A MoneySavingExpert reader explained how they reclaimed £4,800 from their bank. The fan, known only as Julie, said she tried to cancel a packaged bank account in 2010 - but was wrongly told she couldn’t.
Then within 18 days she received a refund of £4,786 after she wrote a complaint letter to her bank. Packaged bank accounts offer products such as breakdown cover, mobile and travel insurance in exchange for a monthly fee, the Mirror reports.
But these types of accounts aren't right for everyone - and if you were mis-sold, you may be entitled to money back. For example, you may have been incorrectly sold your account if you weren’t properly told what you were getting and paying for.
Read more: Cost of living crisis: What are you doing to save money?
Or it could be that you didn’t realise you were paying a fee, or you couldn't use the insurance that came with the account. In the case of MSE reader Julie, she was owed money back after being wrongly told she couldn't cancel the account.
“I tried to cancel my account in 2010 but was told 'it wasn't possible' by the bank,” Julie told MSE. “Then reading your article I realised that this just wasn't true. I followed your advice and used the template letter. 18 days later, I got a refund of £4,786."
How to reclaim packaged bank account fees
MSE, founded by financial guru Martin Lewis, has a checklist of all the different ways you may have been mis-sold a packaged bank account.
You may be owed money back if you fall into one of these scenarios:
-
You were wrongly told you had to get it
-
You couldn’t use the insurance
-
You were misled into taking out the account
-
The fee was added without you knowing
-
You tried to cancel but were forced to keep it
-
You were told it was the only way to get an overdraft
-
No one mentioned you needed to register your phone/car
-
You were told having one would improve your credit score
If you were mis-sold, you should get back all the fees you paid for the entire time you had the packaged bank account, plus interest. How much you get will depend on how long you had the account for, so this could potentially run into the thousands if you had it for a long time.
To start a claim, you'll need to get in touch with the bank you had the account with and explain why you believe you were mis-sold. There are free organisations such as Resolver that can help you word your claim.
They'll ask you questions such as which bank your account was with and why you think you've been mis-sold. If the bank rejects your claim, or doesn't respond within eight weeks, you can take your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman.
If you really don't need your packaged bank account, it is also worth cancelling this before starting your claim so you don't waste more cash. To keep up to date with more stories like this subscribe to our new money newsletter here.
