Financial Services Authority.
Poll
Retail Firms Division, or at least that is what I discovered RFD stood for. A few days ago I sent an innocuous e-mail to a Building Society in Northern Ireland. All I wanted was some information on an account, to open a new one, proof of identity and so on.
Fairly straightforward, anyway I only have a few quid (very few quid) so we are not talking about enough cash to buy a casino in Las Vegas. The B. Soc replied with general stuff, bring a passport, or drivers licence. Today I received another e-mail. Guess it was a mistake, it had all sorts of dire threats if one divulged what was in it but was addressed to the FSA. Mix up? My e-mail is languishing in an office of the FSA? Oh well.
It seems that every message is tracked, that if you ask about opening a standard, ordinary account at a local building society that it is logged, tracked, filed, indexed and acted on. Or is it just me? Poor Ron Broxted, suspected money launderer, terrorist bag man and dodgy geezer. Like they say on "Crime-watch" don't have nightmares.
Finally I was looking at a site that mentioned Jews leaving Germany in 1933. A wise move one would think. I often talked to those who stayed on, by 1938 it was almost impossible to go. Why stay? "We thought it would get better". What if Britain does not get better? Thankfully I have my U.S visa tucked away for a rainy day.
Retail Firms Division, or at least that is what I discovered RFD stood for. A few days ago I sent an innocuous e-mail to a Building Society in Northern Ireland. All I wanted was some information on an account, to open a new one, proof of identity and so on.
Fairly straightforward, anyway I only have a few quid (very few quid) so we are not talking about enough cash to buy a casino in Las Vegas. The B. Soc replied with general stuff, bring a passport, or drivers licence. Today I received another e-mail. Guess it was a mistake, it had all sorts of dire threats if one divulged what was in it but was addressed to the FSA. Mix up? My e-mail is languishing in an office of the FSA? Oh well.
It seems that every message is tracked, that if you ask about opening a standard, ordinary account at a local building society that it is logged, tracked, filed, indexed and acted on. Or is it just me? Poor Ron Broxted, suspected money launderer, terrorist bag man and dodgy geezer. Like they say on "Crime-watch" don't have nightmares.
Finally I was looking at a site that mentioned Jews leaving Germany in 1933. A wise move one would think. I often talked to those who stayed on, by 1938 it was almost impossible to go. Why stay? "We thought it would get better". What if Britain does not get better? Thankfully I have my U.S visa tucked away for a rainy day.