I think i would be unreasonable; my friend is pressing me to complain.
Basically, I've been with the same bank since i was 13yo. It's very small. Lately i've been getting annoyed with some recent changes they've made and want to swap to another bank.
I have limited experience of banks and thought this man today was just being a typical arrogant salesman.
So i went into a branch of a big, well known bank the other day to enquire about switching. I was given an appointment for this morning. I won't bore you with every last detail. I'll just bullet point (without the bullet points) the main things that felt odd to me.
*The appointment was at 9.30 and lasted until 11am. Bearing in mind this was just an appointment to open a basic personal account.
*The man said he needed a full breakdown of all my incoming and outgoings each month to see which type of account would best suit me.
I gave these to him. He made several low whistles when i told him how much of a student loan i get each month. Then when i told him i only spend £40 per week on groceries for me and dd, he said "Are you sure? Do you want to think about that again?" I said no. He said, "well, I'll put you down for £60 a week as a compromise. The national average is £40 a week per person, so i don't think you've added that up right."
He went through everything. How much i spend on magazines, clothes etc. When i told him i don't buy either of these things, he again gave me that look of 'i don't beleive you', so i explained that i wear clothes given to me from my sister (we're the same size and she is always clothes shopping) and my parents always buy dd a new wardrobe of stuff twice a year. He then went on and on that there MUST be other things i spend my money on, because by the calculations I'd given him, i should have £200 left over each month instead of my much lower current balance.
*When he asked my marital status, he did a huge cheesy grin "Ah, here's the one everyone hates." I simply said i was single. He then made another face.
*When he was asking about my income and outgoings, he asked "What about CSA?" I said no. He said, "Really? He doesn't pay a thing? Why not?" I said, "He just doesn't." He smiled and said, "Just tell me if i'm being nosey by the way." I just smiled politely and stayed silent. He moved on.
*When he photocopied and enlarged my provisional driver's license, he held it up to my face and said "How'd you like the look of that?"
*When i said i don't have any insurance other than pet insurance, he said "So you prioritise your pets over your own child?"
- He then said that he would highly recommend me to get a student account. But that i was unable to open it today because i needed to bring 3 months of statements from my previous bank so they could do a check on me. This is because i haven't had any credit cards or loans before (other than a student loan) so my credit score reflects this.
So basically, i've got to go back again with my statements. I really don't want to.
I was chatting to a friend about it all at lunchtime. She is aghast and thinks i should complain. She has a personal account with the same bank and said that her appointment lasted no more than 15 minutes and she didn't have to go through all her income and outgoings each month.
She thinks he acted inappropriately and unprofessionally. She said i should just apply for the account online and then swap all my credits and debits over to the account then shut my old one rather than do a normal switch (because my old bank is so small time, my direct debits can be switched over simply but my money coming in can't).
So much for the short version! I've went on ages. 