RBS: Stop defrauding us, manipulating us, lying to us and trashing our climate

Oily bankers RBS AGM 2011

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reported a £5.2 billion loss as it announced its annual results today The bank’s boss Stephen Hester is four years into his original five-year plan to bring RBS back on track – yet things don’t seem to be getting much better for the publicly owned bank. RBS blames a year of heavy fines. But let’s just remind ourselves of what these fines were:

• PPI: The bank knowingly mis-sold its customers insurance which they neither needed nor could use, over a period of years. Fine: £2.2 billion
• Libor: The bank illegally manipulated a crucial interest rate to benefit itself whilst negatively affecting mortgage payers in the UK (and elsewhere). Fine: £391 million

Bankers this year have been rewarded for doing a ‘good job’. Bonus pot: £600,000 million.

Some pretty significant figures that the bank should never have been in a position to pay.

If the RBS was really making headway to being sustainable and acting in the interest of us and its shareholders, we would surely expect a much stronger annual report, and a move towards investments only in sustainable projects.

Hester is quoted on the BBC website this morning as saying “…my job is [to] deliver an RBS that other investors want to own shares in…” This is true, but he must also remember that RBS is still owned by UK taxpayers and it is also his job to ensure that the bank is cleaned up and takes good care of our investment. Stopping defrauding us, manipulating us, lying to us and trashing our climate and environment would certainly be a good place to start. Hester has a lot of ground to cover in the final year of his plan.

– Paul Daly

Originally published by WDM.

Toxic RBS serves formal notice

It is becoming increasingly difficult to take toxic Royal Bank of Scotland seriously as they are a bunch of tossers.

This morning in the post a letter from toxic RBS entitled:

Formal notice of intention to file a default and to take action to recover debt

Yep, quite a mouthful.

The gist of this letter is that toxic RBS is going to inform a list of credit reference agencies, they list them, to my indebtedness.

Quite handy of them to put in writing that they are going to write defamatory comments on my good name.

They go on to tell me they will transfer monies from existing accounts (I do not have any) to pay off the debt (I have no debt as I owe not a penny), any cheque books must be returned immediately (I have none), I must return any cards and to continue to use them (I am not using any cards) is a criminal offence.

In an attached sheet, I am told I owe a little over five hundred pounds. I actually do not owe them a penny and it is difficult to see how I could owe anything on an account that is not used.

I am advised to call a premium rate line, but I may call a geographic number from oversees with a mobile (how kind).

The letter contradicts a letter sent last week, which states they are responding to my complaint (I have not complained) and thanks me for contacting them (I have not), that they are carrying out an investigation but which cannot report until sometime mid-November due to them being overwhelmed with complaints. This letter in turn contradicts one sent a few weeks earlier by cowboys called Power2Contact (to whom RBS had passed personal details without consent), that I was uncontactable by RBS.

• Behaviour of toxic RBS beggars belief
• Toxic RBS and Power2Contact

All of which is probably as clear as mud.

A little background.

February last year, RBS informed of a fraudulent transaction on account. Many months later with RBS claiming I owed them several hundred pounds (I owed not a penny), hours of wasted phone calls, RBS finally admitted they had fucked up big time. They agreed compensation was due, that my account would be reset to where it was, in credit, before the fraud, an investigation would be carried out and I would get a copy of the report.

RBS failed to honour what had been agreed. Account was reset, to date no compensation paid, to date no investigation or report. But at least my account had been reset to be in credit and it was agreed no money was owed.

Some time earlier this year, it all started up again. It was claimed I owed money. Difficult to see how I owe money on an account that has not been used since before the fraudulent transaction last year.

• Royal Bank of Scotland the toxic bank

A helpful young lady in the bank has looked into my account. She agrees, it has not been used. With my help she filed a detailed report.

• Toxic Royal Bank of Scotland

Weeks have passed since she filed her report. Nothing happens. Periodically I receive letters that appear to have been written by morons. The last time I spoke with her she said nothing had happened. She then escalated up two tiers of management. That was two weeks ago. Still nothing has happened.

Behaviour of toxic RBS beggars belief

The manner in which toxic Royal Bank of Scotland treats its customers is unbelievable.

This morning two letters from toxic RBS.

The first tells me that to save paper, Royal Bank of Scotland will forthwith only send out statements once every three months. Should I wish to opt out (I never chose to opt in) I can either go on-line and fill out a form or I can call a premium rate number.

Since when has toxic RBS cared about the environment? RBS funds tar sands extraction in Canada, one of the planet’s dirtiest oil projects.

• Climate Camp vs RBS – We’ve arrived
• The health effects of Tar Sands
• Living with Tar Sands
• Keep Europe Out of the Tar Sands

A fraud took place on my account last year. RBS claimed it was my fault for not notifying them immediately. I actually did, I notified as soon as I received my statement. Were statements only every three months that gives fraudsters plenty of time to milk accounts dry.

The second letter was to thank me for contacting them. I haven’t, and only a couple of weeks ago they passed without my consent my account details to a third party who claimed this had been done because I was uncontactable.

• Toxic RBS and Power2Contact
  

I am told RBS will look into my complaint (I have not filed a complaint), but not until 19 November 2012, because they are overwhelmed with complaints.

The letter states a leaflet on complaints is enclosed. No, a badly reproduced photocopy of a leaflet, which has been reduced to fit on an A4 sheet and is unreadable.

Last year a fraudulent transaction took place on an account. It took months, many wasted hours on the phone, to resolve, or at least I thought it was resolved. Earlier this year it all cropped up again with RBS falsely claiming that money was owing on an account that had not been used since the fraud took place.

• Royal Bank of Scotland the toxic bank
• Toxic Royal Bank of Scotland

Several weeks ago I asked a senior person in an RBS branch to investigate. She wrote a detailed report and sent it off.

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from a cowboy outfit called Power2Contact claiming RBS was unable to contact me and that they had been asked to do so on their behalf, and they would be paying me a visit. Only the day before, I was with the helpful young lady who had written a report, who said no, no one had got back to her. I had not given RBS permission to pass personal information to these cowboys.

• Toxic RBS and Power2Contact

A week later, I went in to see her. Like me she said she was appalled. She said Monday, she would see what she could do.

That was last week. On the Friday I went in to see her to see what progress she had made. She said none, other than they are wanting your telephone number (no reason was given why and seems to be a trawling expedition for customer information). I asked that she called them whilst I was there. As she warned me, nothing had happened. The report that she had written had been ignored as no one had the intelligence to tie it in with whatever else was happening.

At my request, she said she would escalate by two levels.

The only response (and that is assuming it is a response), has been a letter dated 22 October 2012, received today 24 October 2012.

Spanish bank Santander has pulled out of a deal to buy RBS branches.

RBS has suspended get cash, a fraudsters dream, a mobile phone app that lets fraudsters withdraw money from customers accounts.

Toxic RBS and Power2Contact

Toxic Royal Bank of Scotland is rotten to the core. It may be there are banks even worse than RBS, but if so, they are extremely rotten indeed.

Last February there was a fraudulent transaction on my account. The bank was notified immediately but they failed to do anything about it. Next thing I knew, the bank was claiming I owed them several hundred pounds. I did not, I owed them not a penny.

• Royal Bank of Scotland the toxic bank

It took many phone calls, many hours to resolve a problem of the bank’s own making. I called their bluff, take me to court, I would love a judge to see how rotten and toxic is RBS. An investigation was carried out by an imbecile who got everything wrong.

More hours wasted talking to the bank. They finally admitted they had fucked up big time, I was due compensation, my account would be reset to where it was before the fraud took place, a new investigation would be carried out and I would get a copy of the report.

My account was reset, RBS renegaded on everything else.

This year, RBS claimed I owed them money!

• Toxic Royal Bank of Scotland

How can I possibly owe money on an account I have not used since the fraudulent transaction last year?

A trip to the bank. A cashier looked, could not make any sense of how an unused account, that had been reset and was in credit, could be accruing charges.

It was way beyond his pay scale. He called on his line manager.

To her credit, she was very helpful. We spent the entire afternoon (another day wasted) on trying to resolve the matter. She wrote a report.

I have spoken with her several times since. She has heard nothing back, and yet I am getting letters saying I owe RBS several hundred pounds.

In the post this morning a letter from a cowboy outfit called Power2Contact, claiming to be authorised by RBS to contact me as according to RBS I am uncontactable!

If I am uncontactable by RBS, why am I any more contactable by Power2Contact?

RBS has never contacted me to say they have engaged Power2Contact. For all I know this could be a fraudster claiming to act for RBS. At no time have I given RBS permission to pass details of my account or address to a third party.

Power2Contact claim they will send one of their henchmen to visit me if I do not contact them within 3 days of the date of their letter. To do so would be harassment which is a criminal offence. Should any thug turn up they will be photographed, the police called and charges pressed for harassment.

Letter from Power2Contact dated 2 October 2012. Today 6 October 2012. By my reckoning their 3 days had passed before their letter even received.

One can visualise knuckles dragging on the floor of those who work for Power2Contact.

I am asked to call a premium rate number.

0845 308 8751

Why should I at my expense call a premium rate number to resolve problems of the bank’s own making?

It is claimed by Power2Contact that RBS has lost contact with me. Funny that, as only yesterday was I in the bank talking with the helpful young lady, who has still not had any response to her report and is appalled at what is going on.

I have checked out Power2Contact and it is as I suspect, a cowboy outfit with a reputation for harassing people.

Never reply to letters from companies like Power2Contact.

Should they turn up on your doorstep, do not engage in conversation do not hand over documents or money. Call the Police and make it clear you wish to file charges for harassment.

You may also wish to file a complaint with the FCA and the Information Commissioner.

The banks have been fined millions for bad practices, and yet still they have not learnt.

Rotten banks like RBS should not have been bailed out by the taxpayer. Iceland let its rotten banks go bust. The UK should have done the same.

For the existing banks, they should be broken up, casino banking should be separated from retail banking.

Toxic Royal Bank of Scotland

February last year there was a fraudulent transaction on an account with the Royal Bank of Scotland that took the account overdrawn by a few pence, not even a pound. This immediately attracted bank charges for being overdrawn.

The bank was notified and asked to resolve the problem. The bank did nothing.

Fast forward a couple of months and RBS is now claiming several hundred ponds are owed and threatening legal action to recover.

More week pass, several hours of phone calls to RBS. They eventually agree something has gone very very wrong. Agree to restore account to where it was before the fraudulent transaction took place, produce a report, pay compensation.

The account is finally restored to its previous state, is now in credit, but no report, no compensation.

Last month a letter from RBS £65 owing on account.

How can this possibly be, no transactions made on the account since fraudulent transaction?

No point in discussing with RBS as their computers are not working and staff have steam coming out of their ears trying to deal with irate customers.

Customers were told to call their local bank. The staff had no more idea than the public what was going on and they had no access to computers as the computers were not working.

A week or so ago, another letter from RBS, now claiming over £200 owing.

Today a visit to RBS Guildford. Cashier looks at the account and agrees something wrong. Not sure what to do and so calls over a colleague. She has a look and agrees, something not right.

I suggest we sit at a desk and go over this together. She agrees

Together we work out what has gone wrong, or at least what we think has gone wrong. She writes a report whilst I am there.

Whether anything will be resolved, we wait and see. The young lady could not have bene more helpful.

But it begs a number of questions:

• Why was this not resolved when first reported to the bank?
• Why was it not resolved when it was assumed it was resolved?
• If this young lady was able to resolve why did no one do so before?

I walked into the branch after lunch. I was there until 5-45pm or maybe later (the bank closed at 5pm). For me an entirely wasted day in Guildford. I walked out of the bank with my head throbbing.

In the old days, a man walked into a bank with a sawn-off shotgun and robbed the bank. Today it is the banks and the bankers who are the criminals.

Fixing of the Libor rate at Barclay’s. HSBC money laundering for drugs cartels and repressive regimes.

We have to break up the banks into smaller units, we have to split retail banking from casino banking, we have to close down bad banks, we have to put crooked bankers in gaol.

• Royal Bank of Scotland the toxic bank
• Help put a banker in jail

Royal Bank of Scotland the toxic bank

For five or more days customers at RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank have been unable to access their accounts. Customers have been stranded abroad with no money, bills not paid, wages not paid, unable to buy food as no money, house transactions fallen through.

• NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank branches open after glitch
• RBS promises to compensate customers affected by computer glitch
• RBS admits computer problems will last until Monday as NatWest customers also face financial chaos

RBS blame the problem on a software upgrade, and though claimed fixed, customers are still having problems.

Could RBS be having problems because they sacked their IT guys? Did they leave a nasty little time bomb to blow up in the face of RBS? Have they been hacked?

Was Susan Allen, Head of Customer Services at RBS, serious when on Money Box BBC Radio 4 yesterday lunchtime she said RBS care about their customers? [repeat 2100 evening Sunday 24 June 2012]

Really! You could fool me.

February 2011, a fraudulent transaction made my account go overdrawn by a few pence, less than a pound. I was immediately hit with bank charges.

I went straight down to my local branch of RBS to get the matter resolved. They were unable to resolve, and referred me to a call centre. They did nothing either.

I continued to be hit by charges. Before I knew it my account was several hundred pounds overdrawn. RBS was now threatening to take me to court for the money I ‘owed’. As far as I was concerned I did not owe a penny.

What then began was several weeks, several hours hours each time, of calling RBS on an 0845 premium rate line. I would go into RBS Guildford after lunch and be there until the branch closed.

I got nowhere. I was passed from pillar to post. Everyone I talked to agreed something had gone wrong, but they were not the person to resolve it.

Eventually I called their bluff. I demanded they took me to court. If I had notified RBS of a problem and they did nothing to resolve it, I could not see what more I could do. Let us see what a court would think.

No notes were being taken, or if they were they were incorrect, as each new person had to be told afresh. This was in spite of my demanding notes be taken and being assured notes were taken.

An investigation was carried out. This was a whitewash, basic facts were wrong, and most galling of all, RBS were not at fault, I was for not informing them!

Again I called RBS. This time not only to complain at how they were handling my account but to complain re the imbecile who had carried out the investigation. I demanded to speak to his superior.

I was put on hold. Eventually I was put through to the very person I wished to complain about. I refused to speak to him, then got the manager.

She agreed, something had gone very wrong, agreed my account should be restored to where it was before the fraudulent transaction took place, and that I should receive compensation. She also agreed a further investigation would take place and I would get a copy.

But she could not do this. Once again passed from pillar to post.

I never got a copy, my account was restored to how it was before, no compensation was paid.

Since then I have not used this account.

Early this month I got a letter stating my account was £65 overdrawn and that I was being charged daily!

I have not used this account since the fraudulent transaction last year. How can it be overdrawn when I have made no transactions on this account?

RBS is a toxic bank. It should not have been bailed. It should have been allowed to have gone bust.

Everybody in UK has contributed £17k to keep bankers in style they are accustomed to via the bank bailout.

Will the bosses of RBS again be awarding themselves obscene bonuses? Bonuses we all pay for as we bailed them out. Without our bailout they would be on the dole.

• Bonus to RBS boss obscene

It took RBS chief executive Stephen Hester until late Saturday to apologise for their latest fiasco.

RBS are offering to refund any out of pocket pocket expenses. Do not hold your breath. But on top of this, RBS should be paying every single effected customer at least £100 in compensation.

RBS has to be broken up into retail and casino banking. This should have been a condition of the bailout.

Bonus to RBS boss obscene

At a time when everyone is suffereing, when public services are being cut, salaries cut, jobs lost, the almost £1 million bonus to Stephen Hester, chief of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is obscene.

The almost £1 million bonus to head of Royal Bank of Scotland is obscene and offensive. We should not be relying on him to refuse the bonus, these people have no shame.

Prime Minister David Cameron on behalf of UK taxpayers who are the majority shareholders should block the bonus.

Cameron says shareholders in public companies should block excessive executive pay rises. He should therefore act, set an example.

It is rumoured the board will resign if the bonus is blocked. Call their bluff, let them resign. Where will they go? They would not even have a job if we had not bailed them out.

It is offensive and obscene when the FTSE 100 executives see 49% increase, when many people are seeing a decrease in salary or are losing their jobs.

These people do not take risks. They are salaried employees. The only risks they take is with other people’s money.

RBS customers should complain.

RBS finance dodgy projects, eg tar sands.

- Raising a Ruckus
- Climate Camp vs RBS – We’ve arrived

Why has RBS spent millions lobbying in Washington?

It may now be owned by the taxpayer but RBS has not cleaned up its act. It is still the same grubby company, the same greed-driven mindset. A comparison with the revolution in Tahrir Square, the players have changed but nothing has changed.

An on-line poll in the Telegraph, and note Telegraph not Sun or Mirror or Daily Mail, the overwheling majority said the bonus should not be paid.

Time for UK Uncut to occupy RBS?

Please sign the on-line petition calling for Stephen Hester, chief of Royal Bank of Scotland, to forego his bonus.

- Bailed-out RBS spends millions on Washington lobbyists
- Boris Johnson brands RBS chief’s bonus ‘absolutely bewildering’
- RBS chief Stephen Hester’s £963,000 bonus criticised
- Treasury feared Hester and board would quit

Raising a Ruckus

Climate Camp has set up camp outside the global headquarters of Royal Bank of Scotland to highlight their funding of dirty energy. Unless we park our tanks on their lawns nothing will change. It is only by taking direct action that we effect change.

A report revealed today by the Sunday Herald shows that RBS has provided nearly £13 billion worth of funding to the oil and gas industries since it was bailed out by the taxpayer two years ago. This is at a time when small businesses are being starved into bankruptcy through lack of finance.

Also see

Climate Camp vs RBS – We’ve arrived

How RBS funds ‘dirty oil’

Why should state-owned companies be ethics-free zones?

RBS: £13bn funding to companies blamed for global warming

RBS under siege over “environmental vandalism”

Climate change campaigners turn up the heat on RBS chiefs

RBS Porkies and Climate Camp Frogs

RBS moves to avoid protest