Man cross-stitches debit card to protest replacement delay

A Santander customer made to wait more than two weeks for a replacement debit card has expressed his displeasure by cross-stitching his own replica and sending it to the bank.

On Monday Keith Clark took to Facebook to complain to Santander that, 19 days after he first requested it, he was still waiting for a replacement for his cloned debit card.

Wrote Clark: "With the seven-day-switch, it's actually quicker for me to entirely uproot and change banks and get a new card from them, than it is to wait eight-to-ten days with you. How does that make sense? Ridiculous."

Yesterday he returned to Facebook to reveal that he had found a novel way to illustrate his frustration, cross-stitching a debit card and posting it to Santander, using the recorded delivery tool to see when it arrived.

I suppose i should probably post this here since thats why you're all following me now. Welcome new followers, i mostly do hip hop stuff, hope thats cool. Old followers, if you fancy reading the story behind the debit card cross stitch, try this link http://www.theladbible.com/articles/lad-has-awful-customer-service-experience-so-shows-them-how-to-do-their-job #crossstitch #theladbible

A photo posted by Keith Clark (@ks_clark) on May 19, 2015 at 4:53pm PDT

"Anything less than twenty days, and I would like you to justify to me how, in 2015, you cannot get me a debit card when I need one. I'm a customer of ten years, living within minutes of half a dozen branches, working within fifteen minutes of your head office in London, and I have plenty of free time to wait around for couriers or delivery guys."

The stunt has gone viral, picking up hundreds of likes on Facebook and Instagram. One commentator revealed that she had waited 10 weeks for a replacement card and another four for her PIN.

Meanwhile, a Santander staffer on Facebook wrote: "Keith, we would like to try and assist, we may not be able to expedite things but we can try to make sure the latest card issued is received. If you would like us to do this then please email. Dave."

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Comments: (2)

A Finextra member 21 May, 2015, 15:54

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That is a pretty slick way to prove a point.

But don't expect much change, the banks do what they want, when they want. At the end of the day, we're (the consumers)just a number. Funny thing is I actually caught wind of this as it was spreading on Facebook. It definitely went viral in a major way.

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A Finextra member 22 May, 2015, 10:02

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Funnier part is th ereply from th ebank. Instead of expediting the process at their end they now expect Keith to confirm in an email that he would like the card to be issued as if the stiched card would actually work in the ATMs.. :-)