Stranded overnight without money, food or shelter in freezing cold temperature, while also suffering from ill health, because Santander Bank had blocked my account due to a branch error...They chose not to help me although they could have...
Although the branch accepted it was their fault, it took Santander over two months even to apologise ...
I am an International Postgraduate Student. My International Student account, held at 51-53, Union Street, Aberdeen branch of Santander, was blocked on the 11th of January 2011, for no apparent reason.
Upon visiting the same Santander branch to inquire, I learnt that the account had been blocked due to negligence of the branch. A manager accepted that they had not sent a set of documents to another department of Santander, resulting in the account being blocked. This manager further accepted it was a branch error, but did not apologise for the error.
I did not have any cash at this point of time in hand. However, my account had more than sufficient funds.
I requested for funds from my account, since I had planned to travel out of Aberdeen that evening. Furthermore, I also explained that I was not in very good health (See medical evidence below) and that I would be stranded with no food or shelter if funds were not issued to me, as I did not have any cash with me. I even gave the same in writing to the manager of the branch (see handwritten document below). However, the manager refused to release any funds from my account.
I had been residing in a shared accommodation in Aberdeen, as a temporary measure, upon moving out of my student accommodation / student flat at the time the above incident took place. As I had planned to leave Aberdeen that evening and stay out of Aberdeen for lengthy period, I had not made arrangements to even enter this temporary accommodation that night. In addition, most of my friends who were in Aberdeen had also either gone away on holiday or had left the city upon completing their respective business there. Therefore, the opportunity to borrow some money from such a person or walk into one of their residences also did not exist. I made this very clear to the manager too.
It needs to be reiterated that the manager admitted that my account had been blocked due to their fault and also issued me a letter (see below), although she did not apologise even once. Furthermore, although there were funds in the account, she refused to issue me even a single penny, stating that I would have to wait till the block was removed by another department of Santander.
Since I was not allowed to withdraw any of my money due to the fault of the bank, I was compelled to spend the night in freezing cold temperature, mainly under bus shelters, in ill health, without even a proper meal, till the following morning.
My health further deteriorated after spending a night in adverse weather conditions and had to seek medication once again, the following day (See below). I also missed the opportunity to attend an important meeting and had to spend extra cash on rescheduling journeys as well.
I had to suffer severe mental and physical agony due to being stranded and having to spend over 12 hours (overnight) in freezing cold temperatures, while I was already ill, without even a proper meal, as a result of my bank account being blocked and my own money being unavailable to me due to the fault of the bank.
Since there was no apology from the branch for over two months, I complained to Santander Head Office about the incidents. In late March 2011, the bank once again accepted it was their fault. They have credited my account with a compensation of £ 60.00 (See e-mail below). This works out to a compensation of less than five pounds per hour, for all the psychological and physical agony I suffered. I found this to be a mere insult, as Santander had placed such a low value on my suffering, which was caused due to Santander’s negligence.
In addition, further to my complaint to the Santander Head Office, Santander apologised for not offering me any help at the branch (See e-mail below). This clearly indicates that the branch had the ability to assist me, even though they didn't !
It is also important to be taken into account that Santander charges £ 5.00 each month, as a bank service fee from International Student account holders, although it offers such a low level of service.
Given the above scenario and the inhumane manner I was treated at the branch, I decided to share this information so that the public would be enlightened on the manner in which Santander treats its customers.
Finally, I believe it is worth mentioning that I posses all the proof to substantiate every claim I have made here, although some of the proof material could not be published.
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