19 Jun, 2011 @ 08:35
1 min read

Spanish bank hounds pensioner for 3p to close account

A BRITISH pensioner has demanded action after his Spanish bank hounded him for just 3p (four centimos).

Clifford Marsh, 82, received a letter from Santander Bank demanding he pay the fee before they would allow him to close an account.

Marsh asked them to close his FlexiAccount in November – but they shut his current account instead, leaving him without money, and also made a meal of his standing orders.

The letter from the bank read: “In order for us to complete your request, please send us a cheque for £0.03.

Or alternatively call into your local branch with the attached paper work and this letter.”

Ana Patricia Botin, the new boss of the bank – voted the worst in Britain – last month vowed to get to the ‘root causes’ of the bank’s woeful record.

But Marsh is far from happy.

“I couldn’t believe what I was reading when I got their letter. How much did it cost to send it? How much do they expect us to pay out because of the ignorance of Santander?” he said.

“When I was young it used to be yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir. Now people just tell you to get stuffed.”

Wendy Williams

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5 Comments

  1. have banked with santander for 8 years , never had a problem . great staff and great service . always willing to help.
    cant understand why people have problems with them….

  2. I have banked with Abbey now Santander for around 12 years. I have just been charged £67.00 for 2 transactions that they should not have authorised – total value £8.00. The branch staff have now done nothing on the three times they have been ‘helpful’ and agreed to resolve the issue. I have decided to move my account elsewhere but they won’t pass my Direct Debits over as I have a ‘joint account’ (with myself apparently) so I am having to do it all manually. I liked Abbey and have really only stuck around as I thought things would get better again after Santander took over. The story above does not surprise me any more. Santander have deservedly got the reputation of Britain’s worst bank and the only way it seems anything will change is to vote with our cash and go elsewhere

  3. … exporting “Spanish Customer Service and Business Practices” to anywhere outside of the Latino world will be a very hard sale – but for Spanish Companies who thanks to the boom expanded outside of the Latino Mundo to learn a thing or two about “Customer Service and Business Practices” could make this a better place ……

  4. Hi, I have been trying to close my account with Santander in Lanzarote for the last couple of years, I have written to them, no reply, I first told them to close the account in 2010, nothing happened then again in 2011, this time I was told it would cost me all the remaining money I had in the account, ie 46 Euros, however I am still getting statements and it appears I now owe them over 100 Euros, has anyone any good answers to this problem
    R Turner

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