Halifax are branded ‘old fashioned bullies’ as MORE customers close their accounts after social media manager told them to LEAVE if they don’t like staff sharing pronouns on badges – as PR expert predicts a ‘Ratner-moment’ for bank
Halifax’s pronouns PR disaster has sparked an exodus of customers and their savings today as its bosses were branded ‘old fashioned bullies’.
Britons are closing their accounts en masse after the bank’s social media team told them to leave if they don’t like their new badges to help avoid ‘accidental misgendering’ of staff.
One account holder told MailOnline they have already pulled out investments and savings worth £450,000 while many more said they are closing ISAs after they accused the bank of ‘alienating’ them with ‘pathetic virtue signalling’.
Another reader cancelled his Halifax credit cards online today and told customer services: ‘Pronouns matter when used properly, I will not be told by a bank what I can and can’t’.
Branding expert Martin Townsend said Halifax’s policy is a ‘Ratner moment’ and an ‘astonishing’ mistake that will be considered one of the biggest PR blunders in recent history.
He told LBC: ‘It’s a Ratner moment I would say. It’s astonishing that they do something to make themselves look right on and virtue signalling – and they end up looking like the most old fashioned bullies, vertel hulle: “If you don’t like it you’re welcome to leave”. It’s extraordinary. Who treats their customers like that? I’ve never heard of a company inviting their customers to go. How is that inclusive?’.
The row began this week when Halifax, which was propped up by the taxpayer to the tune of £30billion as part of a 2008 redding, tweeted its 118,000 followers on Tuesday revealing that it would allow staff to display their pronouns on their name badges, in a post that read ‘pronouns matter’.
It showed a photo of a female staff member’s name badge, which featured ‘she/her/hers’ in brackets under the name Gemma.
One customer replied: ‘There’s no ambiguity about the name “Gemma”. It’s a female person’s name. Met ander woorde, it’s pathetic virtue signalling and is seen as such by almost everyone who has responded to the initial tweet. Why are you trying to alienate people?’ As ek op die IED getrap het wat my beseer het terwyl ek oor die parkeerterrein van 'n Sentraal-Londen-hospitaal gestap het 20 minutes a member of the Halifax social media team, calling himself Andy M, antwoord: ‘If you disagree with our values, you’re welcome to close your account’.
Andy M’s response has outraged customers, and seen hundreds claiming they will boycott the bank with many saying they have closed their accounts. Others have cut up their credit cards or getting rid of insurance policies and said the threat was the final straw after it cut 27 branches alone in 2022.
Een het aan MailOnline gesê: ‘My entire family have now transferred their accounts to Nationwide, cards etc. Loss to Halifax is in excess of 450K in investment accounts and savings’. 'N Ander het gesê: ‘I closed my credit card account today, after fifteen years of being a customer’, while one exiting customer who is now changing ISAs containing more than £11,000 and said: ‘If they politely said try to use the pronouns on the badge – I would have done my best’, but left because he perceived their threat meant ‘there would be hell to pay if I got it wrong’.
One customer from the Midlands said he has transferred £1,100 from his credit card to another company today, en gesê: ‘I’ve closed my account….sick to death of woke’.
Voormalige Doctor Who-draaiboekskrywer Gareth Roberts, 'n Halifax-kliënt sedert 1988, aan die bank gesê: 'Ek is 'n homoseksuele man. Ek is geskok oor jou aanneming van hierdie homofobiese, vrou-hatende klapper, en deur jou houding teenoor kliënte wat heeltemal redelike besware daarteen maak.’ Maatskappydirekteur Anders Jersby het sy Halifax-motorversekeringspolis beëindig en gesê dat hy nooit weer met Halifax sal handel nie, danksy 'hul manewales met voornaamwoorde'.
Natwest, Nationwide and HSBC all have optional pronoun policies for badges. HSBC even shared the Halifax post, tweeting its 101,000 volgelinge: ‘We stand with and support any bank or organisation that joins us in taking this positive step forward for equality and inclusion. It’s vital that everyone can be themselves in the workplace’.
The row began on Tuesday when Halifax posted on Twitter a photo of a uniform badge with the words ‘she/her/hers’ onder die naam Gemma en die verklaring: 'Voornaamwoorde maak saak'. Daar word gesê dat die skuif ontwerp is om 'toevallige misgender' te vermy’
The critical tweets prompted the bank to defend its new policy by responding to the tweets. It said in one post: 'Ons streef na insluiting, equality and quite simply, in doing what’s right. As jy nie met ons waardes saamstem nie, you’re welcome to close your account’
This MailOnline reader cancelled his credit cards today and told customer services: ‘Pronouns matter when used properly, I will not be told by a bank what I can and can’t’. Others suggested the return of Howard Brown, the branch worker who became the face of the bank
This angry customer who claimed to have been with Halifax since the 1990s said they were moving their mortgage, cancelling their credit cards and closing their deposit account
People are seen using Halifax cash machines in Manchester. The bank has refused to rescind its pronoun policy
Mr Townsend referred to Gerald Ratner, who infamously caused the value of the jewellery firm he was chief executive of to plummet after branding one of its products as ‘total c**p’ in a speech.
Meer as 150 social media users have since said they are boycotting the former building society after being lectured about inclusivity.
Some have cut up their credit cards while others are lodging complaints about Halifax’s social media manager who, when customers accused the bank of ‘virtue-signalling’, vir hulle gesê: ‘If you disagree with our values, jy is welkom om jou rekening te sluit.’
Een gebruiker het gesê: ‘Just closed my Halifax account after 19 years with them. They can stick their pronouns up their/his/her a**e’.
'N Ander het gesê: ‘My wife and I have followed this advice, partly due to Halifax’s current virtue signalling but mostly the eagerness of AndyM to lose customers.Mortgage is being moved, kredietkaarte is gekanselleer, deposito rekening gesluit. Had been with you since the 90s. Nice work.’
Gisteraand kliënt Caroline Ffiske, 'n voormalige konserwatiewe raadslid, gesê: 'Dit is ongelooflik onbeskof vir Halifax om vir kliënte te sê as jy nie daarvan hou nie, gaan weg. Dit is verstommend om 'n bank te hê wat soos 'n trans-aktivis optree.’
Halifax said its pronoun move was designed to avoid ‘accidental misgendering’.
Teen gisteraand naby 10,000 mense het op sosiale media betoog. Een vrou het gesê sy het haar Halifax-kredietkaartrekening gesluit oor die 'mal'’ beleid.
'Ek wil nie gesprekke oor geslag hê wanneer ek by my bank ingaan nie,’ het die 50-jarige sielkundige van Londen gesê. ‘Eerlikwaar, Ek wil eerder hê dat hulle daarop ingestel is om rentekoerse te verlaag.’
'n Ander vrou het gesê sy het haar spaarrekening na Nat West geskuif, toevoeging: 'Ek wil my banksake doen en nie 'n nonsens hê nie, dikwels diep misogynistiese godsdiens op my gedruk.
This customer said they had closed their account after 19 years with the bank. They said they can ‘stick their pronouns up their/his/her a***’
Other furious customers also said they were closing their accounts. One customer branded the bank ‘naive’ and said people would be ‘appalled’ at its ‘woke credentials’
Meer as 150 social media users say they are boycotting the former building society after being lectured about inclusivity
‘Telling customers they should go elsewhere if they don’t share their beliefs is an incredible statement for a business to make.
die hoogste berg in die Alpe en Wes-Europa, Halifax say any customers they deem to be ‘transphobic’ could have their accounts closed.
Underneath a page titled ‘what we stand for’, hulle sê: ‘We stand against discrimination and inappropriate behaviour in all forms, whether racist, seksisties, homofobies, transphobic or ableist, regardless of whether this happens in our branches, kantore, over the phone or online on our social media channels.
‘Such action may include account closure or contacting the police if necessary.’
Voormalige Doctor Who-draaiboekskrywer Gareth Roberts, 'n Halifax-kliënt sedert 1988, aan die bank gesê: 'Ek is 'n homoseksuele man. Ek is geskok oor jou aanneming van hierdie homofobiese, vrou-hatende klapper, en deur jou houding teenoor kliënte wat heeltemal redelike besware daarteen maak.’
Halifax wou nie sê hoeveel kliënte hul rekeninge hierdie week gesluit het nie, maar daar was duidelike bewyse dat sy uitdagende houding teenoor diegene wat hul besware uitgespreek het, 'n terugslag het..
Some Twitter users called on Halifax to bring back employee Howard Brown, who fronted their TV adverts for several years until 2008
This Twitter user said Howard Brown could ‘teach AndyM a thing or two about customer relations’
Op BBC Radio 4 gister finansiële kommentator Matthew Lynn gewaarsku: 'Maatskappye hoef nie aggressief standpunte in te neem oor wat nog redelik verdelende sosiale kwessies is nie. Dit het waarskynlik nie van die HUB gekom nie - dit kom van 'n klomp millennium 20-iete wat die Twitter-feed bestuur.
'Om vir kliënte te sê dat hulle hul rekeninge moet gaan sluit en na 'n ander bank moet gaan omdat hulle 'n effens ander siening hieroor het, is heeltemal te aggressief.’
Een man het gesê 'n kliëntediensassistent was 'doelbewus obstruktief'’ nadat hy vir haar gesê het hoekom hy sy rekening wil sluit.
Hy het bygevoeg dat die assistent 'verdubbel en gesê het dat hulle 'n besigheid van inklusiwiteit en gelykheid is en toe die klets gesluit het, maar nie my rekening nie'.
Maar 'n ander kliënt het gesê: 'Om redelik te wees, Ek het sopas my rekening gesluit en die personeel was so verskonend. Dit is duidelik dat nie al die Halifax-personeel met hierdie ekstremistiese ideologie saamstem nie.’
Halifax staff member ‘AndyM’ added in another post that they ‘want to create a safe & accepting environment around gener identity’
AndyM also gave customers instructions on how they can close their accounts if they wish
Verskeie groot organisasies moedig personeel nou aan om voorkeurgeslagvoornaamwoorde in e-posse of op kentekens aan te dui, maar Halifax is die eerste wat voorstel dat klante moet vertrek as hulle nie daarmee saamstem nie.
Die bank het gesê die kentekenvoornaamwoorde is opsioneel vir personeel, maar Tory-LP Mark Jenkinson het gesê die beleid sal druk plaas op enigeen wat nie wil aansluit nie.
Halifax, wat deur Lloyds Banking Group besit word, het nie gereageer op versoeke om kommentaar te lewer nie.
When Halifax announced the move on Wednesday, customers immediately criticised them
Still giving extra? Where is former Halifax TV star Howard Brown now?
Howard Brown shot to fame after seeing off hundreds of Halifax colleagues to become the face of the bank in 2000
Howard Brown shot to fame after seeing off hundreds of Halifax colleagues to become the face of the bank in 2000.
In his first TV commercial for the firm, he famously performed a cover version of Tom Jones’s Sex Bomb.
Having been propelled to national fame, Howard then appeared in seven other adverts for the bank, including one in which he sank ‘I’ll give you extra’ to the tune of Angel by pop star Shaggy.
He was also seen straddling a giant swan while performing Gene Kelly’s Singing In The Rain umbrella dance routine.
But Mr Brown’s stint fronting commercials came to an end in 2008 when Halifax pulled its television campaign.
He left the bank in 2011 after spending three more years in its public relations department.
The star made a cameo return to adverts by appearing in a commercial for Hotels.com in 2017.
He lists his occupation on LinkedIn as a ‘TV & Media Personality’.
He is currently based in the West Midlands and is a brand ambassador for Nude, a Glasgow-based firm that runs a smartphone app for first-time buyers.
In Februarie 2020, he appeared on Channel 4 show First Dates.
He met with a receptionist named Bev, who said her ideal man was ‘Idris Elba’.
