I am so cross and it's really re-enforced that whilst businesses and agencies seem to be desperate to accommodate the whole multi gender message, women are getting blatant misogyny that no one seems to care about.
I recently saw a MN thread about the Child Trust Funds. Someone had looked their child's up and it was quite a hefty amount of money.
I had forgotten all about ours (terrible I know!)
I found out via that thread you could easily ask HMRC for details of where they went. When DCs were born in 2007 and 2008, we moved around alot, DS was born very early in 2008 (28 weeks) and so I spent 6 months in SCBU with him. So these funds weren't a priority and I felt would never really do much as the government swiftly got rid.
Anyway, DDs turns up, looked at the company online, signed up for an online account, all very simple and they have near on £1k which they can access at 18.
DS's info turned up and his in with NatWest. This one I didn't pick it was done for us.
So I Google and NatWest make it impossible to sign up for an online account. You haven to call to get the access number on a premium rate number.
So I call, 25 minutes on hold. Spoke to an utterly unhelpful male who, despite me having all the info including our old address.l, he will not speak to me.
He must speak to my husband.
Despite both our names being on accounts back then. Despite HMRC sending the letter to me. He must speak to my husband.
He wouldn't explain why because clearly HMRC has no issue with my being contacted.
So it means more premium rate number and on hold and DH hates making calls. Unless my husband speaks to NatWest and gives permission to speak to me they don't recognise me.
This isn't the first time I've experienced this. And it has included accounts for things we are both named on.
Most times, companies automatically put the male account holder name first. Even though my and my DHs name, mine is alphabetically first.
It's just everyday sexism isn't it?
So whilst we have people who have periods and gender self ID, we have a backward system which automatically favours a male over the female of a couple. Even though I bet most of us will say we do the admin at home.
So cross!