FOS 8 weeks after the complaint date?

Are you sure it was logged as a 'complaint' rather than a 'dissatisfaction'?  Did you explicitly state you wanted to make a complaint?

Do they issue reference numbers for expressions of dissatisfaction?

Easiest way to validate if it's being treated as a complaint will be to phone again, quoting the number....

Yes, they do give reference numbers for Dissatisfaction Cases. It's not the same as a Complaint, as they ignore Dissatisfaction Cases. They didn't point this out to me until I chased it up, but I'd suggest you ring them up and stress you want it logged as a Complaint and investigated properly. And get a Complaint reference number!

And then raise another complaint that your complaint was raised as a dissatisfaction.

The_Maluka

Dear Santander,

With reference to your letter of 2 July 2025 concerning account ending ~~~~.

HG Wells, who once lived in Sevenoaks where my company is based, in his fictional book ‘The Time Machine’ conceived a machine which could travel many millennia into the future, a machine which did not reach the end of time.  Now it seems that Santander has contrived to put an end to time as we know it by redefining ‘Forever'.  Surely both these constructs are just whimsical figments of imagination, for I am sure that Santander would not risk a class action for reneging on an advertised promise, albeit a promise made a long time ago?

GingerTim

The_Maluka said:

Dear Santander,

With reference to your letter of 2 July 2025 concerning account ending ~~~~.

HG Wells, who once lived in Sevenoaks where my company is based, in his fictional book ‘The Time Machine’ conceived a machine which could travel many millennia into the future, a machine which did not reach the end of time.  Now it seems that Santander has contrived to put an end to time as we know it by redefining ‘Forever'.  Surely both these constructs are just whimsical figments of imagination, for I am sure that Santander would not risk a class action for reneging on an advertised promise, albeit a promise made a long time ago?

Without wishing to be Johnny McPedant, Santander are not risking a class action because there is no such thing as a class action in English law, that's a US thing.

In English law there are group claims but they're not quite the same thing. If you are going to make claims based on the law it helps to get things right.

The_Maluka

GingerTim Right or wrong in being pernickety you have missed the irony in my comment.