Everything about calling Santander UK from abroad
Who Santander UK is, and why customers call it from abroad
Santander UK is a UK bank offering current accounts, savings and ISAs, credit cards, loans, mortgages and insurance. It has a support page for customers who move abroad and a section of its lost card page for cards lost outside the UK. It also warns that it can only guarantee text message delivery, one-time passcodes included, to customers in the UK with a UK registered number. For a customer abroad who spots a payment they did not make, the phone may be the fallback, and Santander's fraud line is the freephone 0800 313 4321.
What 0800 313 4321 covers
Santander's How to report fraud page tells customers to call 0800 313 4321, a freephone number, to report fraud and scams, and says its fraud team is available 24 hours a day. That covers a payment you do not recognise, a card or account you think someone else is using, and a call, text or email that tried to get your details. For a suspicious email, Santander also gives a mailbox for forwarding it, phishing@santander.co.uk.
Why a UK 0800 number is awkward from a foreign line
0800 313 4321 is UK freephone, which is a domestic rule. From a foreign SIM or a hotel phone, a UK 0800 number may not connect at all, or your operator may bill it as an international call at its own rate. That matters most when a fraudulent payment is going through and every minute counts. Santander also suggests calling the number on the back of your card when you are in another country.
What Losali does with this number
Losali is an independent dialler that runs in a web browser. Your call travels over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects it to 0800 313 4321, so your foreign network only carries data. There is no app to install and no UK SIM to buy, and it works from a laptop or a borrowed phone. The panel at the top of this page shows the price before you call.
- Santander says it needs to check it's you when you call, and offers Voice ID for that.
- If you cannot call from a registered number, it asks for your Personal ID, or a debit or credit card number, as well as your Security Number.
- For a suspicious payment, note the date, amount and merchant.
- Never give your PIN or a one-time passcode: Santander says it will not ask for them.
Freeze the card, and report fraud in the app
Santander lets you freeze and unfreeze debit and credit cards in its Mobile Banking app or in Online Banking. Card fraud can also be reported from the transaction itself: tap the payment, then Help with this transaction. Its digital assistant, Sandi, chats 24/7 when you are logged in and passes you to a real person when one is available. Santander says cards sent overseas arrive in 7 working days if a replacement is needed.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. With Losali the call is billed at €0.99/min, per whole minute, prepaid, and the price is shown before the call starts.