We are aware that the area of finances is often complex and requires a deeper analysis and experience. This is why we put our best efforts to simplifying everything, even the most difficult matters. Below, we have prepared a set of questions most frequently asked by our clients. If there is anything unclear or if you have doubts, please feel free to familiarize yourself with the provided answers.
No, the only essential information that we need is the bank name, account number and your signature. As long as you have signed next to each yellow highlighted box and the account details are on there, we can process the Packaged Bank Account claim. All you need to do is:
You do not need to use a claims management company to submit a claim to your Lender or other Compensation Scheme, such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If your claim is not successful you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) yourself for free.
Please call us first to discuss your individual situation.
Typically your bank will offer you a standard current account which does not include any monthly fees with any ‘packaged’ benefits, but please check with your bank how best you would like your banking arrangement to continue. Making a Packaged Bank Account refund claim should not affect your banking relationship. If we reclaim any money, it is money that the bank has admitted taking off you contractually.
If you pay a monthly fee for your bank account, it may be that you have a packaged bank account which includes insurance products and other beneficial features. It is thought that around 1 in 5 of these were mis-sold, meaning in some cases, they were sold without checking whether they were beneficial or useful for the consumer.
For instance, if a packaged bank account that only included travel insurance and breakdown cover was sold to a pensioner who was too old to qualify for the travel cover and didn’t drive, this would be an example of mis-selling if the product suitability was not confirmed. There are many different ways in which packaged bank accounts were mis-sold. In some cases, account holders weren’t even aware that they were paying a monthly fee, or they were “upgraded” by their bank without their knowledge.
In other circumstances, customers were told that they had to take out the packaged bank account. Take a look at the following list: if any of these sound familiar to you, then you may be eligible to reclaim the fees you have paid. You can talk to one of our friendly claims experts to find out.
A ‘packaged bank account’ is a bank account where the customer pays a monthly fee to get access to a variety of extras.
Our ‘No Win No Fee’ service means that you do not pay anything if your claim is not successful. If your claim is successful, our customers typically pay 25% (including VAT) of the amount we recover. The actual fee may vary subject to our promotional offers but it will never be more than 25% (including VAT).
Once we receive your completed claims pack, we will aim to review your case within five working days. If we think you may be due a refund, we will submit your claim in the form of a complaint to the bank as soon as possible.
Under the guidelines set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), financial institutions have up to eight weeks from the time they receive a complaint to when they have to issue a final decision. However, in reality, most banks take around eight to twelve weeks to process a claim for a mis-sold packaged bank account.
Occasionally, specific circumstances regarding a case mean it could take even longer than this, but if your claim is straightforward, in general you can expect the process to take 12 weeks or less. If the bank contests the claim or there are any other complications, this period of time may be longer.
If your bank takes an unreasonable amount of time or seems to be prolonging the process, we will refer your claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This can take significantly longer than normal to resolve, but don’t lose hope.
You will need to provide your packaged bank account number for a claim to be made and the more information you can supply in your claim pack, the faster we can get to work on your behalf.
We will send out pre-populated claim packs by post once you have spoken to us. It’s best to speak to a trained claims agent to ensure that you are claiming for all your eligible Packaged Bank Account and this conversation also ensures we have the full picture in order to fight your complaint for you.
We will then post your claim pack to you, (and a return envelope) with most of the information completed. You will simply need to finish and return the forms. If you see something that you want to change, make the amendments to the form in black ink and write your initials next to them.
The forms contain only the information we need to process your complaint. Once completed please return each pack to us at our freepost address: FREEPOST Insito Group
We provide you with a freepost envelope, which does not require any payment for a stamp or postage.
If you have been mis-sold a packaged bank account, you could be eligible for a refund of the monthly fees that you have paid over the course of having the account, plus interest – which is usually an additional statutory 8% added to the final settlement amount.
However, the bank will usually calculate the amount of your settlement based on your individual case and they may take into consideration whether you have benefited from any of the features of the account. In some cases, the bank might reduce the settlement if it was a joint account. For instance if one person was eligible for the insurance, but the other was not, you might only be able to claim for a partial refund of fees.
If you have any outstanding debts with the bank then the bank may use all or part of the settlement to repay your debt. This depends on the terms and conditions of your account. Our fee will still be payable whether you receive the refund or it is used to reduce your account balances.
Yes. In most cases, we can reclaim fees for accounts that have been closed within the last 6 years if the account was mis-sold.
It’s surprisingly easy to submit a claim for mis-sold packaged bank account fees and at Insito Claims we’re not looking to make it any more complicated. It’s a simple process, with no upfront charges.
Simply give us a call, or input your details on our homepage and we’ll call you. After you’ve discussed your circumstances with our trained claims agent over the phone, if we think you may be due a refund, we’ll send out a claim pack with a return envelope.Most of the information will be completed based on your conversation with our claims agent, so just fill in the gaps and send it back – we’ve tried to make it as simple as possible so you don’t have to fill in a lot of forms. We’ll just need your bank’s name, your account number and your signature.
Check that your details are correct, tick off the reasons you believe you have been mis-sold a packaged bank account, and complete and sign the declarations – our terms of service, and a letter of authority that allows us to act on your behalf. Most importantly of all, remember that we work on a no-win-no-fee basis, meaning you will absolutely not have to pay anything upfront for us to manage your claim for you.
After you’ve returned your claims pack to us we will handle every aspect of your claim, including referring it to the Financial Ombudsman Service in the event of your bank rejecting the complaint. You can sit back while we pursue your claim, safe in the knowledge that you’ll receive no charge if your claim is not successful, or your refunded packaged bank account fees if it is. Please note a fee may be payable if you choose to cancel your claim or cease to cooperate with Insito Claims.
We do not charge any upfront fees. We will also not charge you if your claim is not successful. If we’re successful in winning your claim you will need to pay us 25% (inclusive of VAT) of the total compensation offered. The actual amount may vary subject to our promotional offers but it will never be more than 25% (including VAT). The level of our success fee is always agreed at the outset and clearly stated in our Terms & Conditions.
The examples below illustrate what our charges would be in under three different scenarios. Please note that this is for illustration purposes only.
It is important to note that if you have any outstanding debts with the bank (e.g. unauthorized overdraft) then the bank may use all or part of the settlement to repay your debt, however, our fee will still be payable whether you receive the refund or it is used to reduce your debt balances.
You can cancel your claim at any time and for any reason. If you cancel within 14 days of us receiving your signed terms of service, there will be nothing to pay. You can also cancel free of charge after the initial 14 days, but we then require a 14-days’ notice. Please refer to our Terms & Conditions for more information.
If you wish to cancel, please do so by making a clear statement by letter, email or phone, or by filling out a cancellation form.
Your bank might not agree to refund all of the money you paid for your packaged bank account – in some circumstances you might only be offered a partial refund. If you believe you are due a bigger refund than the bank is offering, you are not obliged to accept their first offer. However whether you choose to accept the first offer or not is entirely up to you.
If the bank will not offer to refund the amount you believe you are due, the next step you can choose might be to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is an independent service in the UK for settling disputes between businesses providing financial services & their customers.
If you choose to take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service and you can provide evidence that challenges the bank’s stated reason for only offering a partial refund, then that could increase your chances of getting a better settlement.
Not all mis-sold PBA claims are initially successful, but don’t be discouraged if your bank refuses to refund fees for your packaged bank account that you feel was mis-sold. If this happens, we will notify you of their reasons for doing so and contact you to let you know what the next steps are that you can take.
In some cases, the bank may have a valid reason for refusing to give you a refund, such as being able to provide evidence clearly demonstrating that the account was not mis-sold. If there is no good reason to continue pursuing your claim, we will let you know, and if we end your claim with us you will not be charged for our services in any way.
If on the other hand the bank refuses to give you a refund, but cannot give good enough evidence or you disagree with their decision, you have the opportunity to have your complaint adjudicated on by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This is the body that settles disputes between financial services companies and their customers.
Pursuing a claim further through the FOS means it may take longer than usual, but it could be encouraging to know that they won’t take sides and will look at each individual case with an open mind.
Note that if you decide to go through the FOS, you have only six months from the date of the banks final response letter to your complaint to do so – therefore, it is important that you notify us promptly of any correspondence you receive from your bank or the FOS, or you risk an FOS review of the bank’s decision becoming time-barred.
Your packaged bank account will be closed if you successfully claim for a refund, as the bank cannot continue to offer a service that was mis-sold to you. However, your bank might offer to move you onto a new account with different terms, typically this will be a standard current account. It is up to you whether to stay with the same provider or switch to a different one.
If you choose to stay with your bank after a successful claim, you shouldn’t be worried about your bank treating you differently just because you have made a complaint against them. The Financial Conduct Authority expects all banks to operate under a ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ (TCF) principle. This principle means that customers should always be treated fairly, regardless of their involvement in packaged bank account claims and other general complaints.
The terms ‘bank charges’ and ‘bank fees’ may sound similar, but they are different.
Bank Charges often relate to charges applied to personal current accounts, such as charges for exceeding authorised overdraft limits, or making payments (or attempting to make payments) where no authorised overdraft exists.
Bank fees are paid in return for services provided by the bank, such as monthly fees for a packaged bank account.
Bank Charges
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimated in 2011 that a third of the revenue gained through personal current accounts was obtained through overdraft charges and the interest on overdrawn balances.
Recent research by the FCA highlighted some of the issues surrounding overdrafts:
There may be circumstances in which you can still reclaim Bank Charges. If you feel that you have not been charged in line with the terms and conditions of your Bank Account, or if you are experiencing financial difficulty, in the first instance you should contact your Bank. If your Bank does not satisfactorily address your complaint, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman service, but please be aware that they will not uphold complaints unless justified.
Bank Fees on Packaged Bank Accounts
When you sign up for a bank account you may be offered a packaged bank account. These are the accounts that have a monthly bank fee, some of which are priced up to £25. The extras that are often available with these packaged bank accounts include insurance policies, ticket discounts, and a better interest rate on personal loans and savings.
The FCA have provided guidelines to consumers thinking about whether a packaged bank account is suitable. The five step guideline covers:
Step 1: Assess whether or not you would actually use the additional benefits that a packaged bank account offers or indeed whether you already have these benefits from another source.
Step 2: Contact your bank or building society to check whether you would be eligible to claim on any of the policies such as the insurance policies.
Step 3: To understand whether or not you are getting value for money, compare the price of buying the individual items that you would want to use against the annual cost of the Packaged Bank account.
Step 4: Check whether you need to activate benefits or register your details before any of the cover on the policies come into force.
Step 5: During the course of taking out a packaged bank account and paying a monthly fee, check whether your circumstances have changed in case you will no longer be eligible to claim on an insurance policy included in the packaged account.
In Conclusion
There may be circumstances in which you can ask your bank to reconsider applying Bank Charges if you are in financial hardship and the charges are adding to your problems. Contact your Bank initially and if the situation remains unresolved to your satisfaction, then you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Bank Fees charged by your Bank or Building Society for a Packaged Bank account relate to optional services. If you feel that you were mis-sold your Packaged Bank Account, you can complain to your Bank and ask them to refund the fees. If you are subsequently unhappy with the outcome, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into this for you. Details can be found on the Financial Ombudsman Service website.
If you feel you don’t have the time or the confidence to handle the complaint yourself, that’s where we come in. We can take care of everything in relation to the management of your claim. Whenever appropriate we will also refer a Packaged Bank Account complaint rejected by your bank to the Financial Ombudsman Service and continue to pursue your claim.