WE need to return to pre-globalisation days when a man’s building society was in his locale, and strictly for locals.

The site of Northern Rock customers queuing for the money in Swindon serves as a warning to one and all.

But for some is comes too late. Take the case of Graham O’Brien, profiled in the Sun.

Mr O’Brien, 29, is a customer at the Halifax. Mr O’Brien chooses to live not in West Yorkshire but in Collyhurst, Greater Manchester.

He calls his bank to check on his account. “I answered all the security questions every time I phoned and they still wouldn’t accept I was Graham O’Brien,” says Graham O’Brien.

He has been marked down by the system as a “suspect”. The trouble is not the details provided but in the pitch of Mr O’Brien’s voice. In short, his voice is too high and he sounds like a woman.

“It has been unbelievable,” says he. “I feel I have been humiliated.”

A Halifax spokesman apologises, offering Mr O’Brien an equivocal “Were’s thus muck thus brass.” And a cautionary: “If thar ever offered owt, tek it tha might not want it na but tha cud need it later.”

Mr O’Brien remains with the Halifax. But given the reed-like properties of his voice we urge him to consider switching his account to the Chorley Building Society and so keeping things simple…

Posted: 17th, September 2007 | In: Money, Tabloids. Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0