How can I get closure with Santander?

I have been trying to close an eSaver account held with Santander since late last year. First, I wrote and got no response. Phone contact is difficult; no matter when you ring, the message says phone banking is unavailable and you are told to try later. After much persistence, I got through and was told my account would be closed and that a cheque would be with me in 14 days. No cheque arrived, so I sent a registered letter in March (I have proof of delivery), but still no response – so back to the phone. I was then informed there was an instruction to close my account, but it could not do this because of a small regular monthly payment into it. I told staff to close the account and I would cancel further payments. This was more than a month ago and still no cheque. Can you help me, please? JB, Manchester This is a bit of a shambles, and Santander really should have done better. There is no excuse for not answering letters or actioning phone requests and, sadly, this is a common complaint about UK banks. However, as soon as we asked the big cheeses at Santander HQ to look into this, things moved significantly faster. The bank says your account has now been closed and a cheque has been sent out. Extra interest has been added, plus an additional £50 to apologise. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Bachelor & Brignall, Money, The Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number