No, it's not a write-up about RyanAir (although the title would fit), it's a write-up about the Tampa branch of Bank of America and a bank in Guangdong, China.
What can these two banks have in common?
Jobsworths.
Jobsworths are those little sticklers for details who enjoy their moment of control over the world.
They have no power normally but, give them a moment in the sun, and they will always just say 'no' when they could say 'yes'.
The Bank of America jobsworth was reported by Fox News:
It was supposed to be a quick stop at the Bank of America in downtown Tampa.
"I
said, 'I'm going to run over downtown on my break, cash the check and
bring the cash back.' No big deal," Steve Valdez said. "It turned out
to be a very big deal."
Valdez said he was cashing a check from
his wife, who has an account at Bank of America. But the teller told
Valdez she needed a thumbprint in order to cash it -- it was company
policy.
It's not that Valdez didn't want to provide it. He couldn't provide it, and the teller even acknowledged it.
"'It's
obvious that you can't give us a thumbprint.' She goes, 'Let me go
check with my supervisor,'" Valdez recalled the teller told him.
Valdez
was born without arms and wears prosthetic devices. While at the bank,
Valdez said he provided two photo IDs. And still that wasn't enough,
although, the bank supervisor offered him two options.
"One is,
you can bring your wife with you. And the other one, you can open up an
account with us. And I said, no, I don't think so," Valdez added.
Valdez
said he reminded bank officials the American for Disabilities Act would
have a problem with their unfair treatment, but that didn't seem to
bother them.
"You do realize this is in violation of federal law
and really you haven't heard the end of it," Valdez said. "And she
goes, 'Whatever.'"
The Chinese Bank jobsworth by Life of Guangzhou:
A bank in Dongguan in the southern province of Guangdong refused to
open an account for a would-be customer because they said his name, Li
Jun, was too common. The bank said their computer system could only
deal with 300 people with the same names, and they already had 300
account holders with the name Li Jun, the Danwei website reported.
This is a relatively common problem in China, because nearly 90 per cent of the population shares the same 129 family names.
The
301st Mr Li is apparently considering suing the bank. While the article
did not reveal the name of the bank, it did say that none of the other
banks in the city have such limits on accounts for people with
identical names. The manager of the bank said he did not understand
either, and speculated that the policy "may be out of consideration for
customer security."
A lawyer said that while there was no law
stopping a bank from allowing customers to bank with them, they
provided a service like a taxi and should be required to serve
customers unless they have a valid reason.
At least these guys didn't have a result as bad as the McJobsworth in the 1993 film "Falling Down":
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
