Downtime

Reader Robin Edmonds writes, "I received my notice from the Santander Nominee Service today and decided to sell some shares. I called the number quoted for shareholder services and was surprised to be greeted by a voice welcoming me to a sex chatline, which invited me to press one for gay and two for straight. I waited for 'press three to sell your shares', but it was not on the menu.
"I then called the helpdesk, and got an operative who sounded keen to help me. I tried to explain that I was more worried about the extra service that Santander seemed to have added to its portfolio, but he was now halfway down his script.
"Eventually, he 'took my problem on board' and promised to 'action it to the appropriate section'. I realised later that the letter had a one where there should have been a zero, and was able to sell my shares. I wonder how many people have received the same letter, and how much the chatline has made from Santander shareholders?"