Don't force me to transfer to Santander

I am a long-standing customer of Williams & Glyn's Bank, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). How can I stay with RBS when the great demerger takes place? Surely I cannot be forced to transfer to Santander? It is a simple question but no one at my branch can answer. HP, London Santander is taking over the RBS branches in England and Wales and the NatWest branches in Scotland – buying the customers as well as the buildings. The EU forced this sale on RBS when the government bailed out the bank. Of course, no one can force you to become a Santander customer but the only way to stay with RBS is to switch to a Scottish branch and bank online or by phone. You can keep within the RBS group by moving to a NatWest account. RBS will put out more details nearer the time, which is unlikely to be this year. You can email Margaret Dibben at [email protected] or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.