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07-Sep-2012 10:16

Wow - the power of collective complaints..

Wow - the power of collective complaints...

Well done all of you.

Santander has staged an about-turn and will no longer withdraw its "free banking forever" account from 230,000 small business customers.

The original decision, first revealed in late July, upset some customers who thought the bank was reneging on an unbreakable promise to them.

They would have had to pay either £7.50 or £12.50 a month for a business bank account that was previously free.

Santander had previously said it was within its right to change the account.

But less than two months after first announcing the change, it has reversed its policy.

"After listening to feedback from our existing customers, a small number of whom do not feel their businesses would benefit from these changes, we will be retaining the fee-free option for existing customers," a spokesman said.
'Wonderful news'

A letter will be sent next week to the customers telling them of the change.

One factor that may have weighed on the bank's mind is that every one of the affected customers could have taken their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

This would have cost the bank £500 each time in FOS administration fees and could, theoretically, have landed it with a bill of £115m if every customer had taken this route.

(Source BBC website)

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Comments
Contributed by Adrian Higgs on 07-Sep-2012 12:19
Almost everything underlying the banking system seems to be cr*p...
Contributed by Jeremy Dent on 07-Sep-2012 12:19
An opportunity for Virgin Money, The Co-operative Bank and Nationwide.
Contributed by Nikki Pilkington on 07-Sep-2012 10:34
nice one!
Contributed by Norman Feiner on 07-Sep-2012 10:33
I have a biz Santander account for one of my companies and only opened it because of the 'free banking for life' offer.

Only downside on the account is that credit balances on current and ‘’high interest deposit’ (an oxymoron if ever there was…) accounts is pitiful.

They make far more money on the cr*p interest rates than they would on charging for the accounts.

Nope – they dropped a clanger with this one; further destroying their ‘name’. They are in desperate need of a decent PR outfit.
Contributed by Jeremy Dent on 07-Sep-2012 10:33
I just want honest, transparent pricing, something that seems further away than ever.
Contributed by Norman Feiner on 07-Sep-2012 10:33
Actually I disagree. If they begin to levy other charges, clients will act accordingly and move accounts.
Contributed by Jeremy Dent on 07-Sep-2012 10:32
Understand that and it's to be applauded but the underlying logic is cr*p.
Contributed by Norman Feiner on 07-Sep-2012 10:32
Possibly Jeremy , but at least is has shown a large institution that it cannot simply ride roughshod over the complaints of large numbers of customers - their lifeblood and raison d’être - and cannot simply 'change' or overturn promises made on a product & service.
Contributed by Jeremy Dent on 07-Sep-2012 10:32
It's an illusory gesture, nevertheless. We'll pay in a less transparent way and that's a backward move IMHO.
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