Tweet
How would you feel if you discovered your bank had secretly written something unflattering about you on its files? Perhaps a note on your account that indicates you are a tricky customer or points out that, because of your profession, you need to be handled carefully?
By sheer chance, Neil Bateman found out that internet bank Smile had put a note on his file that he feels marks him out as a troublemaker - and all because he had the temerity to challenge a £30 bank charge.
Bateman was hit with the charge after he accidentally went overdrawn a few weeks ago. He asked Smile - part of the Co-operative Bank - to waive the fee, and ended up having a conversation with someone in its call centre about the legality of bank charges. He argued that such fees are unlawful and unfair, referred to the long-running official investigation into these and made clear he had a legal background.
The bank agreed to waive the charge and Bateman, who is a welfare rights specialist, thought no more of it. Then, earlier this month, he went to his local Co-op bank branch in Ipswich, Suffolk, to open an account for his son. When a member of staff called up his details, Bateman could see the screen. Underneath his name and address, he saw a note saying: "CUST HAS LEGAL BACKGROUND + MAY TRY 2 ENGAGE IN LEGAL CONVO [conversation]."
"What's that?" he asked. The woman in the bank told him they did not know anything about it. He later rang Smile and asked for the wording of the note to be read out to him, which was agreed to.
"I'm livid about it," says Bateman. "It's a huge breach of trust between the bank and its customers. Subjective comments [such as this] amount to an abuse of power." He says the bank argued that the note would enhance the customer service, but he feels it means that if anyone displays legal knowledge about bank charges, Smile will "mark your card" in this way.
"If an ethical bank like the Co-op do this, what would the less scrupulous ones do? The way that data is collected and stored these days means you don't know what's said about you, and here is an example of misuse."
After Bateman complained, Smile was quick to get in touch to reassure him it had deleted the offending note and was offering him a payment of £15. On the face of it, that would appear to suggest the bank was not completely comfortable with what it had done.
"I apologise once again if you feel that as a result of the note on your account, you may be treated any differently," Bateman was told in an email. "I can assure that this was not the intention. Notes are applied to customers' accounts to assist our customer advisers with information that may be relevant for any future dealings to ensure an appropriate level of service is given."
A bank spokesman told Guardian Money that with every transaction of that nature, comments are put on the file - for example, when it has waived a charge or carried out an instruction requested by the customer. "It was a heads-up for any other handler that may receive correspondence from Mr Bateman in future. There is no way this has been put on as a warning whatsoever."
The spokesman said that the bank is dealing with a number of customers who are looking for repayment of charges over a number of years. He adds: "Because he has raised this as a service level issue, we have given him a £15 service level agreement refund."
Bateman does not feel £15 is sufficient and believes it should be £150. He says he would donate this to Liberty, the civil liberties and human rights organisation .
What can or can't banks say about us? The British Bankers Association says there are no guidelines or industry standards in this area. "It's down to individual banks as to what records they hold on their customers," adds a spokesman.
However, it is clear that if they are too rude about someone, and these remarks get back to the person concerned, the bank (or any other organisation) runs the risk of being shamed in the media. Occasionally you see such stories. It was reported this week that some Tesco workers may face disciplinary action for writing abusive messages about customers on Facebook, accusing them of being "morons" and "idiots".
One question remains: what on earth will be written on Bateman's Smile file after the bank's bosses have clocked this article?
r.jones@guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
More...
