Sainsbury’s Bank in their online process at the checkout stage present balance transfer and money transfer in an identical way and make them appear interchangeable. There is nothing to indicate that one is on promotion of 0% and the other is 25.95% APR.
These options were introduced in this way to deliberately mislead and cause error leading to damage to the consumer and profit gain to the Bank. There is no design or other logical reason to present these in this way at the checkout stage. Despite requests the full user-journey was not shared, only a final screenshoot. Such systemic practices both harm the consumer and are anti-competitive as it gives financial gain to Saunsbury's Bank versus other Banks with ethical design practices. It is classic "Bait & switch" as described by darkpatterns.org
Statement from Jim Brown CEO Sainsbury's Bank:
"I understand Matthew has shared a screenshot with you from your application process which explains the difference between a balance transfer and a money transfer. I am satisfied our online application process has been followed correctly and sufficient information has been provided to allow you to make an informed choice."
This is totally false statement.
Untrustworthy and deceitful organisation. Avoid.
Reviewed on: 20th November 2020
