I shed no tears for Dame Alison Rose following her resignation earlier this week. However, the problems highlighted by Mr Farage’s debanking are I believe rather more systemic than is perhaps realised. Having had one of my business accounts ‘exited’ by part of Dame Alison’s former empire I know only too well Mr Farage’s pain as one deals with a groupthinking blob. Though some of the individuals profess to agree with you, they say that they have no option other than to enact bank policy.
As a business we have banked with RBS for over twenty years, and a couple of years ago we were asked to update our profile. This they said was a legal requirement under the “Know your Customer” part of anti-money laundering regulations, to keep up to date. This seemed fair enough, until one got to the personal questions and those relating to ID that I felt were unnecessary. I wrote to Dame Alison and said that I was not happy being treated like a criminal having to prove my innocence. As a business that had not borrowed a penny from the bank since 2008 and has, depending upon the time of the month, considerable sums of money held in our accounts, I felt that it was a bit of a cheek asking my fellow Director & I, both of whom were in position when we first opened the accounts, to have to provide this information when we knew virtually nothing about those entrusted with our funds. I also pointed out that it was not us but RBS that almost went bust in 2008 through no fault of ours.
Not surprisingly I never got a response from Dame Alison, however, we were given a little leeway and much to the relief of our very congenial “relationship manager”, the awkward customer saw sense and disaster was averted.
However, a short time later the same request arrived for a secondary account we have for another company, with the same directors and very similar shareholders, asking for almost identical information all over again. As I have had my own bank account and credit card hacked a number of times, I am reluctant to give out private information that once handed over is completely out of one’s control. I wrote again to Dame Alison saying that I saw no reason to complete the new request when all the information had already been provided for the main company. I also said that their ‘Relationship Manager’ visits at least once a year and can vouch for our identities; they receive annual accounts, and we are always lending them our money. I did not appreciate having to prove my innocence before the court of RBS.
This time after quite a bit of correspondence with an ‘executive case manager’ no flexibility was shown, despite my offer to complete the form if Dame Alison and her fellow directors provided me with the same information. We are entrusting our money to their care and know nothing about her or her colleagues, however, I was advised that this was impossible. We then received a letter advising us that the account had been blocked pending completion of the profile. This was inconvenient and meant that one of our websites had to be shutdown, however I was not going to be bullied by RBS. After a few months we received an unsigned computer generated letter saying that our account would be closed in a month’s time, and that fund transfer forms to another account would be sent the same day (at our expense). As our relationship manager was visiting in a few days, I held the letter so see what he thought, however, he was not even aware that it had been sent. He also said that if I did not arrange the bank transfer, I would be sent a cheque made out to the company in question. He did however agree that the CHAPs charge of £17.00 would be waived.
I visited our branch before the deadline with my passport as I was told that I had to prove my identify. I was informed that the transfer would be processed the next working day, and that I would be telephoned to confirm. Needless to say I was not telephoned and it was a further three weeks before the funds were transferred after more correspondence with another ‘Executive case manager’
To add insult to injury, at the branch, having handed over the CHAPs form and left a photocopy of my passport, I asked the person dealing with me for his name in case I needed to contact him. He said: “Gavin”. I asked for his surname to which his reply was that he was not required to give it. I had been required to show and leave a copy of my proof of identity while he only needed to advise his first name. It rather epitomised the banker client relationship, distinctly squint.
This case like the Farage one highlights two issues: firstly the arrogance of bankers who have forgotten that the customer is king; it is our money and not theirs. Secondly, the anti Money laundering regulations are ridiculous and not fit for purpose. Those who want to launder money seem to be able to do so with impunity, while the rest of us, trying to go about our business in a lawful manner, are tied up in regulatory knots, with our identify compromised every time we interact with a financial institution, lawyer, accountant or stock broker.
It vests far too much power in financial institutions and a sense of powerlessness in the rest of us. We can’t go on being forced to dance to the tune of these overly self-important organisations who we pay to be our servants.
Alastair MacMillan runs White House Products Ltd, a manufacturer, distributor and exporter of hydraulic components to over 100 countries. He is a supporter of the Jobs Foundation.
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How long before the energy providers (which are probably run by the same woke blob as the banks) decide they do not like our views and decide to cancel our gas and electricity.