Lloyds TSB Silver Gold Platinum Premier Current Account Rip-off

musical_norwich

Lloyds TSB have just announced that from December 2010 it will:

1. Charge £5 per month if an arranged overdraft is used, in addition to any monthly account fee and overdraft interest;
2. Will stop paying interest on credit balances (okay, can change to Vantage but lose benefit of no value added fee for a minimum balance). I know Lloyds TSB was paying sod all, but it is the principle.

Now, lots of us do drop into our overdraft limits regularly. So, if you do drop into your arranged overdraft every month, the monthly fees become:

Silver: £12.95 per month or £155.40 per year + interest in double figures %
Gold: £17.00 per month or £204.00 per year + interest in double figures %
Platinum: £22.00 per month or £264.00 per year + interest in double figures %
Premier: £27.00 per month or £324.00 per year + interest in double figures %

The benefit of these changes is that Lloyds TSB is going to reduce its charges to those who run unauthorised overdrafts. Great. So taxpayers bailout Lloyds TSB when it should have gone bust, and now Lloyds TSB want more of our money to bailout irresponsible individuals.

This hike annoyed me quite a lot, so I did some checking:

1. Breakdown, including homestart, breakdown and European cover on an annual policy is £56 with Swinton (including topcashback of 20%)
2. Annual European travel insurance for a family of five is £39 (including topcashback of £5.50), even with my pre-existing medical condition, from Amex
3. Mobile phone insurance is included on my home contents policy in any case
4. Sentinel is pretty worthless
5. Who uses the travel service?

So, you can buy the equivalent of Platinum, plus the valuable extra of European breakdown cover, for a total of £95 per year. Drop from a Platinum Account to a free Classic Vantage account and save £109 every year.

Oh and if you ever want to buy extras, you get ripped off. Lloyds TSB wanted about an extra £50 to add our kids to Gold Account travel insurance, and about £55 to add Homestart.

I am rearranging my finances, to save the additional £60 in overdraft fees (even excluding the ridiculous interest rates). And, by moving to a Classic Vantage account, I will get a decent interest rate on my in-credit balance.

You don't even need to change banks. Just go in and ask that your account is changed from a 'value add' account to a Classic Vantage, and, if you have some savings, pay off your overdraft and create a buffer which ensures you don't go overdrawn and earns 4% interest. Job done.

Let's get even with greedy Lloyds TSB! I've been with them more than 20 years but I've had enough.

onlypaddy

It's pretty common knowledge that the benefits you can get with a paid-for bank account can be found a lot cheaper when bought individually....

iereboy

Hmmmm...

Where did you get your figures for those accounts?

The real prices are below, not what you typed.

Silver £7.95
Gold £12
Plat £17
Prem £25

Its becoming quite common for a lot of banks to pay 0% interest on current accounts - though there are a few who pay a fair whack like what you discovered with Vantage.

Overdraft interest in "double figures" again is quite common for a lot of banks.

Lloyds must have done you a favour to get your finances in gear!

You are doing what a lot of people have being doing for years by adding Vantage on to a current account and budgeting so as not to go into your overdraft.

preable

You have all your numbers wrong

izools

musical_norwich wrote: »

Silver: £12.95 per month or £155.40 per year + interest in double figures %
Gold: £17.00 per month or £204.00 per year + interest in double figures %
Platinum: £22.00 per month or £264.00 per year + interest in double figures %
Premier: £27.00 per month or £324.00 per year + interest in double figures %

Incorrect, because the Gold account offers £100 interest and fee free overdraft, Platinum £250, and Premier £500.

So unless you go over these figures on the respective account you won't pay the £5 fee.

I'm happy to pay the Platinum fee, which I got at a reduced rate following a complaint about other stuff, given that I have two un-cheap mobile phones to insure and to do so elsewhere would cost around £20 a month.

To pay less than this for my LTSB account and get the added benefit of the card protection and free overdraft to £250 isn't all too shabby.

I still think the AVA account fees are a bit steep, but they usually are wherever you go.

£5 a month beats the £1 a day that Halifax charge, doesn't it?

2003wastheyear

FYI the mobile phone insurance now includes a £100 excess for iphones:mad: Defo time for me to find a new account.

Incyder

iereboy wrote: »

Hmmmm...

Where did you get your figures for those accounts?

The real prices are below, not what you typed.

Silver £7.95
Gold £12
Plat £17
Prem £25

He added the £5 monthly overdaft fee for each account, and did say so.

paulmcerlean

2003wastheyear wrote: »

FYI the mobile phone insurance now includes a £100 excess for iphones:mad: Defo time for me to find a new account.

Seriously?! This is not impressive. The iphone cover made it a benefit for me.

Melmoneysaver

paulmcerlean wrote: »

Seriously?! This is not impressive. The iphone cover made it a benefit for me.

Yep, as of 1st april 2011

Saints2011

2003wastheyear wrote: »

FYI the mobile phone insurance now includes a £100 excess for iphones:mad: Defo time for me to find a new account.

Only on the Silver AVA.

chachiluz

I have been a premier account customer for a few years and I have hardly use the service - luckyly, however I lost my mobile phone and rung to put a claim. In fairness, I know I am not the most organised person - when I lost my mobile I rung my network provider and they calcelled the phone also rung Lloyds tsb a couple of days later and they told me I had to contact the police and that I had to fill in a form. This was back in January, by the time I had a second copy of the form was February - then they wanted more information that I provided.... then nothing happend I rung again - Oh we forgot to process your claim... Oh noh whe will process it . Yesterday I rung again only to be told that my claim has been decline - but I can appeal. This is ludicross. I dont feel that the service is what I signed for. I was expecting quick and easy.

Any ideas? I am seriously thinking of stoping the account