HALIFAX bank would like customer Steve Smith to “fuck off”.

Smith, from Lancaster, received a letter addressed to “Dear Off”. Inside was an application form featuring the expletive in black ink.

Says Mr Smith:

“I couldn’t believe the bank has no system for picking up such profanity.”

This is the same trusty Halifax that was recently encouraged by the Financial Services Authority to offer 300,000 mortgage customers, up to a £500m total, having confusing customers about its right to charge them more for their standard variable rate mortgages.

You see, when back in 2008 and early 2009 the Bank of England reduced its official bank rate from 5% to 0.5% , the Halifax chose not to  decided not to move its standard variable rate (SVR) in step, preferring to see is margins increase. Oh, and the Government bailed it out with your tax money.

Says Mr Smith:

“Luckily my daughter is four months old, not four years old, as I wouldn’t want her to read such filth, especially from a trusted banking organisation. Unbeknown to the Halifax, I was about to move my current account to them. But there is no way I would now as they’ve already told me to f-off! At the minute, banks have a bad reputation, and this type of thing really doesn’t help their cause.”

But might this be the way forward for banking – they get to tell their customers what they really think of, offering new branded accounts with names like “Mug”, “We Do Not Give A Toss About You”, “Soft Touch” and “Daylight Robbery”.  It might not be nice, but it would at least be honest.