Bank employee who posted advice on websites is fired
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
He is the rarest of creatures: a decent, likeable banker. For more than two years Tim Keirman was the mystery guardian angel of the bank charges campaign. While still working for NatWest he helped thousands of customers get their money back by posting anonymous guidance on consumer forum websites, much to the chagrin of his employers. Last week, his identity was finally discovered by the bank. Its revenge was swift, and savage.
Mr Keirman, a 34-year-old cashier and MoneySense adviser for NatWest's Cambridge branch since 1998, yesterday revealed his identity to the IoS. After a disciplinary hearing last Wednesday, he was sacked for gross misconduct.
Mr Keirman dedicated his spare time to helping customers navigate the bureaucracy needed to get their money back by offering targeted advice and leaking internal guideline documents.
Marc Gander of the website Consumer Action Group said: "People see him as a hero. He was tremendously helpful."
Mr Keirman said yesterday: "It was good to get a sense that I was helping someone. I didn't agree with our charging structure and there were a number of times when I heard the charges were ruining lives."
A spokeswoman for NatWest said last night: "We can confirm that a member of NatWest staff has recently been dismissed for gross misconduct for releasing confidential internal information without authorisation to a third party."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
Such a pity that decent honest people like this are pilloried by Idiotic, Incompetent and Selfish Management at Nat West!
May they all float in their own verbal diarrhoea very soon!
Mike
Gobbs
x
In the surreal world of banks it is essential to give bonuses to staff whose incompetence has lost shareholders millions, and absolutely vital to sack a Good Samaritan who in his own time was helping customers to get money back that was rightfully theirs.
Morality, morality, wherefore art thou, morality?
Chris Ziesler
as a whistleblower - who will employee him now.. silly man.
Well done Tim!
Good Luck and keep up the good work.
Happyolddog............Liam........
Although not mentioned I also suspect many of their practices probably had an effect on his decision to expose them
The banks & those who run them, have been seen to be without conscience & motivated entirley by greed
Tanzarelli
Good luck !
So what happens when they discover they have a champion of "free impartial advice" amongst them.
Exactly the same as if he had expressed concerns about Fred Goodwins meglamania and purchase of toxic debt from America.
Unlike Sir Fred he will not be in a position to live the life of reily and employ the likes of Phil Hall to conduct his PR.
Any body remember when Banking was based on TRUST (not me I'm not that old).
Who would you trust to look after your fiscal well beingGordon Brown or Tim Keirman?
Which ever Banking institution has the forsight to employ this man will be getting my business.
Your help & campaigning is very much appreciated by a great many people!
Smasher
This speaks volumes in my opinion and just goes to show that many ordinary customers refuse to be raped financially by financial firms such as banks and other lenders and are willing to bring them to account for their highly inflated charging systems and rip off insurance products which are often mis-sold or forced under duress.
The tide of change is upon us.
Perhaps the banks should wake up to the fact that there is/are/always has been and always will be decent people like Tim who are willing to risk their employment to do what is right.
For years the banks have levied unfair and disproportionate charges on their customers and have become increasingly arrogant in the way they enforced them. In doing so they thought they were above the law and beyond any public accountability. People like Tim helped to bring them down a peg or two.
Given that this is Britain, it was perhaps too much to hope that there wouldn't be payback for this. Tim's sacking by Nat West was probably inevitable but nonetheless disgraceful as he recognised that what his employers did was unlawful. At the same time the Government has not only stopped people from recovering unlawful bank charges it has also suspended all complaints about them.
In the banks and this Government we have a perfect storm of incompetence, arrogance and lies.
Well done on all that you have achieved, hope you find work soon & thanks for the help I recieved directly of you in dealing with a severly disabled lady's claim.
aa
Maybe he shud have been more polite then someone wudnt have informed his superiors of his activites.
I get that it seems like he was trying to be helpful but i think there may be more than meets the eye on this one. as this guy always came across as a bit of a jerk.
Good for you Mr Keirman. I have a lot of respect for you. I think the bank has too much power to bully the mass. We need a few more people who will at least try to stand up to what they believe in.
Well done!