A frugal life is an easy life!

Santander complaints staff are making false accounts of customer calls which escalate to a formal complaint, just in case the complaint is referred to the financial ombudsman.

Here's what santander claim was discussed;

* You were unhappy with bank charges incurred
* You stated that you had informed us not to let any direct debit to process if funds weren't available in your account
* You were unhappy that santander had paid a direct debit which caused you to go overdrawn and incur further fees
* You feel that by doing this, santander have acted illegally and fraudulently.

Some details missing so far, here's santander's reply;

What we have done to fix the issue.

- As discussed, customers have a responsibility to manage their account and ensure funds are available when bills are due

* What was actually asked was why santander had failed to operate the account to the customer's instruction (15 months earlier), whereby santander were told NOT to pay any direct debit or standing order, if no funds were available in the account?
Santander staff replied that "our system cannot follow this instruction, it is not possible"

Santander staff looked back to previous charges applied to the account, over a year earlier, could find no record of the customer's instruction not to pay direct debits if no funds in the account! (So now there is evidence that santander staff are not recording calls accurately, which is an offence under the Data Protection Act)
* So how can the customer manage their account if santander are ignoring the customer's express wishes?
No answer from santander staff.
* Why then did santander have two charges, one for "non payment of direct debit when no funds were in account" and another for "paying a direct debit when no funds were in account"?
Santander staff claimed that "this was because the system will pay some direct debits and not others. For example, if a direct debit comes in for £800 and no funds are in the account then the system won't pay it."
* So what is the cut off limit for paying direct debits, ie, how much does the direct debit have to be before it becomes a non payment of a direct debit charge?
Santander staff "Don't know"

I then pointed out, that the santander "system" is set up to manipulate bank accounts to extract maximum profit in charges.
Instead of the "non payment of a direct debit due to no funds in the account" charge, santander had instead paid a direct debit, resulting in a charge, taken the account into "unauthorised overdraft" incurring another charge then increased the daily amount charged for "interest" from £1 per day to £6 per day.
Manipulation for financial or personal gain has a simple term, fraud!

Santander staff said, "No it's not fraud."

* It's not "the system" doing this, it is santander. Santander set up and control/run their own system, they are responsible for their own system and how it operates.
If santander's "system" is manipulating accounts for financial gain, then fraud is carried out by santander. It matters not whether the manipulation of accounts is being done by an individual or santander's "system" the outcome is the same, fraud!

Not one word of this has been recorded or put into the final complaints response by santander staff.

- As discussed, customers have up until 4pm on the day the direct debit processes, to pay funds in to the account.
* No idea where this comes from as it wasn't discussed or stated in the entire conversation.

- I am unable to waive these fees as you have had a number of charge refunds in the past (read: one charge refund over 15 months earlier) however I advised you how to avoid charges in the future.
* Advising me to "make sure funds are in the account before a direct debit goes out" is hardly advice on how to avoid charges is it!
Telling a customer "santander don't have the facility to not pay direct debits at customer's instruction" when under the lenders code, santander actually do have the facility and have to honour their request, just makes santander look completely foolish.

One final insult, I spoke with a member of santander accounts staff, who then passed it on to their team manager.
At the end of the conversation I was asked, "Would you like me to report this as an official complaint?"
What's the use? I asked, ok then go ahead.

The letter sent out comes from santander's "complaints resolution team" which refers to the team leader now as a complaints resolution team, so santander are cutting more corners to speed up complaints process improve their response times for the Financial Conduct Authority audits.

Utterly odious are santander, avoid them if at all possible.