Police say sorry to Brighton bank protester

1:30pm Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News

Protester Karin Easterbrook outside the bank in Brighton Protester Karin Easterbrook outside the bank in Brighton

Police have apologised to a bank customer after officers threatened to arrest him when he complained about delays.

Staff at NatWest called police after Karim Easterbrook complained about waiting times at the bank’s branch in Pavilion Parade, Brighton.

He claims when officers arrived he was left feeling intimidated and threatened with arrest.

Sussex Police has apologised to Mr Easterbrook and NatWest has offered him £40 compensation but he wants the bank to instead donate £2,000 to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

On Monday, January 28 Mr Easterbrook handed out leaflets to customers outside the branch warning them about the service he received there.

He said: “They boast of excellent customer service but people are always left waiting.”

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Comments(14)

spa301 says...
1:40pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Good on you Mr Easterbrook.

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Charlie Oscar says...
1:48pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Police also have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. I suggest they use them in that ratio.

Suspol Plod red mist plodding on in...

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Indigatio says...
2:13pm Wed 30 Jan 13

NatWest have gone to the dogs. I have been a customer of theirs for over 30 years and they have gone seriously downhill during the last 12 months. Customer Service is non-existent and the queuing time in their branches has just got longer and longer.
Good for Mr Eastbrook.

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Hector66 says...
2:16pm Wed 30 Jan 13

this is very incomplete reporting. just left to guess that the police tried to stop what seems a very legitimate protest. shame on them - again - if they did.

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CatoTheCat says...
3:12pm Wed 30 Jan 13

I've made three attempts to see somebody, anybody
in NatWorst this week. Finally gave up.

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Ish1 says...
4:03pm Wed 30 Jan 13

On every occasion I have used NatWest Bank I have had to endure a long queue as a result of the bank's failure to man all of its desks, which I assume is done to save money at the expense of the time wasted by its customers.

That NatWest chose to complain to the Police (wasting council taxpayer's money) rather than man their desks properly speaks volumes.

I recommend HSBC which is run much better.

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Struggler says...
6:57pm Wed 30 Jan 13

I can totally understand this poor man and how infuriating not just their waiting times are but also their joke of a customer service. I for one had not one good experience with them and problems from start to finish even the most simple services they somehow managed to mess up causing me untold problems and costing me money and more.no apologies or sorry. I finally gave up told them to stuff it and thats far politer than what I acctually said to their manager.moved all my accounts,savings,isa
's the lot to lloyds and they are brilliant couldnt be happier.nat west i hope they go bust and out of business soon waste of time cack mongerers

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karimoxf says...
11:50pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Thank you for supportive comments. I will continue my peaceful protest outside the Brighton NatWest Bank at 1 p.m. on Friday 8th February. We, the tax payers, handed over £66 billion of our hard earned money to the RBS group of which the NatWest is a member. It is extremely unlikely we will ever get this back. Please do not blame the bank employees. They are having to do the jobs of 3 people. Blame the investment bankers and the big shareholders. We bailed the banks out and yet they treat us with contempt. I am in fact a supporter of our police force. But the officer whom I will be meeting soon must understand that he is employed to serve law abiding citizens and not intimidate them or attempt to provoke them so that he can arrest them. I was perfectly civil and did not insult any member of the bank staff when making my complaint. The NatWest have to understand that we bailed them out, we pay for their huge bonuses and we deserve respect. At 1 pm on 8 February I will attempt to pay a cheque for £66 billion into the Treasury so that OUR money can be used to pay for more hospitals and schools. So NatWest, donate £2,000.00 to the MS Society or my protest will continue throughout the year. You can afford it. Last year you made an operating profit of over three thousand million pounds and oh yes, you have that £66 billion we gave you.

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carrot muncher says...
8:10am Thu 31 Jan 13

Ive got to say this is lazy journalism, i regularly visit this natwest in castle square, and the staff their are so friendly and helpful, i remember this guy in there because he was shamelessly being rude and abusive and slamming his fists on the counter which no doubt intimidated the cashier. with a little investigation thanks to google you will find that this guy is a landlord in oxford, who did exactly the same by ringing the police when he felt threatened.it appears that one of his tenants was imprisoned for it! As always one side of the story! (would also be proffesional if you could spell this guys name correctly with the photo)

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whereisthe...? says...
9:35am Thu 31 Jan 13

LOVE to see the difference if this guy had been with the Occupy movement - probably a criminal record, jail time, and a big fine..

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karimoxf says...
4:31pm Thu 31 Jan 13

1. I remember the gentleman who states that I was aggressive. He left the bank, came back to the bank with a friend and was abusive to me with a friend.
2. The man I dealt with in Oxford went to prison for drugs and fire arms offences. A former tenant who was arrested also for sexually threatening a female police offer and another female tenant. Nothing to do with me.
3. I have a letter from the bank that confirms I was not verbally abusive or aggressive. They have apologised.
4. The police have apologised.
5. I have made it clear that I do not blame the bank employees.
I will continue my campaign in a peaceful manner.
6. I am a former headmaster and know how to conduct myself. Aggressive behaviour is never acceptable.

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karimoxf says...
5:02pm Thu 31 Jan 13

1. The Oxford man went to prison for drugs and fire arms offences. These offences occurred before he became a tenant. Nothing to do with me although whilst my tenant he verbally insulted a female police officer and another female tenant was threatened sexually. The police arrested him.
2. I have made it clear that the employees of the bank are not at fault and they are under staffed. They agree with me.
3. The bank apologised
4. The police apologised
5. I am never aggressive
6. I am a former headmaster and know how to conduct myself
7, I will continue my campaign in a peaceful and non aggressive manner until the bank donates £2000.00 to the MS Society

Please do not read everything you read on Google. Check the facts please.

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D360 says...
7:19pm Thu 31 Jan 13

whereisthe...? wrote:
LOVE to see the difference if this guy had been with the Occupy movement - probably a criminal record, jail time, and a big fine..
He would have been ignored and forgotten liked the rest of the "occupy movement"

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carrot muncher says...
9:32am Tue 5 Feb 13

no smoke without fire

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