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Why UK Banks Don't Tweet

Posted by timothy on from the gentlemen-don't-read-one-another's-tweets dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Banks in Great Britain are running scared of using social media services like Facebook and Twitter — owing to case law that dates from 1924." That case law "means financial services companies can't publicly identify an individual who has an account with them," so responding to customer inquiries in other than the traditional ways (like post and in-person) could get banks in trouble.

4 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Banks in the USA by StoatBringer · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Text banking custs, if u lose ur mobile device or chng ur mobile # update ur profile"

    Well, time to change bank to one that can spell "you".

    --
    Cress, cress, lovely lovely cress
  2. Re:Maybe to avoid a public lynching? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Idiot.

    The entire banking system has benefited by a massive cash injection into the economy from the public purse. Money which unlike the direct support for the likes of RBS, we will never get back.

  3. Re:UK Banks do Tweet by Cederic · · Score: 3, Informative

    You do realise those are all brands of the same bank?

  4. Re:Maybe to avoid a public lynching? by jimicus · · Score: 3, Informative

    You also do realise that most banks are private institutions who have received no government support (and so can spend their "stolen" bonus money however they damn well like it), don't you?

    Lloyds TSB was pushed into taking on HBOS, which was insolvent, and as a result had to go cap in hand to the government. Lloyds own Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Cheltenham and Gloucester and Birmingham Midshires.

    Royal Bank of Scotland - who also own Natwest and Ulster Bank - also took a huge bailout.

    They may not be an outright majority of banks - they may not even have more than 50% of the UK retail banking market - but to talk it down like "most banks... have received no government support" is to vastly understate the size of the bailout.