Human Error Exposes Mortgage Customer Data at Santander

The financial institution apparently sent documents on clients Claire Nightingale and Simon Jones containing confidential earnings information to another customer.

“Bizarrely when they complained to Santander's chief executive, the response from an executive complaints manager included three more confidential documents intended for other customers,” the Telegraph reports.

The couple went through eight hours of phone interviews with Santander about porting a loan and a face-to-face interview was arranged with a mortgage adviser.

But, Nightingale says, the personnel were incompetent and knew nothing about the products Santander offers.

Eventually the bank agreed to port the loan but there were long delays with the paperwork.

Finally some paperwork arrived in the mail, but it belonged to another Santander customer.

The documents for Jones and Nightingale are still missing.

After complaining about the way the whole process was handled, Nightingale’s case was passed to an executive complaints manager, who responded via email offering £500 compensation.

“But unbelievably, in another serious security breach, he attached three letters meant for other customers, or their MPs, who had complained to Santander about their treatment by the bank,” according to the Telegraph.

This stash of letters contained confidential information too.

“We identified that one of our new team members had, in error, sent an email to Ms Nightingale which had attached three letters addressed to other customers,” a Santander spokesperson said. “Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken to address the matter and we have also written to all three customers concerned to advise them of the situation and apologize for the error.”