Packaged bank accounts are current accounts and other bank accounts that come in a package with a wide range of added features. Some of these features include a mobile phone tariff or travel insurance for an upcoming holiday, with others instead focusing on financial incentives such as better rates on overdrafts, loans or mortgages.

However, more and more people are looking to reclaim fees from their packaged bank accounts, claiming that they were mis-sold the account or didn’t have all of the information that they needed to make the right decision. Find out more about packaged bank accounts, how to claim a refund for a packaged bank account and how far back you can claim these charges if you think you were mis-sold a packaged bank account.

When did packaged bank accounts start?

Packaged bank accounts started in the 1990s, as Lloyds Bank started an account called the “Classic” account. As interest rates were high and the account provided accountholders with healthy returns for saving, the £8 per month fee was seen as relatively affordable, especially when people with these accounts secured cheaper overdrafts and credit interest in exchange for their fees. This was a relatively successful product and led to a relative explosion in the availability of packaged accounts.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, banks started to package their current account facilities together with other products that they, and affiliated companies, offered to customers. For example, a bank that offered home, travel or life insurance could combine its bank accounts with these products. Despite the apparent high value of the travel insurance in the package, if there was an incident it could lead to more financial issues due to the low quality of the insurance package itself.

There are reportedly eleven million packaged accounts open and operational in the UK now, with a considerable number of these accounts being mis-sold based on inaccurate information and advice to the customer.

How to claim a refund for packaged bank account

Start the process by working out how much you are owed. This involves using the packaged bank account refund calculator, which assesses how much you’ve paid per month and your amount of time on the plan before coming to a conclusion. Using this tool provides you with an approximate figure for the amount of money you can expect in a refund before you get started in the process, so you have some idea of what the stakes are in these discussions.

There are a few ways that you may make a claim for a packaged bank account. The first of these is to simply talk to the complaints department of the bank itself. Banks, as with any large company or institution, are afraid of poor press or people being turned off their products. Reach out to the complaints department of a bank with information like your full name, account number, the specific reason that you feel like the account was mis-sold and the title of the package that you purchased. In many cases, the bank will happily work with you towards a conclusion. Ensure that you have as much information available as possible to help you with your claim.

If this doesn’t work, consider contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service. This is an easy-to-use service that settles disagreements between businesses and customers, helping to resolve issues in a fair and easy way that helps you to get justice if you feel that you were mis-sold any services or accounts such as a packaged bank account.

Can you still claim packaged bank accounts?

You can still claim packaged bank accounts, as there is no formal statute of limitations in the UK. There are some time limits in certain criminal and civil cases, but this isn’t the case for claiming money back from your packaged bank accounts. One of the most important parts of being able to claim back for a packaged bank account is having access to all the documentation. Even if you no longer have the account itself, if you have the paperwork available to you then you can complain to the bank about being mis-sold one of their products.

Although there isn’t a time limit on you complaining to the bank, the bank itself has a time limit. According to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the bank needs to give you a response within an eight week period for most complaints. If the bank doesn’t respond at this point, the Ombudsman is the ideal option for getting to a resolution. As the Ombudsman is a thorough investigative service, many banks seek to resolve the issue without their involvement.

How far back can I claim bank charges?

Depending on when you first opened your account, you can claim bank charges back to the very beginning of your time with the account. As the very start of your account came from you being mis-sold a product, every payment following that point comes from a foundation of incomplete information. Therefore, you can claim from the very start of your time with the packaged account up to its closure, or the present day if the account is still open for any reason. If this is the case, seek to close the account as soon as possible before resolving the issue with the bank.

However, this only applies to claiming bank charges with the bank itself. If the bank refuses to cooperate and the issue leads to a court case, then a statute of limitations begins to apply. The UK may have no formal statute of limitations laws, but there is a limit of six years on claims that involve a breach of contract or fraud claims. Depending on the nature of your claim, if you feel like you were mis-advertised a product for example, you could be contending with these time limits. This is on a case-by-case basis, however, and dealing with the Financial Ombudsman Service will provide you with greater clarity.

Try Claims Bible

If you’re interested in claiming bank charges back and need support, get in touch with the Claims Bible team today and find out more about the support that our friendly experts can offer throughout your claim. Alternatively, check out our blog to learn about financials claims in more detail.