Thu, 9 September 2010
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Gone are the days here in the backwaters of the Languedoc-Roussillon when we can trust our local bank manager to tell us the truth and act in our interests. To be more specific neither my wife nor I will ever trust Crédit Agricole Sud Mediterranée again. The lies, and lies by omission by which we were conned into putting all our savings at risk are incredible and still painful to recall.
I have held a current account with Crédit Agricole for the last 16 years. When I moved over here permanently in 2003 my wife and I transferred a substantial part of our savings to a deposit account (compte sur livret) with the same bank. Although the interest is a mere 2%, the capital was not at risk. Indeed, neither of us has ever risked any of our modest capital at any stage in our lives.
*quote1*Out of the blue one day in March 2006 our local bank manager, Madame F, whom we had known and met several times over the preceding three years, (she is actually styled a conseil analyste or financial adviser), summoned us to the bank “to discuss your deposit account.” When we arrived for the meeting at the appointed time she characteristically kept us waiting for half an hour before summoning us to her office. The bank was then just closing for the sacred 90-minute dinner break. (In these parts, the main meal of the day – le diner - is always at mid-day).
At the outset I had better make it clear that there was no language problem. Although our French is far from perfect, we have no trouble in understanding and being understood in face-to-face situations.
Apologising for the delay, she said she had been very busy, and that she had many other clients still to see about their deposit accounts. We did indeed notice on her desk a long list of other customers marked with a fluorescent yellow highlighter whom she was working through and ticking off.
“This meeting is just a formality,” she said. “As a matter of policy Crédit Agricole is converting all existing deposit accounts containing “une somme importante” (a substantial amount) to a new account called a Compte Titre.”
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