IF you feel you’ve been left out of pocket or mistreated through not fault of your own, you may be in line for compensation through a number of schemes.
Banks, train operators and council’s are among those dishing out compensation and it could see you handed back thousands of pounds.
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Of course, what cash you will be entitled to and how you will get it depends on the scheme, but below we’ve rounded up the ones you need to know about and how to check if you can get money back.
Bank outages
Banks and building societies often experience technical issues, particularly in the age of online banking.
Sometimes these issues can leave customers without money, for example if someone is charged a late fee because they’ve missed a payment.
There’s no official scheme that obliges banks to give out compensation, however if some outages are serious enough and leave customers short, they might choose to make a payment.
Nationwide is one bank which has offered customers compensation after an outage in January.
But even if your bank doesn’t officially offer you compensation, you can still make a complaint if you’ve been left out of pocket.
Money.co.uk personal finance expert James Andrews previously told The Sun: “If you’ve lost out as a result of the service interruption, contact your bank and tell them what’s happened and what it cost you.
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“Provide as much evidence as possible of any charges you’ve incurred as a result of not being able to access your bank account to have the best chance of a refund.”
And if your bank doesn’t uphold the complaint, you can take the issue to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which is a free service to use.
Broadband outages
Millions of customers experienced broadband outages in 2021, according to Uswitch.
Now that government working from home rules are more relaxed, this might affect households less now.
But it can still be frustrating if you’re left without service.
Unlike for bank outages, there is an automatic compensation service for customers who have had problems with their broadband connection.
Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, previously told The Sun if it’s clear the issues are out of your control, to contact your providers.
They can then inform you of any problems in your area and, sometimes, an estimated time to have it resolved.
He said: “If your connection goes down for more than two days you could be entitled to compensation of just over £8 a day.”
If it’s longer than two days you’ll get the same amount for each subsequent day without service.
Through the Automatic Compensation Scheme customers should get the compensation automatically as a credit to their bill within 30 days.
Train delays
Train delays can be caused by hot or cold weather, rain and staff shortages.
But under the Delay Repay scheme, you could be entitled to money back if you were held up for a certain period of time.
The scheme kicks in if you’re late by 15 minutes or more and what you can get back depends on the length of delay.
Compensation ranges from 25% to 100% of the ticket price.
You will get 100% back if your train was delayed by 120 minutes or longer.
We previously reported how travellers lose £1,200 a year by not claiming refunds they’re entitled to so make sure you check out our guide on how to get your money back.
Flight delays
Thousands of airline customers were hit with flight delays and cancellations earlier this year.
Multiple air companies struggled with short staff as they had to pull flights.
But you do have rights if you’re hit with a delay or cancellation.
Passengers flying with an EU airline or a non-EU airline flying from an EU airport are protected by the Denied Boarding regulations.
This means the airline has to offer you the option of either being reimbursed for a cancelled flight or rerouted on either the next possible flight or a date agreed with you.
It must also provide you with meals, phone calls, hotel accommodation and transfers, but only if the rerouting involves an overnight stay.
If you opt for a full refund instead then the airline has to give you the money back for the part of the journey that wasn’t made and any parts already made that are then useless as you’ve not arrived at your destination.
You will also be entitled to the earliest possible return flight.
There are other circumstances where you might be able to get money back for delays or cancellations.
You should check out our comprehensive guide for more information.
Mouldy homes
According to Shelter, you can claim compensation from your landlord if it falls into disrepair or you’re living under poor conditions that are damaging your health or inconveniencing you.
The Sun previously spoke to a mum who won £4,500 in compensation from her council after her home grew mushrooms because it was so damp.
Under the Fitness for Human Habitation Act, you can take legal action against your landlord.
And courts can grant an injunction forcing the landlord to carry out works or award compensation to the person renting.
But if you take this route, you will have to fork out for court fees, unless you’re entitled to free legal aid.
If you win your case, you might get some of your money back.
If you can’t resolve the issue this way, you can take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman, which is a free, independent and impartial service.
Renters can complain to the redress scheme if you rent privately through a letting agent.
But this is only if the agent contributed to the dispute.
There are different rules in place for renters in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You should the Citizens Advice pages for both of those countries for more information.
Benefits underpaid
An error that led to thousands of people claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) were underpaid for years resulted in a large compensation claim.
As of January, the Department for Work and Pensions identified 118,000 who were owed backpay to make up for the mistake.
But one woman who escalated her complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) won compensation on top.
The PHSO is calling for those who may have been affected by the blunder to try and make a claim.
You can find out more about the claim and who’s affected here, and whether you could be in line for compensation.
Overpaying council tax
Nearly 80 households in one spot in the UK are owed thousands back after overpaying on their council tax.
Seventy nine households in the East Lothian Council region are owed the cash back, STV news reported.
This was because a review by the local valuation board discovered that too many homes were in the wrong council tax bands.
Homes moving down a council tax band will get thousands back from the local authority because it effectively means their property was over-valued.
For the owners of the 79 homes, it could mean if someone moved from a council tax band E to G they’d save £527 this financial year.
If the property was in the wrong band for five years that would work out as over £2,600 owed back.
To find out if you’re in the wrong council tax band, you can use the government’s tool.
Smartphone users
Millions of Apple and Samsung smartphone owners could be in line for a £500million compensation pay-out.
This came after consumer champion Which? alleged that Qualcomm, which makes semiconductor chips that go in smartphones overcharges companies it supplies to.
Apple and Samsung are among the list of companies on Qualcomm’s books.
Which? claimed the extra costs were passed onto consumers, meaning millions of people were paying higher prices for their devices.
People affected could be in line to receive around £16-17 depending on the type of phone they have bought, and how many they purchased.
To find out if you’re entitled to compensation, you don’t have to do anything, as those affected are automatically included in a claim made by Which?.
Mis-sold credit cards, loans and overdrafts
Millions who have been mis-sold unaffordable credit on cards, loans and overdrafts could be due compensation.
Lenders are responsible for checking whether a borrower can afford to pay back a loan before handing out credit.
But if you have been mis-sold credit, you could be in line for compensation.
More than half of complaints on unaffordable loans are upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which decides whether a customer is owed a refund.
According to debt advisor Sara Williams, from Debt Camel, any of the following products could be worth checking to see if you’ve been mis-sold credit:
- Payday loans intended for short-term credit
- Car finance loans
- Guarantor loans where a parent or friend had to pay it back if you defaulted
- Standard personal loans where the monthly repayment was unsustainable given your financial circumstances
- Bank overdrafts that were increased without a financial check
- Credit cards with high spending limits
If your claim is successful, you could see thousands paid back in compensation.
But, of course, this depends on how much you borrowed and how much you have paid back.
