MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert team has explained how you may be able to reclaim thousands of pounds from your bank.
You could be owed money back if you were mis-sold a packaged bank account.
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Packaged bank accounts charge monthly fees for extras such as travel, mobile or breakdown insurance.
But there have been cases where these types of accounts were sold to people when they weren’t suitable for their needs.
One form of mis-selling includes being told you needed a packaged bank account to qualify for another product, such as an overdraft or mortgage.
Another scenario where you may have been mis-sold is where fees were added to your account without you knowing.
We explain the different ways you may have been mis-sold a packaged bank account in the box below.
How do I know if I’ve been mis-sold a package bank account?
IF any of the below points apply to you, you should be able to make a claim.
- You were wrongly told that you had to get it if you wanted to get something else, such as a mortgage or an overdraft.
- You couldn’t actually claim on the insurance because of a pre-existing medical condition or you were too old.
- You were told it was a privilege to get the account but it wasn’t explained properly to you; the salesman wouldn’t say no for an answer or you weren’t told the full cost.
- The price was hiked but the bank didn’t tell you.
- The fee was added without you knowing, for example, it was “upgraded” without your permission.
- You were forced to keep the account, even though you tried to close it.
- You weren’t told that you needed to register your car or gadget before claiming.
- You were told the account would improve your credit score.
If you fall into any of these categories, you could be entitled to the fees back plus interest – and it may be possible to make a claim going back years.
One reader called Olivier wrote into MoneySavingExpert to explain how they claimed back £4,500 for fees dating back 21 years.
As published in the latest MSE letter, he said: “I used your easy-to-use tool to reclaim fees from a packaged account I was sold in 2000 and got £4,500 back, in 17 days.”
Of course, the amount you may be entitled to depends on your individual circumstances and may not be as much as this.
For example, it’ll depend on the fees you paid and how long you paid them for.
Say you paid £15 each month for these fees over the course of one year, that would mean you could claim back £180 not including interest.
How to reclaim fees for mis-sold packaged bank accounts
To start the process, you’ll need to get in touch with your bank to make a claim.
You can find details of how to speak to your bank through the “contact us” page on their official website.
If you’re unsure what to say, use free tools available online, such as this one by MoneySavingExpert.
Be wary of firms that will try and charge you for their help in submitting a claim.
If the bank rejects your claim, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman for free.
But it won’t look at your complaint until you’ve contacted your bank first and given it eight weeks to respond.
In 2019, the worst packaged bank accounts for offering poor savings and limited insurance cover were revealed by consumer champion Which?.
Other ways you may be able to claim back money from your bank
MoneySavingExpert has previously explained how you could also be entitled to money back if bank charges put you in financial difficulty.
For example, this could be rip-off charges for going over your overdraft limit.
Banks previously charged between £2 to £30 a month for an arranged overdraft.
While unarranged fees could be much higher – up to £6 a day or £80 a month.
These charges were banned in April 2020, but you can make a historic claim.
If you think you could be due money back, you’ll need to contact your bank and prove that you were in financial hardship which the fees contributed to or made worse.
For example, if you couldn’t pay your mortgage or food bill, or pay your debts, or you were continually living off credit.
You should work out how much you spent in overdraft charges so you know how much you should ask for.
If you don’t know how much you’ve paid you can check your online banking or you can ask the bank for your old statements by calling or writing a letter.
MoneySavingExpert and Money.co.uk both have a free template you can use once you’ve gathered all this information.
You should note that it isn’t guaranteed that you’ll get your money back, and your bank may only offer you a partial refund.
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