Santander Bank sucks ...

Another of my letters. Sent it a while back. As a result of this letter, Santander swiftly sent me a credit card which I took as a minor victory. I proceeded to cut up the card and put it in the bin as I didn't realise my current card still had several months of 0% interest on it anyway. I am currently in dispute with First Direct, so will post the results when that is resolved.

COMPLAINT

Santander Credit Card Application Appeals

Credit Card Underwriting

Santander House

201 Grafton Gate East

Central Milton Keynes

MK9 1AN

10th September 2011

Application Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear Sirs

                Thank you for your letter dated 1^st September 2011, the contents of which I find disappointing, and bemusing.

I write in order to appeal and complain about your decision to decline my application for a credit card. You may find the following information useful:

·         I currently hold ONE active credit card from Nationwide with an outstanding balance of £0. All other credit cards that I may have owned in the past are settled and closed with zero balances.  Any credit report that indicates otherwise is therefore simply out of date by some months.

·         Any current accounts I may have are in good order (one of which is held with your good selves)

·         I do not currently have and to my recollection, have never had any adverse credit.

·         I have never defaulted on mortgage payments.

·         I have not defaulted on credit card payments in the last 6 years – you may find credit reports indicate that I defaulted once in May 2010, however the fee was waived by the credit card provider as it was agreed that I had made a large payment previously, close to the due date of the alleged defaulted payment. Notwithstanding, one late payment surely does not constitute a customer with adverse credit!?

·         I am a current Santander current account holder – as such, I find your treatment of my custom to be nothing short of disgusting.

Your letter dated 1^st September 2011 suggests a number of reasons why my application may not have met your (minimum?!) requirements. I may have either:

o   Not passed your credit score –  not possible – I have made it clear above that I have no adverse credit

o   There may be information about me at the credit reference agency you use – possible yes, but at worst, it amounts to 1 late payment in the last 16 months, and in any event, as I explain above, this was a misunderstanding by the credit provider

o   You may not lend if you feel that my current income is not enough – nonsense, I am perfectly able to repay any outstanding credit – our household has a joint income of around £xxxxxx.

o   My application doesn’t meet your business criteria – very interesting use of words! Now we are getting somewhere.  In other words, you mean to say that as I generally have good credit, and rarely incur interest or late payment charges, it is not worth your while giving me a credit card as you will not be able to make enough money out of me! Shame on you – sounds like you want your cake and be able to eat it…

It seems perfectly clear to me that as I do not have adverse credit, and I am not a liability (fiscally speaking), the only possible reason for your declining my application rests on the last bullet point above. I find this utterly contemptible – in the current economic climate where it became clear to the world that banks caused the global recession as a result of giving credit to people who cannot pay the money back – and yet here YOU are, refusing to give me credit, BECAUSE I AM ALL BUT TOO ABLE TO PAY THE MONEY BACK. In other words you have refused me credit BECAUSE I AM NOT LIKELY TO PROVIDE YOU WITH ENOUGH INCOME ARISING FROM INTEREST AND LATE PAYMENT FEES. Isn’t this entirely the kind of thing that caused the recession in the first place – irresponsible lending? Glad to see you have learned from your mistakes…….

If for any reason, I have misinterpreted the reasons for your declining my application for a credit card, perhaps you would be so kind as to explicitly state what your reasons are – by that I mean do not simply reiterate that manure ridden phrase (obviously intended to bamboozle Joe Public) that my application fails to meet your business criteria.

In order to resolve this issue, I respectfully request the following:

1.       A clear and full explanation of the reasons for refusing my application.

2.       An unequivocal apology for the way you have treated a loyal customer.

3.       A reversal of your application decision.

4.       A gesture of goodwill on your part by way of recompense for the way you have treated a loyal customer. For example; 0% interest on balance transfers and purchases for the next 18 months, waiving the fee on all balance transfers, a cash credit to my Santander current account, vouchers etc… Use your imagination. Be creative – you certainly did that in your letter…….fails to meet your business criteria……..Honestly.

Finally, I would like to point out that I have actually visited Santander, Spain – it is a warm, welcoming and beautiful place. May I respectfully suggest that you change your business name as I feel it may contravene trade descriptions and be somewhat misleading to potential customers.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Yours faithfully

Stephen Crowley