Packaged bank accounts (or PBAs) have become quite notorious thanks to aggressive advertising by some of the UK’s leading banks. In many cases, it turned out that the people who opted for this account type weren’t made fully aware of what they were getting and what their obligations were.
One of the main problems was the fact that the banks’ clients needed to pay monthly fees, an obligation that many people tried (and still try) to challenge. If you believe you’ve been missold a package bank account, there are steps you can take to seek justice and reimbursement. Here’s how.
What is a packaged bank account?
As previously mentioned, packaged bank accounts come with a monthly fee that the bank’s client needs to pay. However, in addition to that, they also offer some advantages. These benefits most often come in the form of some kind of insurance, be that travel insurance, mobile phone insurance or something similar.
It turns out that these “benefits” have exceptionally low value, and in some cases signing up for this type of account was a necessary precondition for getting a loan. If something like this has happened to you, if you didn’t know you were getting a PBA, or if you realized that you couldn’t make a claim based on the insurance your bank had sold you, you may be eligible for a refund.
Were you missold?
Apart from the cases mentioned above, it is also possible that you already had insurance at the moment of signing up for a PBA, which should’ve been disclosed to you. Some banks also promised large discounts to people who choose this financial product.
Fees may have also been raised without your knowledge, and in some cases, even promises of a better credit score were made.
In short, the benefits attached to this type of account must work as promised, and you should’ve been made fully aware of all relevant facts about them. If you didn’t know something, or if you didn’t even know that you got a PBA, the chances are that you could be eligible for a refund.
What to do?
You’ll be happy to know that there are specialized solicitors you can turn to if you think you have a case. Even better, many of them operate on a no-win, no-fee basis, which means the financial risk for the person filing a claim practically non-existent.
Should you win your case, you can expect to receive the full amount of fees you’ve paid for the PBA back, and there will probably also be some interest involved too, depending on how long you’ve been stuck with this kind of account.
Therefore, hiring experts for packaged bank account claims certainly seems like the right thing to do. Not only will you have a better chance of getting a refund that way, but the whole ordeal will be much less stressful for you. Find expert help in this matter and seek out justice!
We hope this article will help you in the future in reclaiming packaged bank account fees.