Latest news with #AbbeyNational
Daily Mail
04-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Santander promised me free banking for life - can it really now get away with charging me £120 a year?
When Diana Grogan, 62, opened her business bank account with Abbey National in 2006, she was promised free banking for life. The alternative therapist, who lives in Blackburn, Lancashire, had been advised by her accountant to open an account when she switched from being a sole trader to a limited company.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Santander hits customers with £120-a-year fee on ‘free forever' accounts
Santander customers face paying £120 a year for business accounts despite previously being told they would be 'free forever'. Thousands of small business owners will be charged £9.99 from October to continue banking with Santander even though the accounts were heavily marketed as never to incur fees. The 'free forever' guarantee referred to customers who originally held accounts with Abbey National and Alliance & Leicester. These accounts were transferred over to Santander after the lender took over the banks in 2004 and 2008 respectively. Marketing brochures wrote in large bold letters that the accounts would be 'free forever', with some stipulating the limited circumstances in which that promise would be broken. 'We guarantee that unless there are any changes to the law or banking regulations, or any new taxes relating to bank charges, you will benefit from free day-to-day business banking forever,' one Abbey National brochure read. Another advertisement wrote: 'Other lenders might offer you free business banking for 18 to 24 months and then start to charge. With Abbey, day to day business banking is free forever. And at Abbey forever really does mean forever. That can make a huge difference to your business costs.' Although free accounts were removed from new customers in 2011, an attempt to renege on the 'free forever' promise for all customers a year later led to fierce backlash from customers. Santander was forced into an about-turn in September 2012, less than two months after announcing customers would have to pay either £7.50 or £12.50 for a business bank account. There were also concerns at the time that its 230,000 customers could have taken their grievances to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which could have left the bank with a £115m bill in administrative fees. Financial businesses are liable to pay case fees of up to £650 to the Ombudsman once they have exceeded three complaints in a year. The latest changes again raise the risk that the bank could be dragged into numerous disputes with customers who feel they were mis-sold. A spokesman for the bank said the affected accounts were migrated into its 'Business Every Day' account in 2015, and that the terms and conditions for this contract did not include the 'free forever' clause. However, some customers argued they were not aware of this change, and that it was not adequately communicated at the time. Jennifer Iles, a graphic designer, told the Guardian she signed up to service because of the 'free forever' commitment. She said: 'I objected when Santander tried to impose monthly charges in 2012. 'Now they are not only trying to renege again but are denying the obligation. They will have a fight on their hands.' Another customer, who opened their business account in 2005, told the Guardian: 'Which part of forever do Santander think doesn't apply now, and how can they justify introducing charges given their pledges to the contrary?' A Santander spokesman said: 'The business banking landscape has changed significantly over the last decade. 'As such, we are simplifying our business banking offering as the first step to ensure that we can sustainably and efficiently evolve to better meet the needs of our business customers in the future.'
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Santander takeover of TSB is boost to Reeves as she fights to keep City's trust
Santander's takeover of TSB will be music to Rachel Reeves' ears: sparing the under-pressure chancellor the potential embarrassment of having to explain why a major high street lender had given up on Britain. On Tuesday night, Spanish-owned Santander said it would buy TSB from its fellow Spanish owner, Sabadell, for £2.65bn, ending months of speculation over the future of the British bank – and reaffirming Santander's commitment to the UK. Rumours had emerged in January that Santander UK could pull out of high street banking, potentially reversing gains made in stepping up its British presence with the acquisition of Abbey National two decades earlier. Bosses had started slashing 2,000 jobs months earlier, fuelling speculation that it was trying to create a leaner business that could lure potential suitors. The chatter sparked panic, feeding into a growing existential crisis over whether allegedly burdensome regulation was driving potential investment and foreign firms away from the City – which was already losing stock market listings and floats to foreign rivals . Publicly, Santander repeated that the UK was a core market, with 14 million customers served through 350 branches and 18,000 staff. But in Madrid, executives led by executive chair Ana Botín, were said to be increasingly frustrated over UK regulations and costs that were dampening profitability. That included post-financial crisis rules such as ring-fencing, which protect and separate consumer deposits from riskier operations including investment banking, but are criticised as costly and complex by banks. Meanwhile, Santander's frustrations were compounded by the car finance commission scandal, which could lead to a £1.9bn compensation bill for the bank's aggrieved borrowers. Reeves and her Labour government, however, appeared alive to the threats. Months earlier, the chancellor had ordered City watchdogs to do more to promote growth and competition, including by watering down financial crisis regulation that she claimed had 'gone too far'. By late January, the chancellor was attempting to intervene in a supreme court case over the car finance scandal, concerned it could curb lenders' activities. Days after her intervention emerged, Reeves met with Botín on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While in the Swiss Alps, Botín declared: 'We love the UK, it is a core market and will remain a core market for Santander. Punto [fullstop], that's it.' Speculation of its sale continued to swirl, but Santander finally put its money where its mouth is: agreeing to buy TSB from Spanish rival Sabadell in a deal that could eventually hit £2.9bn if the smaller bank's profits meet forecasts. For Santander, the takeover will help fend off competition from the likes of Nationwide Building Society, which has been nipping at the bank's heels after its own £2.9bn acquisition of rival Virgin Money. It will add 5 million customers to its books, and make Santander the fourth largest mortgage provider and third largest bank in terms of personal current account deposits, behind Lloyds and NatWest. But for TSB, the future of its 5,000 staff and 175 branches is at stake. Santander will have to consider how to strip out duplicate roles and branches and whether to scrap the 215-year history old TSB brand, which could disappear from UK high streets following the takeover. Santander bosses told analysts on Tuesday night that they were aware of duplications, including 'overlapping branches'. Meanwhile, unions have been holding urgent talks with TSB to try to get some clarity for staff, who have been subject to a tumultuous 12 years, marked by ownership upheavals and a disastrous IT meltdown that tarnished its reputation for years. Hived off from Lloyds Banking Group as part of state-aid rules following its £20.3bn government bailout in 2008, TSB again became a standalone brand and floated on the London stock exchange in 2014. It was delisted following its takeover by Spanish lender Sabadell in 2015, in a major cross border deal that the Treasury hailed as a 'vote of confidence' in the UK. But the party did not last. As soon as 2020, Sabadell began exploring a sale of TSB after the botched launch of a new IT system two years earlier sparked a tech meltdown, locking millions of customers out of their bank accounts. It caused a customer exodus, executive resignations, financial losses and a £48m fine from regulators. Sabadell eventually swallowed the losses, and was heartened by TSB's recovery, even rebuffing a £1bn approach by the Co-operative Bank in 2022. It took a hostile bid for Sabadell by Spanish rival BBVA for the bank to reconsider a sale, with proceeds from TSB's sale due to be distributed among shareholders who it hopes will see less benefit in agreeing to the takeover. But Sabadell's loss could be Santander's gain, and provide a timely boost for Reeves as she fights to keep the trust of the City courted on the election campaign trail amid a gloomy economic outlook.
South Wales Argus
26-04-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Criticism of Santander's decision to close Blackwood branch
Last month, Peredur Owen Griffiths wrote to Santander after they announced they would be closing their Blackwood branch and reducing opening hours at their Caerphilly branch. Santander has announced its Blackwood branch will be closing in June this year, while Caerphilly's will be reducing its hours. Blackwood has been named in a list of 95 branch closures by the bank, which first entered the UK market in 2004 with its takeover of former building society Abbey National. The high street branch in Blackwood will close its doors for good on June 23, while the Caerphilly branch will have its hours reduced, opening only on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9.30am to 3pm, from June 30. Around 750 of its staff across the UK will be at risk of redundancy. A spokesperson for Santander UK said the closures were down to changing customer behaviour. In this letter, the Member of the Senedd for South Wales East wrote: "Before becoming a Senedd Member, I spent many years working in the retail banking sector for companies like Abbey, The Principality and Santander. "I actually worked briefly at the Blackwood branch and could see firsthand how valued that branch is to the town and beyond. "Loyal Santander customers relied on it for their banking and the personal touch they got inside the branch. "The branch was also invaluable to the thriving businesses of the town centre who will be forced to travel much further afield when banking their takings. "In making this decision, have you considered the impact upon the digitally disenfranchised? "I have been the Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Older People and know how much of a problem branch closures are. "Older people often lack the knowledge or even the confidence for E-Banking. "This is true for many disabled people as well. "At a time when Santander is boasting of huge profits exceeding targets and returning 10 Billion Euros to shareholders, this is not a good look. "I urge you to reconsider your decision with regard to the Blackwood branch as well as your decision to reduce the opening hours of the Caerffili branch." In response, a spokesman for Santander wrote: "I want to reassure you that Santander is committed to ensuring customers can safely bank with us through a range of channels, including in-person at branches and ATMs, or through our online and telephone banking services. "We will be contacting all impacted customers regularly over the coming months with support, with additional support for vulnerable customers including proactive follow-up phone calls from branch colleagues. "As you note, customers can also use over 11,000 Post Office branches for their banking needs." Following the response, Peredur said he was "deeply disappointed." He added: "Banks like Santander make huge annual profits and their loyal customers are a big reason for this. "This is a poor way of repaying people in Blackwood and the surrounding area for their custom over the years. "I am deeply disappointed that large corporations such as Santander are quick to forget the customers – not to mention the staff in branches like Blackwood - who make their business the success it is. "I would not be surprised if Santander customers now vote with their feet and take their business elsewhere."
