Sorry, I am not trying to create discord, but I am merely advising caution to Bank staff so that they do not add extraneous detail which may allow themselves to be identified, which seems a common sense precaution. I must admit that I did not see any T & C's to view the site, only when I registered. I am by nature honest, and I didn't expect a big warm hug when I joined and mentioned my occupation, but I am not here to stand up for Banks, hopefully to offer some information which may be helpful.

Do banks scan these forums ? - I am sure they do. They have departments whose function is to monitor news and reports and to react to issues that become damaging to their reputations, and it would be foolish for them to ignore this place. They require preparation time to comb the hair and feed some platitudes into the mouths of one of their tailor's dummies before he is wheeled out in front of the cameras if they face a negative campaign. Another purpose would be to update on legal tactics that are being deployed against them. To be honest I don't think it is in any way illegal for them to visit here as it is an open forum, and has been said already, why should you worry - you aren't losing cases. I work for a Bank and am on your side, and would be dismissed in a trice for posting here. Ideally they would prefer the messageboard to be hidden from view - so much better to be in their faces don't you think ?

I work for a major Bank - but you must appreciate that, and I am confident that this applies to all staff of UK financial institutions, whether they know it or not, that any participation in a messageboard like this would lead to instant dismissal. In fact I believe that the actual rule is so Draconian that setting up a webpage about my dog would require formal permission. Any who work for a Bank and offer advice should, therefore, always be cautious, but never allow arrogant bullying tactics to deter you - as you see, it hasn't stopped me, and I am moderating on another financial forum elsewhere and I have also actively engaged in claims against Banks - so clearly they have nothing to hide I have no claim to pursue, and no particular axe to grind, and would only seek to offer assistance, where I can, and an insight into things which may come as a surprise to some, and a shock to others. I, thankfully, don't work in an area involved in dealing with accounts (sorry, can't be more specific for reasons mentioned) and have been dumbfounded by the obscenity of some of the cases described on this forum, and it has prompted me to join. Do Bank's scan these forums ? I would be fairly confident that they do. They have media departments who scan for all news articles and reports that may impact on their and other Bank's profiles. I do not imagine that they would be looking at individual cases, more trying to get some overall perspective on tactics and customer attitudes - so it must be pretty depressing reading for them. It is not something to be scared by, and as has been said, the formula works , so their scanning the forum is unlikely to provide them with a 'magic key' defence - just one caveat - don't provide them with insight into your own weakness such as being desperate to settle early. If you claim say £2,000 and this case lands on the desk of an exec and he can get you to settle for £1,500 then he earns a big tick, even though the Bank loses £1,500. If you have set aside claims for other charges it would then be interesting to use any such offer as a prompt to claim the rest - that would make him rush a little more to conclude the original offer more quickly. His interest is purely selfish - if you settle for less he gets a tick - if you get what you want he loses nothing - if his intervention makes the claim grow he gets his aaaaaa*** kicked. I hope I can be of some assistance. I have seen Bank responses in various threads which sound bizarre and I imagine are just plain lies, and there are some general issues such as Bank's fear of regulatory infractions and Basel II - now there's a nasty thing to say to a Banker. Can't provide account transaction details ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_risk#Examples - sound like a Basel II non-compliance issue for them to deal with. Knowledge is power - use it.