KATIE MORLEY INVESTIGATES
YOUR CONSUMER CHAMPION
‘RBS let me spy on my ex-wife’s credit card statements for eight years. It is worrying’ Dear Katie
Q I split with my ex-wife in 2016 but RBS still persists in sending me, via email, my ex-wife’s credit card correspondence. I regularly receive notices about her latest statements, credit limits and missed payments. It has been eight years since we divorced, in acrimonious circumstances, and I have had no contact with her.
I have asked RBS to stop sending me these emails. I have begged it to remove my email address from its system. When I first complained the customer agent told me to “contact my wife” and have her update the details. I responded pointing out that I have no communication with my ex-wife because I do not have any contact details for her. However, RBS still refuses to remove my email address from her account, or ask her to have it removed.
While the emails don’t allow me to see her login details, I can see her spending behaviour and what banking products she is taking out. I find it greatly concerning that RBS thinks it is acceptable to send me this information.
– Anon
Dear Reader
A You say this was an unwelcome reminder of a period you’ve now put firmly behind you, but I can only imagine how horrified your ex-wife would be if she found out you had been able to see what she’d been up to all these years, simply by looking at her credit card statements.
It appears that when you separated your ex-wife never bothered to remove your email address from her account. She must have not realised you were still receiving all her private correspondence. Once you made clear to RBS that you should not be receiving these emails, and explained why, it should have asked her whether she wanted your email address removed from the account. But as is often the case when companies receive complaints from members of the public who are not their customers, your case was not dealt with promptly. This can be because big companies’ internal systems and processes do not accommodate non-customers, meaning their complaints can fall by the wayside.
Happily, after my involvement you received an email from RBS which has stopped you from receiving your ex-wife’s private emails. This means it must have finally explained the situation to her, prompting her to remove you from the account. A NatWest spokesman said: “We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and we have resolved the issue.”
‘My 18-year-old Jimmy Choos are real, but Vinted says they’re fake’ Dear Katie
Q I recently signed up for Vinted so I could sell my shoes and clothes, some of which are designer labels. The first item I listed was a pair of Jimmy Choo couture strappy satin sandals that my husband bought me 18 years ago. I posted them with several good quality photos showing their very good near-new condition, and priced them at £100. The photos clearly showed the branding, and importantly, the branded dust bag and shoe box. Almost immediately I received a notification that accused me of trying to flog a fake. Vinted said it was a fraudulent offence to try to pass off fakes on its site, and I was informed that my post would be removed. I was told that any further attempts to fraudulently sell other similar items would result in my account being cancelled.
I know these shoes are genuine, because my husband bought them from Jimmy Choo personally in his store. Because it was nearly two decades ago, we no longer have the receipt. I submitted an appeal, which was turned down. Vinted said an expert had looked at the photos and was satisfied that my shoes were not genuine Jimmy Choo. I am angry about being told I am a liar and would like an apology from Vinted.
– SK, via email
Dear Reader
A You are offended by Vinted’s accusation because these shoes are not just any old Jimmy Choos, you say. They are Jimmy Choo couture. You say your husband visited the Jimmy Choo couture store in London in 2009, purchasing two pairs of £400 shoes for you. In fact, you claim your husband bought them from Jimmy Choo himself.
Vinted has introduced new ways to detect fake goods, with the aim of giving buyers a higher level of confidence. It assesses photos sellers submit, and it then uses a combination of “technical, procedural, automated and non-automated tools” to make decisions.
Your vintage Jimmy Choos had failed the test, but I wasn’t convinced this could be reliably depended on, so I decided to send the images you sent me to Jimmy Choo for inspection. I felt it was the only one who could really say for sure whether your shoes were genuine. Given this, I was disappointed when it completely ignored my request.
Happily though, Vinted reviewed your case and admitted its team made a mistake when they rejected your appeal. When you reshared all the photos and further details, it said it was satisfied about your shoes’ authenticity, so now you’re free to list them again.
A Vinted spokesman said: “A link to appeal is always included for members to provide any supporting evidence for us to manually evaluate. When listing items of high value, we strongly recommend members include photos to show authenticity as per the instructions on the app.”