Santander admits to glitch over statements

Banking giant Santander has recently admitted that it has made a grave error that resulted in tens of thousands of its customer receiving the details of other customers on their bank statements. This is another of a string of security breaches made by banks and building societies over the past couple of years that has put consumer at increased risk of identity theft.

For many, ID theft is a very serious and frightening prospect and with fraudsters becoming more and more prevalent in the current climate many people have become increasingly nervous about falling victim to their crimes. However, security breaches such as the one by Santander can put people at increased risk of falling victim to this sort of crime.

According to officials from Santander it was a printing error that caused the problem on this occasion, as it resulted in pages from other people’s statements getting mixed in with accountholder statements that were being run to send out. This meant that whilst accountholder received details of their own transactions they also receive details of other accountholders transactions too.

Whilst the bank has apologised for the breach it has also said that customers accounts cannot be accessed using the details from the statements. An official from the bank said that although customers could see other customers’ details they could not be used to get into the account. Some customers are still worried though.

One customer said: “Initially I thought the statement was mine because my name, address and account number were correct, but when I turned the page over, I could see that transactions were someone else’s. I could also see the other person’s name, account number and sort code,” said Anne Robb, from Edinburgh. I called the bank to complain. The staff were very professional and helpful, but I am still concerned that someone has details of what money comes into and goes out of my account.”

Tags: run, problem, breach, name, banks, identity, robb, theft

Musicians unable to get cover from insurance firm advertised by Iggy Pop

Over recent weeks many people have seen the new advertisement being run by a major insurance company featuring a the well known and iconic rock star, Iggy Pop Read more

Tags: musician insurance, standards, well, case, customer services operator, run, iggy pop insurance, musician

High street to suffer as consumers try and save money

Although Christmas is just around the corner many High Street retailers are not getting too excited about the flurry of activity and more importantly the huge profits that will come rolling in, namely because this is something that is unlikely to happen this year. After a particularly gruelling year in terms of finances, with soaring living costs, rocketing bills, and sky high borrowing costs to deal with, many consumers are desperate to try and put some money aside, and to do this many will have to cut back on the cost of Christmas, and reduce the amount of money that they spend on presents, food, going out, clothes, and entertainment. Read more

Tags: Christmas spending, Electronic commerce, year, name, food, run, bank of england, base rate

Consumers unsure of rate change impact

The majority of Brits are unclear on the value of a one per cent mortgage rate difference, it has emerged.

Research by Nationwide Building Society has found that 75 per cent of people in the UK do not know how much real difference this would make to their mortgage, which could be up to £4,000 on a five year fixed rate mortgage deal.

Meanwhile, when told to compare two five year mortgage deals to compare, the largest proportion of respondents (28 per cent) said there would be a difference of £500 to £2,000 between a £120,000 mortgage with interest of 5.6 per cent and one with interest of 6.6 per cent.

In fact the difference would be £4,000, which was correctly identified by just 23 per cent of respondents.

“People’s lives are busier than ever in the run up to the festive season and, as a result, they may be less inclined to shop around for the best deal. The temptation may be to take a slightly higher rate as an easier, less hassle option,” said Matthew Carter, divisional director for mortgages at Nationwide Building Society.

Tags: run, mortgage, divisional director for mortgages, mortgage rate, best deal, building

Government plans to ‘nationalise’ Northern Rock

The government has made plans to effectively nationalise the struggling bank, Northern Rock, to protect its customers, it has been claimed.

Already, the Bank of England has loaned £23 billion to the bank, following a run on deposits – the first run on a British bank in many years.

In addition, the Treasury has promised to underwrite 100 per cent of all deposits in the bank, a commitment worth another £20 billion.

Although a number of companies are bidding to take over Northern Rock, Thisismoney claims to have learned that the Treasury is preparing plans to take the bank into public ownership.

Last night, chancellor Alistair Darling announced that the government will soon publish a statement on the principles affecting any takeover – which will give a critical insight into whether nationalisation, formal or informal, is likely.

In a letter to the chancellor, acting Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable complained: “We are now in an absurd situation where banks can take ludicrous gambles with their customers’ money, knowing that if it all goes wrong the taxpayer will bail them out.”

Tags: liberal democrat leader, run, deposits, Alistair, Banking (Special Provisions) Act, taxpayer, banks, situation

People should avoid “pitfalls” when writing a will, says provider

Everyone should not only write a will, but must write it out carefully and properly, according to Willcraft Services.

The online will-making company also said that hiring professionals to do the job could be worth the customer’s while in the long run.

Colin Chapman, managing director at Willcraft, said that “I would say anyone over the age of 18 should make a will to ensure that everything goes where they want it to go. But, being more realistic, the first trigger point is either a child or a property purchase.”

He added that many clients “should really get professionals in to do the job properly because there are so many pitfalls” in the will-making process.

Those who had written a will years previously might well be in need of updating it, Mr Chapman said: “Circumstances have changed and certainly asset values have changed”, he said.

Recent research from Barclays Wealth shows that around two in three Britons have not written a will.

The statistic – 63 per cent of those polled – matches exactly a similar survey conducted the previous year, showing that the importance of writing a will has yet to be fully realised by the British public.

Tags: purchase, Willcraft, company, will-making process.Those, public, provider