# Insulting amount of questions for a bank account



## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Recently opened an account in BancoPopular and got asked an extraordinary amount of questions regarding how and where I am paid, marital status and even starting checking company registers to see if I said who I said I was.

The guy explained it is new internal procedures as being part of the PIIGS this is imposed on them from Brussels. I found it very customer unfriendly, insulting and as a closet libertarian very intrusive. The whole procedure took well over an hour. I have never voted in my life but I think this May I may register to vote for an anti EU party, the scum in Brussels want to regulate us to death.

Rant over


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

If you don't vote, then you can't complain. Everybody has a vote and they should use that vote. In a general election in the UK, the turnout is often just 70%, but I'll bet the 30% that don't bother to vote still complain.


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## el pescador (Mar 14, 2013)

Its not the money laundering measures which got my back (every bank institution back home has measure except they have their own network) up it was the additional charge which was supposed to be because im a non resident yet it showed up as AEGON.....not only hiding the real listing of the charge but was in fact a partnership between the bank and an insurance company ...selling insurance products !!!!!!!

So im of no fixed adress and they sell me.........HOME INSURANCE hahahaha.

Had a right go.
I was not told and did not agree to it and said i was de frauded.
I explained about misselling in the UK and how i got several thousands out fo my bank for PPI and the charge disappeared quickly lol


Be aware. They think some wont kick up a fuss or know their way around the language....(i know little) to be able to moan.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

They are trying to stamp out fraud and corruption. It's like airport security - it's a pain, but it's for your own good in the long run. Just shrug and go with the flow.


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## amogles (Feb 4, 2014)

I recently bought a property and tried to negotiate a mortgage with Santander in Spain. They process went on for several months. The fisrt time I went there the manager asked me about my salary and how much money I needed and she said that was no problem at all. She'd have the paperwork done within a week and I gave her the necessary documents. I then heard nothing for about two weeks and when I called they sent me a long list of further documents they needed, including credit card statements, a letter from my employer that i was still employed, a letter of recommendation from my home bank and a letter from my tax office that I had always filed my tax returns correctly. Getting these together was no easy task. But I duly provided these, and then the madness started. They said this or that document isn't valid because the stamp isn't legible. They even said the signature on my appliaction form wasn't mine as it didn't match that in my passport. After about three months of craziness, they said the original documents I had provided were no longer valid as they were now too old, so I had to go back and provide them again. They then said the salary on my salary statement didn't match that in my tax returns and accused me of lying to them. I tried to explain that one was a monthly salary and the other was annual but they said this wasn't so. Then the manager was apparently ill for several weeks, and nobody else in the bank could help me. This despite the fact that I could actually see her sitting in the back office. Then they said it was the head office in Madrid that was causing the delay. Finally I borrowed the money elsewhere. All in all, I don't understand why this bank couldn't give me an honest answer that they weren't going to give me any money rather than play this silly cat and mouse game. So people, beware of Santander. Absolute time wasters.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

amogles said:


> I recently bought a property and tried to negotiate a mortgage with Santander in Spain. They process went on for several months. The fisrt time I went there the manager asked me about my salary and how much money I needed and she said that was no problem at all. She'd have the paperwork done within a week and I gave her the necessary documents. I then heard nothing for about two weeks and when I called they sent me a long list of further documents they needed, including credit card statements, a letter from my employer that i was still employed, a letter of recommendation from my home bank and a letter from my tax office that I had always filed my tax returns correctly. Getting these together was no easy task. But I duly provided these, and then the madness started. They said this or that document isn't valid because the stamp isn't legible. They even said the signature on my appliaction form wasn't mine as it didn't match that in my passport. After about three months of craziness, they said the original documents I had provided were no longer valid as they were now too old, so I had to go back and provide them again. They then said the salary on my salary statement didn't match that in my tax returns and accused me of lying to them. I tried to explain that one was a monthly salary and the other was annual but they said this wasn't so. Then the manager was apparently ill for several weeks, and nobody else in the bank could help me. This despite the fact that I could actually see her sitting in the back office. Then they said it was the head office in Madrid that was causing the delay. Finally I borrowed the money elsewhere. All in all, I don't understand why this bank couldn't give me an honest answer that they weren't going to give me any money rather than play this silly cat and mouse game. So people, beware of Santander. Absolute time wasters.


To me it felt like a tax audit than opening an account, rather than feeling good about using their services it left a bad taste in my mouth. We have got to the situation now where you are assumed guilty before you allowed to do anything.

Wake up people, why do we let government regulation treat us this way.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> They are trying to stamp out fraud and corruption. It's like airport security - it's a pain, but it's for your own good in the long run. Just shrug and go with the flow.


You are joking right? You agree with the nonsense that we have to go through, the gropes and grabs of our kids and elderly that does nothing to keep us safe. It is part of an out of control police state that are eroding our freedoms.



“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”


― Benjamin Franklin


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

maxd said:


> You are joking right? You agree with the nonsense that we have to go through, the gropes and grabs of our kids and elderly that does nothing to keep us safe. It is part of an out of control police state that are eroding our freedoms.
> 
> “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
> 
> ...


On one level I agree with you. A lot of these precautions are OTT and probably unnecessary. But the fact is that there _are_ people who want to blow up aeroplanes, and I'd rather go through the inconvenience of taking my shoes off than risk being on board with another Richard Reid.

"Gropes and grabs"?  I've always found airport security checkers to be very polite and efficient (with the exception of Miami, where I hope never to have to go again, ever). 

Like I said, for your own peace of mind sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Hostility and indignation are very bad for one's blood pressure!


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## amogles (Feb 4, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> On one level I agree with you. A lot of these precautions are OTT and probably unnecessary. But the fact is that there _are_ people who want to blow up aeroplanes, and I'd rather go through the inconvenience of taking my shoes off than risk being on board with another Richard Reid.
> 
> "Gropes and grabs"?  I've always found airport security checkers to be very polite and efficient (with the exception of Miami, where I hope never to have to go again, ever).
> 
> Like I said, for your own peace of mind sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Hostility and indignation are very bad for one's blood pressure!


i guess you've ben lucky then. I have experienced very uncouth and bully-boy airport security checks. I've seen old ladies getting shouted at for not jumping fast enough and an elderly gentleman getting bullied and made to delete a photo he took of his wife because they thought you could see security stuff in the background. This is totally illegal because whereas they can take action against him for photography in an allegedly restricted area, they have no legal basis to delete his photographs (besides which you can easily undelete said photos afterwards, so the whole deletion exercise is pointless anyway). They are just spiteful bullies who hate anybody who won't act like a sheep. They always tell us, if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. if that is so, why are they allowed to photograph us, but we not allowed to photograph them? If they wouldn't act like bullies, they wouldn't need to fear that the evidence might appear on Youtube. 

Terrorists will always find ways to kill people. Crimimals will always find ways to evade taxes. But our freedom, once gone, will be difficult to recover.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

amogles said:


> They said this or that document isn't valid because the stamp isn't legible. They even said the signature on my appliaction form wasn't mine as it didn't match that in my passport..


Imagine if they hadn't done all this and gave a mortgage on your home to somebody else. 

If you want to complain complain about the people that have sued the banks for not helping them wipe. What you're seeing is the banks doing everything possible to protect themselves.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

amogles said:


> i guess you've ben lucky then. I have experienced very uncouth and bully-boy airport security checks. I've seen old ladies getting shouted at for not jumping fast enough and an elderly gentleman getting bullied and made to delete a photo he took of his wife because they thought you could see security stuff in the background. This is totally illegal because whereas they can take action against him for photography in an allegedly restricted area, they have no legal basis to delete his photographs (besides which you can easily undelete said photos afterwards, so the whole deletion exercise is pointless anyway). They are just spiteful bullies who hate anybody who won't act like a sheep. They always tell us, if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. if that is so, why are they allowed to photograph us, but we not allowed to photograph them? If they wouldn't act like bullies, they wouldn't need to fear that the evidence might appear on Youtube.
> 
> Terrorists will always find ways to kill people. Crimimals will always find ways to evade taxes. But our freedom, once gone, will be difficult to recover.


I've been lucky too, never had a problem in 40 years of travelling. Security staff are there to do a job, many look unfriendly, but then it's an unfriendly type of work. Just let them get on with their work. If security was lax, then people would complain about that too!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Aron said:


> I've been lucky too, never had a problem in 40 years of travelling. Security staff are there to do a job, many look unfriendly, but then it's an unfriendly type of work. Just let them get on with their work. If security was lax, then people would complain about that too!


I used to make regular, weekly, short haul flights plus the occasional long haul flight. I have never been treated discourteously but I have often had the misfortune to be in the close proximity of loud, seemingly half- intoxicated and boorishly behaved fellow passengers whose attitude towards security staff has been aggressive and rude.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

It is done in the name of terror but has been acknowledged even by people at the top that security controls are for really dumb terrorists and is basically just a pretend exercise in trying to make people feel safe.

Do you honestly think a pro group is going to get caught? I have lost count amount of times I have taken item through that should have been detected but not found. 

The queues, the throwing away of liquids, the stress and the cost are just not worth it IMO.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

maxd said:


> It is done in the name of terror but has been acknowledged even by people at the top that security controls are for really dumb terrorists and is basically just a pretend exercise in trying to make people feel safe.
> 
> Do you honestly think a pro group is going to get caught? I have lost count amount of times I have taken item through that should have been detected but not found.
> 
> The queues, the throwing away of liquids, the stress and the cost are just not worth it IMO.


One dumb terrorist could kill hundreds.....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

maxd said:


> It is done in the name of terror but has been acknowledged even by people at the top that security controls are for really dumb terrorists and is basically just a pretend exercise in trying to make people feel safe.
> 
> Do you honestly think a pro group is going to get caught? I have lost count amount of times I have taken item through that should have been detected but not found.
> 
> The queues, the throwing away of liquids, the stress and the cost are just not worth it IMO.


You may well be right. I honestly don't know.
What I do know is that the very minor inconveniences you describe pale into insignificance compared to the remotest chance that I may be blown to pieces half way from London to New York.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Aron said:


> One dumb terrorist could kill hundreds.....



They can do it on the tube, Madrid metro, boston marathon, a london bus and a Bali nightclub. There is no security there.

Even councils in the uk use anti terror legislation to spy on people for putting out their bins going off at a tangent.

For some reason dying falling out of the sky is perceived as more horrific? Let's just let them regulate our lives to death, give up our freedoms in the name of safety shall we?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

maxd said:


> They can do it on the tube, Madrid metro, boston marathon, a london bus and a Bali nightclub. There is no security there.
> 
> Even councils in the uk use anti terror legislation to spy on people for putting out their bins going off at a tangent.
> 
> For some reason dying falling out of the sky is perceived as more horrific? Let's just let them regulate our lives to death, give up our freedoms in the name of safety shall we?


All that is true. Some might infer from that that more security is required, not less!
As a Libertarian you'd be interested in Hobbes ' assertion that the sole duty of any state is to provide conditions of total peace (security) for its citizens. 
I'm no Libertarian and I think the state has further duties to its citizens but Hobbes' view appeals to me.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

maxd said:


> They can do it on the tube, Madrid metro, boston marathon, a london bus and a Bali nightclub. There is no security there.
> 
> Even councils in the uk use anti terror legislation to spy on people for putting out their bins going off at a tangent.
> 
> For some reason dying falling out of the sky is perceived as more horrific? Let's just let them regulate our lives to death, give up our freedoms in the name of safety shall we?


Well, whatever makes you happy. I feel free, I have room to breath. The biggest freedom you may not have is on the Internet. That gets monitored more and everything you write is recorded somewhere!


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## amogles (Feb 4, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> You may well be right. I honestly don't know.
> What I do know is that the very minor inconveniences you describe pale into insignificance compared to the remotest chance that I may be blown to pieces half way from London to New York.


Have you ever stopped to think about how big that "remotest chance that I may be blown to pieces half way from London to New York" is compared to say, the chance you'll be killed by a drunker driver or by food poisoning or many other things the government doesn't spend as much money protecting you from?

It's all about artificial fear mongering. In fact if I was a smart terrorist I'd attack the security check itself because there are always many people gathered there, and without their shoes on they're not going to run very fast.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

amogles said:


> Have you ever stopped to think about how big that "remotest chance that I may be blown to pieces half way from London to New York" is compared to say, the chance you'll be killed by a drunker driver or by food poisoning or many other things the government doesn't spend as much money protecting you from?


The government spends an awful lot of money trying to protect people from drunk drivers and food poisoning. And aren't they always followed by a bunch of people complaining about too much nanny state and Elf & Safety? 

It must be tough being a libertarian in this day and age. I do sympathise, really! But whatever governments do, there will always be some who say they are going too far and others who say they aren't going far enough.


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## amogles (Feb 4, 2014)

NickZ said:


> Imagine if they hadn't done all this and gave a mortgage on your home to somebody else.
> 
> If you want to complain complain about the people that have sued the banks for not helping them wipe. What you're seeing is the banks doing everything possible to protect themselves.


Uh?

If the signature in my passport genuinely didn't match that on the application form, then either my passport must have been a forgery, or I forged somebody else's signature when signing the document, because she was there when I signed it. This is just rules being taken to extremes and common sense being thrown out the window.

My agent said that in his view there was no doubt they were doing it on purpose as the seller of the house was with the same bank and they were trying to foreclose him before he could sell, maybe to be able to pass the property on to some buddy under price. Sometimes strict and stupid rules can be extremely useful for people who have anything but honest intentions.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

amogles said:


> My agent said that in his view there was no doubt they were doing it on purpose as the seller of the house was with the same bank and they were trying to foreclose him before he could sell, maybe to be able to pass the property on to some buddy under price. Sometimes strict and stupid rules can be extremely useful for people who have anything but honest intentions.



I'd have asked them outright who had there name down for it . :lol:


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

amogles said:


> Have you ever stopped to think about how big that "remotest chance that I may be blown to pieces half way from London to New York" is compared to say, the chance you'll be killed by a drunker driver or by food poisoning or many other things the government doesn't spend as much money protecting you from?
> 
> It's all about artificial fear mongering. In fact if I was a smart terrorist I'd attack the security check itself because there are always many people gathered there, and without their shoes on they're not going to run very fast.


Tbh I try not to think about things over which I have little or no control.If I were to get worked up about something it wouldn't be over queueing at an AirPort or undergoing lengthy procedures at banks, tax officers and the like, it would be about issues such as world poverty, global warming, inept government, greed and selfishness..
And I can do sweet f a about those things too...


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Are tin foil hats easy to buy ready made in Spain or do most of the paranoid here make their own?


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