The main Santander number for personal banking is 0330 9 123 123. If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or a scam, or you’ve shared your security details with someone, call 0800 313 4321 (freephone) or 0330 9 123 123; the fraud team answers 24 hours a day, and from outside the UK the number is +44 1512 648 725.
You don’t always need to call. Santander’s digital assistant, Sandi, is available 24/7 in the app and Online Banking, and you can report a lost card or a card payment you don’t recognise in the app in a few taps. This page lists each Santander number with what it’s for, then covers chat, fraud, lost cards, complaints and bereavement. For an overview of Santander’s accounts, see our Santander UK review.
Santander phone numbers and what each is for
| Number | What it’s for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0330 9 123 123 | Personal banking: current accounts, savings, payments and general queries | Santander says its UK-based team is available 7 days a week; it doesn’t publish the line’s hours on a static page, so check its contact page |
| 0800 313 4321 | Fraud, scams, or if you’ve shared security details (freephone) | Fraud team available 24 hours a day. 0330 9 123 123 also reaches it |
| +44 1512 648 725 | Fraud or scams when you’re outside the UK; also a lost or stolen credit card abroad | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| +44 1908 237 963 | A lost or stolen debit card when you’re outside the UK | |
| 0800 171 2171 | Complaints: an existing complaint, or returning a call from the complaints team; choose option 2 | Free from UK landlines and mobiles. Complaints teams for current accounts, savings, credit cards and personal loans: Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm, closed Sunday |
| 18001 0800 171 2171 | Complaints by textphone (Relay UK) if you have a hearing or speech impairment | |
| 0800 587 5870 | Telling Santander about a death, and help with a deceased customer’s accounts | Specialist bereavement team |
| 0800 085 1152 | Financial support if you’re struggling to pay a current account, personal loan, credit card or mortgage | Opening hours are on Santander’s money worries page |
| 0800 414 8414 | Questions about registering a Power of Attorney | Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm, closed Sunday |
Numbers starting 0800 are free from UK landlines and mobiles. Santander’s call charges page says calls to 03 numbers such as 0330 9 123 123 are charged like calls to an 01 or 02 number and count towards your inclusive minutes. Calls from abroad may cost much more.
Santander asks you to call from the phone number it holds for you where you can, because it can check it’s you more quickly. You can also register for Voice ID (if you’re over 16) by calling 0330 9 123 123 from your registered number with your 5-digit security number to hand; after that, saying “At Santander, my voice is my password” confirms your identity. Without Voice ID or a registered number, you’ll be asked for your Personal ID or card number and your security number.
Chat with Sandi instead of calling
Sandi is Santander’s digital assistant and it’s available 24/7:
- in the app: tap Help centre and start a chat
- in Online Banking: select ‘Chat with us’ on the right-hand side of the page
- on Santander’s website: ‘Chat with Sandi’ answers general questions about products without logging on, but it can only help with your own accounts when you’re logged on
Logged on, Sandi can report a lost, stolen or damaged card, activate a credit card and show you your personal details. If it can’t answer, it passes you to a member of staff when someone is online, or you can leave a message for a reply later. Two phrases take you straight to a specialist team: type ‘speak to complaints’ for complaints, or ‘financial support’ if you’re finding it hard to keep up with payments.
Reporting fraud or a scam to Santander
Santander separates the two. Fraud is someone using your account or card without your permission. A scam is when you were misled or pressured into making a payment or sharing your details yourself. Report either straight away:
- A card payment you don’t recognise: in the Santander app, tap the transaction, then ‘Help with this transaction’. Santander says this is the quickest way.
- Any other transaction, a scam payment, or if you can’t use the app: call 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone), or +44 1512 648 725 from abroad.
- You’ve given your details to someone after a suspicious call, text or email: call one of the same numbers straight away so Santander can protect your accounts.
Before you report a payment you don’t recognise, Santander suggests checking with any joint account holder, looking for subscriptions that renewed after a free trial, allowing for exchange rates on foreign purchases, and checking whether the business trades under a different name.
Suspicious messages. Forward emails that claim to be from Santander to phishing@santander.co.uk and texts to smishing@santander.co.uk; you can also forward a text to 7726 (your mobile network) and an email to the National Cyber Security Centre at report@phishing.gov.uk. Santander’s genuine emails address you by name and show the last 3 digits of your postcode above the Santander logo.
What Santander won’t ask for. No one from Santander, including its fraud team, will ask for your PIN or a One Time Passcode, and Santander says it will never call you from the numbers listed on its money worries page. If a caller asks for these, hang up and call Santander on a number from this page.
When Santander checks a payment with you. If Santander declines a payment that looks unusual, it may send an app notification, a text or call you. If a text asks you to reply, reply “Y” if you recognise the transactions or “N” if you don’t; after an “N”, Santander calls you back between 8am and 10pm.
For how common scams work and when a bank has to refund you, see our guide to bank scams and how to protect yourself.
Lost, stolen or damaged card
If you’re not sure where your card is, freeze it in the app or Online Banking while you look; you can unfreeze it later. If it’s gone, report it:
- app: ‘More options’, ‘Manage cards’, then ‘Report card’
- Online Banking: ‘Manage cards’, then ‘Report card’
- Sandi: ask in chat, 24/7
- phone from abroad: +44 1908 237 963 for a debit card, +44 1512 648 725 for a credit card
Santander blocks the old card and posts a new one. Its lost cards page says the replacement arrives within 5 to 7 working days; if you don’t see the new card in the app 3 days after reporting, contact Santander. You don’t need a new PIN unless you ask for one, because you can view your PIN in the app. In the meantime, cards already in Apple Pay, Google Pay or another digital wallet keep working (unless your Visa card is being replaced by a Mastercard, in which case add the new card), and you can get cash at a branch with another Santander card or photo ID. Santander says you’re protected against fraud on a lost or stolen card if you tell it as soon as you realise and you’ve kept your card and security details safe.
How to complain to Santander
Step 1: raise it with Santander. You can:
- call Santander, ideally from your registered number; for an existing complaint, or to return a missed call from the complaints team, call 0800 171 2171 and choose option 2 (textphone: 18001 0800 171 2171)
- type ‘speak to complaints’ in chat in the app or Online Banking
- visit a branch
- write to Complaints, Santander UK plc, Sunderland, SR43 4GD
Include your name and address, your account details, what went wrong and how it affected you, when it happened, and how and when Santander can reach you. Santander gives you a reference number to quote each time you get in touch, and its calls back to you usually show as an 0800 number but may appear as withheld.
How long Santander has to respond:
| Type of complaint | Time Santander has |
|---|---|
| Making or receiving payments on a current account, credit card or instant access savings account | 15 days, or up to 35 days in exceptional circumstances (Santander writes to tell you if it needs longer) |
| Everything else | 56 days for a final response |
If Santander resolves the complaint within 3 business days of receiving it, it sends you confirmation of that and tells you about the Financial Ombudsman Service. If it can’t finish within 56 days, it writes to explain and tells you that you can go to the Ombudsman.
Step 2: the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you disagree with Santander’s final response, or the time limit has passed, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look at it. It’s free and independent. Refer your complaint within 6 months of the date on Santander’s final response. The Ombudsman can be reached at financial-ombudsman.org.uk, on 0800 0 234 567 (free from UK landlines and mobiles), or by post at Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR. For a complaint about how Santander has handled your personal data, you can also go to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Telling Santander about a death
You can tell Santander in any of these ways:
- its online bereavement form
- the Death Notification Service, which lets you tell several banks at once (it only tells Santander about the death, so you’ll still need to complete Santander’s online or postal bereavement form)
- the bereavement team on 0800 587 5870
- a letter to Santander Bereavement Operations, Sunderland, SR43 4FJ
- any branch
Santander needs the original death certificate and your passport or driving licence (a copy is fine by post). You’ll also need a Grant of Representation (probate, letters of administration, or confirmation in Scotland) if the deceased’s single-name accounts at Santander total more than £50,000, if they had a Santander mortgage in their sole name, or if they had a joint Santander mortgage held as tenants in common. Once it has proof of death, Santander stops Direct Debits and standing orders, but recurring card payments can still go out while the account is open, so cancel those with the provider. Santander can pay a funeral director’s or florist’s invoice from the deceased’s accounts; send the invoice and death certificate, and allow up to 5 days for payment.
If you’re struggling with payments
If you’re finding it hard to keep up with a Santander current account, loan, credit card or mortgage, call 0800 085 1152, or type ‘financial support’ in chat in the app or Online Banking and answer a couple of questions to be connected to one of Santander’s financial care specialists. If you’re working with an independent debt adviser who gives you a reference number, pass it to Santander: it says it can then pause collections while the adviser helps you draw up proposals for your creditors.
Visiting a branch
Use Santander’s branch locator to find your nearest branch, and its branch appointments page if you want to book time with staff. Santander has been closing some branches, which our Santander UK review covers. For a Power of Attorney, the quickest route is Santander’s online registration form; once Santander has everything it needs, it aims to register the Power of Attorney within 7 to 10 working days.
Other Santander guides
If your question is about your account rather than contacting the bank, our guides cover finding your Santander sort code, IBAN and BIC, what Santander charges, how much cash you can withdraw a day and how much you can send in a payment.