Card transactions by proxy

[Roland Perry]

In article <4D9B2C08.3070509 at callnetuk.com>, Peter Mitchell 
<otcbn at callnetuk.com> writes
>I have a Santander credit card account. Their statements do come with 
>Giro slips attached. These slips nominate a collection account owned by 
>Santander Credit Card Services at Bank of Santander itself. As it 
>happens I also have a Bank of Santander current account (nee Abbey). 
>So, I thought, I could pay my Santander CC bill by writing a cheque on 
>my Santander current account, going to my local Santander branch and 
>handing the Santander cheque and Santander giro slip over the Santander 
>counter to a Santander teller who could then pay it into the Santander 
>Credit Card Services account at Bank of Santander.
>
>But no. That's not possible. Santander don't allow it.

I opened an Alliance and Leicester account just before they were bought 
by Santander [1]. When I went into the branch recently I was accosted by 
a member of staff and grilled about whether I was really a proper 
Santander account holder, or was it (strongly implied second class 
citizen) one of these old Alliance and Leicester ones.

[1] And ever since that they've been threatening to change the account 
number to a Santander one, their leaflet saying loudly three times page 
after page that I have absolutely nothing to do, everything will be 
swapped automagically. Except of course, buried near the end, to tell 
foreigners who want to send me bank transfers. Guess where my income's 
from!)
-- 
Roland Perry