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)
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.
