“A major bank told a customer who wrote to it in Welsh to complain
that some services were not available in her language that she should
communicate with it in English rather than a “foreign” tongue. Nia Lloyd, a classroom assistant from Wrexham in north Wales, wrote to
HSBC pointing out that online services were not available in Welsh.
Customer support replied that her message was in a “foreign” language and asked her to resend it in English. Both Welsh and English are official languages in Wales.
Lloyd said: “I was shocked that they would respond to my complaint in that way. I thought the bank would have more respect for the Welsh language. They should celebrate all the beautiful cultures and languages of the world.”
The Welsh-language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith criticised the bank’s reply. A spokesperson for the group, Tamsin Davies, said: “These comments are insulting, but unfortunately not unexpected; after all, banks are disrespecting Welsh speakers every day. There isn’t a single bank that provides online banking in Welsh.”
Full report here at ‘The Guardian’.
Customer support replied that her message was in a “foreign” language and asked her to resend it in English. Both Welsh and English are official languages in Wales.
Lloyd said: “I was shocked that they would respond to my complaint in that way. I thought the bank would have more respect for the Welsh language. They should celebrate all the beautiful cultures and languages of the world.”
The Welsh-language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith criticised the bank’s reply. A spokesperson for the group, Tamsin Davies, said: “These comments are insulting, but unfortunately not unexpected; after all, banks are disrespecting Welsh speakers every day. There isn’t a single bank that provides online banking in Welsh.”
Full report here at ‘The Guardian’.
