Published: Wednesday, 6th August, 2008 12:00
BANK VICTORY FOR BARRHEAD OAP
By Amanda Keenan
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A pensioner took his fight with the biggest banking firm in the UK to the streets of Barrhead – and won.
And the local man is urging others to “stick up” for themselves when it comes to challenging multi-
national firms.
Andrew Barnes protested outside the Bank of Scotland on Main Street until the manager agreed to cough up more than £3,000.
The sprightly 72-year-old made the stand on behalf of his daughter Rosalind and son-in-law Stephen Francis after mean spirited bank bosses refused to pay out holiday insurance.
The couple had to cancel their dream trip to Cuba after Stephen’s father suddenly passed away – but were left further devastated when told they would not be getting a single penny back.
After contacting the bank on several occasions determined Andrew decided the only way to get the money back was by peaceful protest.
Speaking exclusively to the Barrhead News he said: “There was no way I was going to let them get away with this.
“You have to stand up to the establishment. And I am glad I did.
“The distressing thing for us all as a family is that this situation was unnecessary and we had to resort to protesting in order to get someone to speak to us.”
Barrhead’s very own Braveheart took to the streets at 9am on Thursday morning armed with signs and was prepared to stay until the issues were resolved.
He added: “I was outside the bank for two hours before my daughter Rosalind spoke to the bank manager.
“The manager was very understanding and by 1pm she told us that two banking executives had agreed to refund the full cost of £3,359.
“She also admitted that the situation should never have happened in the first place and to be fair she did work at break speed to resolve it.
“It just shows that you have to stick up for yourself otherwise my daughter and her husband would still be out of pocket.
Now the couple are planning another holiday with the money and it’s all thanks to Andrew.
He added: “I would also like to thank the Barrhead News for their much appreciated support without which our struggle for justice would have been prolonged.”
A spokesperson for the Bank of Scotland said: “I can confirm that the full settlement is being reimbursed. We send our full apologies to our customer for any inconvenience caused.”
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Further Details
Tribute to mum aged 32