A Bank of Scotland apology to a Scotsman has come after the financial institution labelled his Thai wife a “criminal.”
Ashby McGowan, from Glasgow and Thanaporn Sonkew, obtained £150 (US$180, 6,000 baht) for the “distress and inconvenience” they’d been caused, according to The Nation.
McGowan and Thanaporn find themselves trapped in a “hostile environment” with odd law-abiding Thais seemingly routinely thought of to be crooks. The battle in opposition to Kafkaesque regulations for a Bank of Scotland apology has been rapidly followed by entry into a confusing maze of visa regulations.
The couple were married in a Buddhist ceremony in Thailand, but the Home Office did not recognise it and refused three visa purposes.
They wed in Glasgow last month, but then McGowan spoke of the Bank of Scotland’s refusal to open a joint account for them.
When McGowan tried to send a small sum of money to Thanaporn in Thailand, Bank of Scotland workers described her as “a legal.” The Bank of Scotland apology came accompanied by the rather strange amount of £11 (US$15, 450 baht) in compensation, but it made little distinction. When he went into one other department to transfer some more cash, he was told by the supervisor that it was a scam.
Even when he confirmed her the proof of the £11 Bank of Scotland apology had acquired for the earlier insult, she stored him waiting for over two hours before eventually transferring the cash.
Professional apologiser for Bank of Scotland, grievance supervisor Courtney Speirs then wrote…
“I was sorry to examine your experiences making an attempt to send cash to your fiancée in Thailand over the previous few years.
“I perceive you have also confronted difficulties including Thanaporn to your account. Please accept Whopping for the misery and inconvenience you have both been caused. To apologize extra tangibly, I’m arranging to pay £150 into your account.”
Speirs expressed her “disappointment” about the difficulties that they had experienced on a quantity of occasions. She went on…
“We take account security very significantly and have precautions in place to protect our prospects from scams. These are not intended to get in the means in which of shoppers going about their on a daily basis banking.
“I wish to reassure you that your experiences haven’t been because of bigotry, which we would never tolerate. Nevertheless, we have let you down on a quantity of events and left a poor impression.
“Going forwards, I hope we will restore your faith in us and thank you once more for taking the time to raise your concerns.”
McGowan stated their joint account was now energetic and he was happy. But the subsequent battle for his spouse to be granted leave to stay in Scotland is simply beginning.
He said…
“For this visa, you want – dated within a week – 12 months’ financial institution statements, every to be stamped and dated. It is crucial. At two completely different branches, I was informed they can not do this. They give out three months’ statements at most..