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Spurious 'security' panic at Santander will take several months to sort out
On 16 May, Santander froze my current account, but decided not to tell me for more than a month. When I finally received notification, it said it was concerned that security had become compromised, and that I should contact the bank urgently. The letter also said that my direct debits would be paid as normal, despite the account being frozen.
In the weeks before Santander wrote to me, I had already made numerous frantic attempts to contact them. I had telephoned, emailed, raised a complaint at the end of May, sent secure messages, and called into my branch on six occasions. My salary was being paid into the account but I wasn't being allowed to take any money out. In spite of Santander saying direct debits would be paid, they had cancelled them all.
I am finally beginning to sort things out, but it looks as though it will be several months before I will be able to operate the account as normal. It has been time-consuming and emotionally draining. It has been impossible to find anyone in Santander willing to take any responsibility. Security on my account did not appear to have been seriously compromised and there was no good reason for this to have taken so long to sort out. I had a similar problem with my Lloyds bank account, but they had my account up and running again within days. PD, Stroud
Yours was one of two such letters we received within hours of each other, and both are further proof – as if any were needed – that Santander is still a bank with customer service problems. The bank appears very quick to shut down accounts where it has even the mildest suspicion of fraudulent activity. A doctor recently contacted us after having his frozen because his wife had paid a business cheque into a private account. In both cases sorting this out has been, in the words of the letter writers, a "nightmare".
We asked Santander about your case and it said: "We were alerted by Lloyds to a fraudulent faster payment to a Santander account, and, in line with our policies, and to minimise the risk of fraud, a block was placed on the account. At this point, it was not known that both accounts belonged to PD. PD then went to his branch and presented identification, which was sent by fax to Santander's fraud operations.
"Unfortunately, the fax didn't reach its intended destination so the block remained on his account. To protect PD from fraud, a new account was opened but he was not informed of this promptly enough. In recognition of this delay, plus his repeated branch visits and telephone calls, we have offered a £250 goodwill payment and loss of interest on an investment he had planned to make."
The other case, which is too long a saga to fully report, has been resolved. However, you don't believe that £250 is enough compensation for the stress this has caused, and are now taking the matter to the Financial Ombudsman.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, The Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
Miles Brignall
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