So my bank has always treated me as a "Mrs" - not the title I normally use, but also not a huge annoyance. Until, that is, I tried to change it to "Ms" today as I happened to visit a branch for a change.
First thing, the guy at the counter tells me I need to speak to a personal banker. Fair enough - although it would be nice for them to be able to make minor changes. Except that when I did this, I was told by their personal banker that, ...
- I am a Mrs because I have a joint account with DH listed as "spouse"
- They will only change my title if I provide "official ID" such as a passport to prove that I'm a "Ms"
- Yes, the bank recognizes that passports and other forms of ID indeed do not contain titles, but they need one as proof anyway
- They're happy for me to be a "Dr" or "Prof", though, if I get a university to confirm that I qualify.
What made me even more angry is that I ended up having this conversation not in private but in the lobby of the branch with personal banker and branch manager trying to convince me that I should be a Mrs. All the while, a queue starts to form behind me and men are shaking their heads. I realize completely that my judgment at that point may have been clouded by anger - but I would have preferred not to discuss this in front of everyone and basically serve as the demonstration model unreasonable, hysterical female.
Long story short: being a Mrs wasn't such a big deal - being told that I cannot decide I'd rather be a Ms and being patronized kind of is.
Where do I go from here? Worth making a fuss about or should I just switch banks?