My Bank Tried To Silence Me
Tuesday, 1. September 2009, 21:57:00
Back in April I wrote a blog post about my bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland and their service. The post was basically a big rant about how they managed to cancel my debit card, despite me realising and warning them numerous times throughout the day that this was happening - you can read the full story here.
I trusted them to sort it, but with my card being cancelled I was left stranded in Manchester city centre and had no money for the next few days, where I was meant to be going out in Leeds that night. And, what's more, it was a whole two weeks later before I received a new card / pin code and had access to my account again.
According to the stats I receive from my Opera Community blog, an average of 100 new people read this post each month. According to Opera Community staff, lawyers to The Royal Bank of Scotland have sent a take-down notice regarding that blog post.
I can't believe that after receiving such bad service from my own bank (of which I'm still a customer), someone from the company reads my blog post and then chooses to silence their own customer instead of taking all of two minutes to comment with a simple apology.
I don't have anything witty to add, I'm just glad I'm blogging on a service that cares about and allows freedom of speech. The story stays.
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WIDGETIZE
DrLaunch # 1. September 2009, 22:03
You deserve an official apology from your bank.
Andrew Nguyen # 1. September 2009, 22:13
Charles Schloss # 2. September 2009, 01:03
Opera Power
Tamil # 2. September 2009, 02:20
Robert Jacobsen # 2. September 2009, 06:52
Matt Cox # 2. September 2009, 08:50
Originally posted by amnith:
Tamil # 2. September 2009, 10:08
Mark Dormand # 2. September 2009, 10:41
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 12:12
You go, girl.
Can you sort out my national wide building society? They're a bunch of seeyounexttuesdays too.
:)
Charles Schloss # 2. September 2009, 16:54
Originally posted by amnith:
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 17:47
I think you do not understand your place in the universe. If you act like a twat, you will attract attention accordingly.
It is such a shame RBS haven't sued you. Or that you didn't get hit by a bus today. Here's hoping something suitable happens tomorrow to you. Like hepatitis or something equally annoying. Now, go die quickly you retarded, cretinous excuse for a human being.
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 18:05
I call bullshit on this.
Please call the press and make it into a story. I reckon you won't because you're actually in the wrong and whining about it.
Prove us wrong and make it into a news story. Won't happen, because you're full of shit.
Matt Cox # 2. September 2009, 19:26
Originally posted by anonymous:
Interesting, Mr Anonymous. And how exactly did I act like a twat? Maybe you've mistaken me for someone else; I sense a lot of hatred in your words.
Originally posted by Marc Smith:
You call bullshit on it? Bullshit on what exactly - that they tried to call for my post to be taken down? I do have proof of this in the way of a formal take-down notice from Pinsent Masons but haven't published it at the request of Opera Software - as it was sent to them.
I think the only way I'd be 'in the wrong' is for using their logo in conjunction with my rant about how shit their service is. I believe this is defacing their brand in some way or possibly breaking some ludicrous copyright law by using their actual logo in the first place.
However, if the company provided a good service - why should they need to worry about their brand being defaced by bad word-of-mouth. If their service was good, I wouldn't need to associate their brand with negativity.
'Call the press and make it into the story'? Why!? Is it really *that* big of a deal that the nation should know about it? Do we really need to feed the tabloids with shitty negative news. This is my personal blog; I posted it here without intention of attracting attention from anyone other than my current readership - which is mostly friends and family.
Thanks for dropping by Marc Smith and for also leaving your name whilst commenting anonymously.
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 20:00
mostly friends and family
and special friends
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 20:03
I AM SO ANGRY. YOUR POST MAKES ME ANGRY.
I MAY OR MAY NOT BE BLEEDING. FROM MY ANUS.
Espen André Øverdahl # 2. September 2009, 20:13
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 20:18
I am bleeding from my blood which is boiling over with putrid hatred. Just haven't figured out why
Robert Jacobsen # 2. September 2009, 20:44
Originally posted by EspenAO:
You can never have enough of these people. Also, QFT!
Anonymous # 2. September 2009, 20:57
sounds just like that other bloke who got annoyed at you a few weeks/months back.
I closed my account with Nat West because they couldn't get it right, after 6 weeks of having no card and no access to my money (they kept telling me they'd sent it to a bank in central Manchester, when I got there it wasn't there - apparently they couldn't send it to the branch less than half a mile from my house?). Have you noticed that these days banks do everything in their power to avoid giving you cash over the counter? My current bank will up your daily limit for a 24 hour time period rather than count the cash... and have you noticed how they only open stupid hours, like 10-3pm, when most of the population (ie those with cash) are WORKING!
A lot of banks in Salford don't even open Saturday mornings, it's like going back in time 20 odd years, same with the post office - half day closing on a Wednesday - I mean who does that? eno wonder it closed through lack of use? although I'm sure moving a lot of the services to the main post office didn't help matters much either...
Sorry coxy, seems you hit a nerve there
:)
DrLaunch # 2. September 2009, 21:43
Andrew Nguyen # 2. September 2009, 21:48
Charles Schloss # 3. September 2009, 00:02
These are some funny comments
Originally posted by EspenAO:
Charlie # 3. September 2009, 03:05
Ramūnas # 3. September 2009, 08:13
Anonymous # 3. September 2009, 11:04
awesome, I'm glad you wrote a post about the takedown :D