On BBC4 tonight there is a rare chance to see Memento Mori, the 1992 adaptation of Muriel Spark’s novel. You will recall the tale of elderly Londoners receiving anonymous phone calls in which they are reminded they must die. Naturally, they are alarmed.
Spark’s classic was published in 1959. If it was set today the conversation might run as follows: Caller: “Good morning, is that Mrs Elderly?
Mrs E: “Yes.”
Caller: “Hello there, I’m calling from the Bank of Blah fraud department to let you know we’ve detected a problem with your account. We can fix it but we need your help and we need to act quickly. Have you got a pen and paper?”
You can guess the rest because doubtless you or someone you know has had a version of such calls. Most people will hang up immediately (as you should), possibly with a few words of salutation to help the caller on their way.
Some are more trusting and end up paying for their misplaced faith in human nature. I know because last week it happened where I live. As they say on the telly, s*** got real (apologies for the language).
It began with a message on social media from the local police. Fraudsters were targeting the area with phone scams. Money had been taken, so watch out. Word got round, in some cases by good souls printing out the messages and distributing copies to neighbours, samizdat-style. Hopefully no further harm was done, but what about next time?
READ MORE Bank fraud warning after incidents reported
If only there was somewhere, other than the police, you could turn to when something is not quite right. Legend has it there used to be such places. Bank branches they were called. If you have one near you then cherish it, for like the Amur leopard it is an endangered species.
According to the union Unite, more than 6000 bank branches have closed since 2015. The high street near me used to have five, now it is two, and one of them looks like its coat is on a shoogly peg. It is when they remove the chairs that you should start to worry.
Disappearing branches have gone hand in hand with the push towards online banking. The banks have been at this for years, as have other organisations.
I wrote about this last year as part of a complaint about organisations doing away with face-to-face services in favour of call centres. If anything, the situation is becoming worse. Banks in particular seem to be upping the pressure again. Have you tried opening a new account lately? How often have you been told it is digital or nothing?
It is tiresome, for you and the staff, to be asked every time you go in if you have thought about internet banking. If that fails they try to lure you across with better interest rates or other goodies, such as travel insurance. The rates and goodies don’t last but by then it is too late to go back.
Another way to “encourage” customers to go online is to get rid of paper passbooks. How banks hate all that faff of updating the book and running it through the printer. Never mind that you find it easier.
READ MORE Public told to be on their guard
In the bank the other day the talk of the queue was a letter that had gone out announcing the end of passbooks. Someone said: “We’ve fought them off before and we’ll do it again.”
It is like there is a war going on between banks and those customers, many but not all of them elderly, and some who are vulnerable, who do not want online banking. Good for you if it suits and you never want to go near a branch again. The point is the customer should have a choice.
Whenever I’m asked why I don’t want to go digital I mention the risk of fraud, only to be told that online is safer. No proof is ever offered, you simply have to take it on trust. Irony alert.
So let me see if I have this right. The number of bank branches has gone down at the same time as online banking has become more common, and the number of fraud cases has risen. Is it possible the three could be linked?
Some banks give the distinct impression that customers are a nuisance. You and your Luddite worries about fraud. Should be grateful there is still free banking. Never mind all those years handing over your money for the banks to make soaring profits. Everything is online now, so get with the programme.
How patronising. Of course online is here to stay, but there has to be an alternative. If there is one thing we should know about large organisations and their IT systems it is that they can go wrong, as with the Post Office-Horizon scandal. Who did not shudder at that scene in Mr Bates vs the Post Office with the subpostmaster watching as figures changed before her eyes? Remote control of terminals couldn’t happen, said the Post Office. But it could, and it did.
For more news and views please subscribe
Banks are not the Post Office, let’s get that straight. But it is worth noting that what made the difference in the Post Office case was people talking to each other. Rather like you might call the bank or visit a branch and tell them you’ve had a phone call asking you to transfer money. It might be nothing, but just in case.
Seems to me that would buy a lot of customer loyalty. If they want to show they are community-minded they should be welcoming people through the doors, not casting them out to the online wilderness.
Banks should stop regarding customers who don’t want to go online as the enemy. We are not. As for those branches deemed too expensive to keep open, it is not as if the banks are on their uppers. Sometimes it is prudent to invest for the future because situations change. The loss-makers of today might be the lucrative hubs of tomorrow.
In short, have some faith, much like taxpayers did when we bailed out the banks not that long ago. Remember that?
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
visit website
