Absolutely fuming!!! Lloyds Bank AGAIN!

This isn’t the blog post I was going to write this week however I am so livid I need to vent my frustration.

If you read my blog regularly you will already know that in March (Judgements and gender presumptions) Lucy had a run in at a Lloyds Bank branch where she was paying money into her account while in male mode. To do this she had to present her debit card and type her pin into the card reader. On this occasion she was berated by the bank teller for using someone else’s card. She didn’t say anything at the time to him but did tweet Lloyds about the situation and they did apologise.

Well yesterday Lucy went to pay money into her bank account again but in a different branch this time and again in male mode. This time she had a female teller who told her off for using someone else’s card. Lucy retorted that she could not know for certain that she was using another person’s card and asked her what made her think that it was not hers. “Because you are not Mrs Lucy XXXXX” was the response”. Lucy asked her how she knew for sure that was not her and that it was not her card but the teller continued to accuse Lucy of using someone else's card and pin saying that she should take the card off Lucy as it obviously was not hers. Lucy ended the conversation by saying she was not being rude or pedantic but there is no way that she could know for sure that it was not her card and walked out. Luckily she did manage to pay the money in as the lecture from the teller started afterwards. How embarrassing for Lucy.

I’m not being funny but she was paying money in, not withdrawing, and if there was any doubt in the tellers mind about Lucy’s identity then a discreet request for proof of identity would have cleared the situation up with absolutely no drama or awkwardness at all. Lucy carries a copy of her change of name deed poll with her at all times. What makes this even worse is that Lloyds Banking Group is number 2 on the Stonewall 2016 Top 100 Employers for LGBT! They may be good employers however they are certainly not offering a good service to their transgendered customers (I cannot comment on the LGB).

Yet again Lucy has tweeted Lloyds explaining the situation and also told them that she is transgendered, has changed her name legally and changed it on all documents in advance of her going full time. They apologised and said that they would get a customer service representative to ring her. Eventually they did ring back today and left a message for Lucy to get back to them.

I’ve promised Lucy I’m not going to get involved however my blood is boiling. I know that people’s bank accounts need protecting however there are plenty of ways to verify an individual’s identity should there been any question. It appears any outwardly female presenting person could pay money into Lucy’s account, just not Lucy herself. It is obvious Lloyds need to train their counter and customer facing staff as it seems they have had none at all when it comes to the issue of being transgendered. It is not just a matter of standing up for Lucy but standing up for all the transgendered people out there.

Poor service Lloyds Banking Group!

Update.....
Lloyds have rung and spoken to Lucy. They have sent a letter out but wanted to speak to her personally. They apologised and have admitted that there is a gap in the training that does not cover transgendered people who may present differently to their real gender. They have raised the issue to the relevant department.