As someone who helped launch FD in 1989 and worked in Customer Services for 15 years, I was always very proud of the standard of Customer Services the Bank achieved and maintained. Yesterday all that changed as I needed to speak to the Visa team about a transaction that had appeared on my account even though the order in question had been cancelled within I hour of being placed. I was appalled at the patronising, condescending and domineering way the people I spoke to spoke to me. They were all as thick as two short planks but thought they knew it all. They told me that unless I could provide proof that the order had been cancelled, they wouldn’t refund the money. As the order had been cancelled verbally I had no proof and it seems that the fact that I am a totally honest person of impeccable character with a long history of honest dealing, that was not good enough for them, my word carried no weight at all. I told them to cancel the DD so the payment couldn’t be taken and cancelled the card. The stupid woman said in a really clever tone of voice that leaving the amount unpaid would damage my credit rating which I know to be untrue. Today I rang the retailer and asked them if they would issue a refund or whatever it is they do when an order is cancelled and they immediately agreed to do so. Had I been advised to do that when I first rang to stop the payment, I could have saved myself all the hassle but no one ever suggested doing it. It is such a shame to see such a rapid decline in standards which can only be due to poor recruitment and/or poor training. It is to be hoped that the company soon realises that they have a massive problem in these areas and even their most loyal customers are getting fed up of being insulted and treated like nuisances. The current policy on Visa refunds is actually benefitting the scammers and fraudsters who plague us daily and FD customers face an uphill struggle in trying to get their money back without the benefit of having the Bank working for them as oppose to working against them. It’s a scandal that needs resolving quickly.