Cautionary Tale.

I feel like Chaucer!

My tale has a moral too! The skype image you see is my daughter, on her travels with boyfriend currently in Australia. Yes, I've said it again. Australia. (Problem now is my Miscellanea has changed now, so I have no idea how often I use it more that others any more!).

What I should tell you about my Popz, is that she is very conscienscious, very cautious especially when it comes to money. She works. She saves. She never overspends. She paid for her own way through University. She got an honours degree in Maths and knew where every penny came from and went to. She asks for nothing, preferring not to be disappointed. Everything she has and achieved, she worked for and gained by her own effort and merit. She worked for one year after University and saved all her money so that she could travel for a year before settling to her career. She had an impeccable credit history with the perfect score, and was proud of this.

During University, as with most students, she was given a student overdraft, which has gradually reduced, but retained a small facility as she left to discover the world, as she would say, "Just in Cases" (quote from film 'Love Actually'). Upon reaching Australia, she and her boyfriend both found jobs to pay for the remainder of their trip. It was easier to get themselves an Australian bank account, which they have both done. No lounging around for them. They have to pay their way.

But readers beware. In the small print of your overdraft facility (unusually not picked up by her or us 5 years ago when she was granted it!), if you have an overdraft and do not place even just £1 into the account in credits in a 3 month period, your overdraft is cancelled. Of course, it's taken until now for her to even need to eat into the overdraft. But it's no longer there! no access. No money. Middle of Australia on a budget. Overdraft wiped out in one foul swoop. Direct Debits bounce! Bank charges incurred. Unauthorised overdraft. More charges. Credit card suspended (same bank surprise surpise). Credit card charges. Credit rating bashed!

Talk to the bank. "computer says no!". "We did write urgently to her" they profer.
"But she was travelling the world, she wouldn't receive them!"
"You should have forwarded them to her, they were urgent"
"But she was travelling the world, not staying in one place, and you don't even mark them with your logo, so how would anyone know they were from you, let alone urgent!" we ask.
"They're private letters sir, we don't mark them. So where is she paying her money into?' they continue, as if hearing nothing we've said
"But she was travelling the world, not earning salary - which she warned you about!?" - "Why didn't you warn her about this 'small print'?" we quizzed.
"We can't tell every customer every detail" comes back the answer "she should have read the terms and conditions" they say, in the same monosyllabic tones.
Asked to re-instate her facility, we just get the standard 'Little Britain' answer "computer says no!"

it's infuriating. these people are not people, they are machines. I guess technically and legally they are being accurate, just not human. How they sleep at night I will never understand. Our Popz is a hard working decent honest and home loving girl. She does not deserve this, and they do not deserve her business nor loyalty. It's their loss, because I know she will soon be making her way in the world and will be making her fortune I have no doubt. There is one bank I know will not be making money out of her. They'll no longer be her local bank!

Of all the people in the world, there is one I know that did not deserve this treatment. It's their loss and will make her think twice about going into banking.