Taking A Moral Stance

"Money, we make it
'Fore we see it, you take it..." ~ Marvin Gaye

My spiritual journey to find a home has been hindered somewhat by the ongoing complaint that I registered with my old bank back in April 2009...yes, nearly two years ago and I'm still waiting for a resolution!
Part of the reason why I've kept moving during the past few years, is that due to my dispute with the bank my assets are frozen and therefore so is my credit (or lack of), meaning that I can no longer lease properties in my own name. So with thanks to some great friends and a few private landlords, I am in the position where I must house or flat share, until the matter is finally resolved...quite when that will be is anybody's guess. I decided that after the appalling service that I have received, I should take a moral stance and say that enough is enough - get these issues sorted, and then I'll think of reactivating my accounts.
In order for the full scale of my complaint to be understood, I have edited some of the 100 plus pages of correspondence so far produced to create a concise overview of what I'm up against...

I raised ten areas of concern in my initial letter of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service on 5th June 2009, yet there remains outstanding issues in all of these areas as detailed below, which Abbey have failed to address.

 

1. The initial lost cheque from HM Revenue & Customs.

Annette Johnson (Senior Customer Resolution Manager) acknowledged her colleague's failure to initially investigate the lost cheque in her response letter dated 29th May 2009, but then continues to state two cases of totally inaccurate information. She claims Abbey's telephone records show that I called them on the 26th March 2009, and that I was in the process of chasing up the Tax Office in relation to the lost cheque.

Both of these statements are untrue.

I had notified both the HM Revenue & Customs and Abbey in my letter dated 10th March 2009, which was posted from Queenstown, New Zealand, and until I visited my local Abbey branch in Reading on my return to the UK on 30th March 2009, this was the only communication I had been involved with regarding the lost cheque.

 

2. Failure to action direct debit instructions despite sufficient funds being available.

I have confirmed my intentions in my e-mail and letter to the Financial Ombudsman Service dated 8th October 2009 to make the neccesary required payments and maintain all of my financial commitments, but due to the incompetence shown by Abbey they were responsible for these insufficient funds being available. To date, I have failed to receive a satisfactory explaination as to why the initial direct debit instruction due on 5th March 2009 did not take place.

 

3. Discrepancies in the direct debit instructions and communication received.

In my letter dated 23rd April 2009 I asked a specific question concerning a discrepancy in what Abbey stated was due to be debited compared to what they actually deducted, and to date I haven't even received an acknowledgement of this issue, yet alone an explaination.

 

4. Frozen accounts whilst abroad despite prior notification.

Abbey have apologised for the inconvenience caused in relation to my cards being declined whilst abroad in New Zealand, but state that they had no prior notification of my travel plans. As stated in my letter dated 6th April 2009 Abbey attempted to sell me a 0% credit card specifically for my trip when I did notify them of my intended plans, and the Reading (Broad Street) branch must surely have a record of this as I was led to an upstairs private office to go through the application process for this additional card, which was ultimately declined.

 

5. Loss of access to my account for no apparant reason.

I informed Abbey in my letter dated 23rd April 2009 that I was still awaiting a replacement card for my main bank account, but to date this point has never been acknowledged or dealt with, and a replacement account card has never materialised.

 

6. No acknowledgement of how my credit is 'created'.

I notified Abbey and all of the other related parties in my letters dated 6th April 2009, 23rd April 2009, 30th April 2009, 12th May 2009, and 26th May 2009, that I had done some research into the way credit and loans are 'created' by the banks, and I challenged the authenticity of the whole process. In all of Abbey's, MBNA's, and Barclaycard's responses to date, this issue has never been acknowledged or answered.

 

7. Removal of overdraft facility without sufficient notice.

I queried in my letter dated 23rd April 2009 why I wasn't notified earlier about the expiry on my overdraft facility, and as yet Abbey have failed to respond or even acknowledge this question.

 

8. Post still being sent to an old address despite previous notification.

I brought to Abbey's attention in my letter dated 23rd April 2009 that I received a statement for a loan request which was originally sent to my old address. During December 2008 I visited the Abbey High Street branch in Cheltenham, and supplied them with all of the relevant details and account information for my impending move to Berkshire. The only reason I received this loan statement was due to the goodwill of Royal Mail, as the redirection instruction I had arranged had actually expired. Once again to date Abbey have failed to acknowledge this issue or provide an explaination.

 

9. Continual harassment with daily phone calls.

I stressed from the outset that I only wanted to receive communication in writing, and repeated this request in all of my letters to all of the respective parties. Why hasn't this request ever been respected?

 

10. Inconsistencies with stated deadlines to deal with my complaint.

Both MBNA and Barclaycard have sent out confusing and contradicting letters with regards to my complaint. They have both sent out letters stating that my complaint was under investigation with appropriate deadlines, only to send out additional letters prior to these deadlines claiming outstanding payments or threatening potential legal action. All of my queries to date have failed to gain acknowledgement or a response, and I am still receiving contradictory letters with regards to this issue.

 

 

In conclusion I would like to offer a further example of the incompetence, inconsistency, and maladministration shown by Abbey.

To understand this please note that all of my letters were originally sent to Abbey in Prescot Street, London without exception.

(This is the address shown on the bank statements for written communication.)

Yet I've still received numerous responses to these letters from Abbey Complaints in Milton Keynes. Therefore it is safe to presume that my letters were successfully passed onto them.

However, Annette Johnson's letter dated 29th May 2009 states:-

"...unfortunantely I do not have copies of the three letters you mention, nor am I able to retrieve them, as I am only able to access correspondence sent directly to this department..."

Seeing as Annette Johnson is based in Milton Keynes and she is answering my letter which was origianlly sent to London, I find this statement confusing and contradictory to say the least.

To say I am disappointed and disillusioned is a gross understatement.

 

So there you have it - I started out with a complaint to Abbey and it's taken so long they are now called Santander! Due to my state of 'limbo' my journey has reached a stage where until I receive some answers I'm unable to determine any decisions regarding my future.

Therefore my journey has now reached the crossroads...

 

Nomadic Steve