Current Account w/ ID Protection +mobile phone insurance???

tom_00devon

I'm currently paying for a Lloyds TSB Silver Account at £7.95 a month which I took out primarily for the mobile phone insurance. I get their card protection with it, too, although as I'm 19 I don't really use many of the other benefits.
I'm also paying for Lloyds' ID Aware scheme which is £6.99 a month, and have been since my wallet was stolen in November. I don't use their website at all, and have received one credit report through the post. Whilst I want to keep ID protection, my current monthly "donation" to Lloyds' bankers is around £15 a month - nearly 3 hours' wages for me!
I also have their Airmiles Duo credit cards with £1000 limit. My overdraft is £100 (which I chose to keep low to avoid using it).

Does anybody know of a current account at any bank that includes mobile phone insurance and ID Theft protection for less than Lloyds' Premier account (£25 a month after first two months). I'm reluctant to be paying £15 a month for 2 features and would happily move to a current account with these features and more for a little more money (max £19). I don't own a home and already have breakdown cover on my car.

I just think that the two main features that I need are included at £25 a month on the premier account, but i really don't need such a large amount of features, nor can I really afford it.

I am happy to move to any bank if the price is right ;-)

THANK YOU!!!
:think:

vaporate

I personally would refuse to pay any form of fee paying account. I would switch at the drop of a hat.

Mobile phone insurance? How much is your mobile worth? Even if you are covered insurance sharks do tend to wiggle their way out of paying if they can.

anna42hmr

try natwests advantage blue or advantage gold accounts i know gold does both and i think blue does at least one (gold is the more expensive of the two at around £12.99 blue is less than £7)

however have you thought about getting insurance for your phone elsewhere may be cheaper??

also with credit report etc, are you aware that if you have a capital one credit card you can sign up for 2 free equifax reports every year?? or you can get statutory ones for £2

also for the protection of cards in your wallet etc you can get setinal protection much cheaper than what you are paying the bank on a monthly basis (you can get cover for less than £30 a year, or £80 for three years) http://www.sentinelcardprotection.com/Content.aspx?content=ourbenefits

you really need to consider if what you are using is worth the £180 a year you are paying and if you can get it cheaper elsewhere, especially if you have a cheap phone or there is a high excess etc!

take a look at these links on mse main site may have more info for you to consider http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-mobile-phone-insurance

jambosans

As other's have mentioned, you need to way up wether you should be paying for these "benefits" at all. For example, you can normally obtain a credit report free of charge by going directly to the credit reference agencies and signing up for a 30 day free trial (e.g. Experian). I would cancel ID Aware at the very least, as you can monitor your credit report by yourself, at less cost.

A cheaper alternative to the Lloyds TSB Silver Account (if you still want a packaged account) would be the Barclays Current Account Plus. Costs £5 per month, and comes with everything you've specified:-

• A £300 interest free overdraft
• Mobile Phone Insurance, including cover against loss, theft and accidental damage,
• Identity Support Advice Line to give you help about identity theft
• Cardholder Protection to cover you against the loss or theft of your cards and passport
• Extended warranty cover for your domestic appliances

It's worth mentioning, if you phone Lloyds TSB and say you want to downgrade, they may try and retain your business by giving you a discounted rate (e.g. 3 months for £3, which is offered to new business). So if you can (before moving or downgrading), exploit this.

System

Hi tom_00devon

Wanted to add that the Lloyds ID Aware product is best avoided.

They use the credit reference agency (CRA) CallCredit for their credit file information and whilst alot of companies now report account conduct to them, hardly any use them to carry out credit searches, a vital first sign of fraudulent applications.

If you really must have this type of product you would be better off subscribing to Credit Expert which is run by Experian, the most widely used credit reference agency.

Also, as anna42hmr mentioned, if you get yourself a Capital One card (you don't have to use it!) you get two free credit reports a year, plus (the best bit) you get Identity Watch Silver from Equifax (2nd biggest CRA) which alerts you to any credit file movements, for free.

See Martin's article (HERE) for guidance on mobile insurance.

Best of luck putting together a better deal!

Regards
UNDERGROUND