“Took out holiday insurance for new zealand
Had my holiday disrupted due to weather unable to land in new zaealand had to stay in brisbane for 4 days.
Extra cost for hotels etc was over £2000
All l recieved from insurance company was £240.
They did not cover my loss, only covered hours lost.”
“Locked out of account with no warning and told the only way to rectify is to call them. Called them but they wouldn’t talk to me as they told me my date of birth was not the same as that on my account.
Absolutely mystifying considering I supplied a passport etc to open the account and I know the date I was born. This raises major concerns around whether they are complying with their anti money-laundering obligations as if they are not checking the detail of the ID’s provided when opening accounts then how are they verifying and transcribing the personal data contained therein? Where has the incorrect DOB come from? How was this verified by the bank’s internal processes and why has it not been simply checked and rectified against the existing data they already hold? What else have they got wrong and what could be the consequences? If they can’t get a DOB correct from simple documentation provided in support of opening an account, what on Earth are they capable of getting wrong?
And not only this, but their shoddy internal practices do nothing to audit, verify or check they have appropriately complied with their legal obligations in transcribing/verifying the information provided. This is somehow left to the customer to do as a “third party that has failed security” by giving the correct information which they are unwilling to verify against their info.
Had me questioning my sanity then their customer service constantly slopey shouldered me to various other departments (on hold for over an hour). Was told that they would not speak to me about anything (account, SAR, making a complaint, rectifying the issue with appropriate ID (passport I had to hand)) and that I should take time off to go to a branch to try and resolve it there.
I have huge concerns over my personal data and how it is handled at Santander. The accuracy of the data is obviously incorrect and I have contacted the Financial Ombudsman and the ICO about the issue.
Santander said that I was asking questions a fraudster would though I didn’t request absolutely any account information (I provided them all that on the phone (Including personal ID numbers, security numbers, pins) but again to no avail). I queried where I had agreed that a DOB (incorrect or otherwise on their system) was to be used as an access authorization given all of the other information I had to hand. I cannot understand how the DOB can possibly differ from the documentation I originally provided in setting up the account or why that data couldn’t be checked.
They refused to check the account info against the ID used to set up the account for reasons unknown. Also refused to provide names of who I was speaking to or to take what I was saying seriously.
I was only told that if I was locked out of the account (which I have never withdrawn from so it holds a very large sum of money) then I had either:
> Entered the pin / passcode incorrectly three times (I have never used a passcode and only use a fingerprint for the app); or
> A very large sum of money had been withdrawn from the account.
.. I cannot ensure that there has been no fraudulent activity on the account because I have no way of accessing it but they have strongly suggested that my life savings may be gone.
Makes for a fun day off work tomorrow trying to sort out their absolutely abysmal mistakes. They also said that it was unlikely that the branch will be able to resolve this kind of issue tomorrow!
This is in a large ISA and this kind of ineptitude could potentially cost you a house!
Totally dreadful.
I cannot understand how banks can legally lock you out of your account without any form of communication (even a letter to the account holder or an email explaining that a password reset or similar is required). Instead I’m in the situation where I don’t know if I have lost all the money I own and I have had absolutely no help from Santander.
Once resolved I will be closing this account.
BEWARE.”
