Santander refuses to deal with form written inWelsh

ABANK refused to deal with paperwork submitted by a customer which was written in Welsh.

Santander declined to process membership forms after they were handed in at the bank’s branch in Aberystwyth.

A note said: “Please return these documents to your account holder. Unfortunately Santander can only accept these documents written in English.”

Santander, which operates in more than 20 countries where English is not the main language, has since said it does accept documentation in Welsh.

The paperwork was submitted by Cymdeithas yr Iaith, which says it has now written to Alun Davies, Welsh Government Minister for the Welsh Language, to challenge him to change the bank’s policy.

In a recent White Paper, the minister refused to commit to extending Welsh-language rights to the banking sector because of “present economic uncertainty”.

Manon Elin, of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, told the Daily Post: “This is another example of a private company refusing to provide a Welshlanguage service because they’re not required to do so, and that’s completely unacceptable.

“We must have a language law which ensures that banks have to respect basic rights to use the Welsh language.

“Unfortunately, the Welsh Government’s plans for new legislation make it less likely that banks will have to comply.

“The vast majority of people have to bank, but there is no means of banking online in Welsh, and we have to fight for other basic services in Welsh.”

In July, YouGov published an opinion poll showing that the majority of people want to extend language duties to ensure services are provided in Welsh by banks and supermarkets.

A spokesman for Santander said: “Santander accepts documentation that we receive in Welsh, in line with our Welsh-language policy.

“We understand our customers who live in Wales may have various documentation and forms that will be written in Welsh.

“If our policy has not been followed then we apologise for any unintentional upset this matter may have caused.

“The matter will be reviewed to ensure this does not happen again.

“We are consulting with the Welsh Language Commission and will remind relevant colleagues of our policy to ensure that we continue supporting our Welsh communities in the best possible way.”