Lloyds TSB - very disappointed

chrissie_jay

I have just taken over control of my mother's Premier account with Lloyds as I have Enduring Power of Attorney. I went in to the bank to get internet access and the Manager told me I should upgrade her Premier Account to the Premier Plus so I can get up to 4.25% AER for up to £5,000 and there is usually that sort of amount in there. This seemed like a good idea so when I got home I logged on to the Lloyds website and it gave information about "it includes AA breakdown cover, travel insurance and identity theft protection. A unique package of benefits work up to £942 a year." There were several links encouraging you to upgrade.

When I logged into her account I click on the link marked 'upgrade' which was next to the name of the account. Only then did it give me the information that it would cost £15 a month for three months and after that £25 per month. Fortunately, I read it before confirming. I thought it was terrible that the Manager recommended it and I very nearly asked her to go ahead when she new full well that my mother is in a nursing home and would not be able to use AA breakdown cover or travel, also bad that the website does not give that information until you choose to upgrade after giving several suggestions to upgrade. If I had told the manager to go ahead it would have cost my mother more with the monthly cost than the interest earned.

Ian_W

Upgrade it to the Classic Plus for 4.25% at No cost - see
https://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/compare_accounts.asp

Complain to LTSB head office about the manager.

thumshie

Isn't the £25 charge for the Premier account??

http://www.lloydstsb.com/legal/current_accounts_legal/premier_current_account.asp

The conversion from Premier to Premier plus, just gains you more interest - though you need to deposit £1000 a month. Are you sure your mum hasn't already been paying £25 a month???

chrissie_jay

No. She has never been charged for the Premier account otherwise we would have changed it. She gets something like 0.10% interest. If I could I would change to Alliance and Leicester because they give you 6.10% AER on balances up to £2,500 with no strings.

Thank you Ian for information about the Classic Plus I will look into it.

MABLE

chrissie_jay wrote: »

I have just taken over control of my mother's Premier account with Lloyds as I have Enduring Power of Attorney. I went in to the bank to get internet access and the Manager told me I should upgrade her Premier Account to the Premier Plus so I can get up to 4.25% AER for up to £5,000 and there is usually that sort of amount in there. This seemed like a good idea so when I got home I logged on to the Lloyds website and it gave information about "it includes AA breakdown cover, travel insurance and identity theft protection. A unique package of benefits work up to £942 a year." There were several links encouraging you to upgrade.

When I logged into her account I click on the link marked 'upgrade' which was next to the name of the account. Only then did it give me the information that it would cost £15 a month for three months and after that £25 per month. Fortunately, I read it before confirming. I thought it was terrible that the Manager recommended it and I very nearly asked her to go ahead when she new full well that my mother is in a nursing home and would not be able to use AA breakdown cover or travel, also bad that the website does not give that information until you choose to upgrade after giving several suggestions to upgrade. If I had told the manager to go ahead it would have cost my mother more with the monthly cost than the interest earned.

You have to remember the staff are all sales people now and are not interested in you getting the right product but they sell the product with the most commission. Hmm humburg

regularsaver1

These accounts are usually non-advised on the insurances, meaning they can't make a recommendation, but will give the information for the customer to decide, like informed choice

Due to the insurances they should be sold by FSA authorised personel

I know this because of the new Ultimate Reward account as Halifax

Tolkny

I am considering upgrading our bog standard LLoyd's TSB current account to a premier account because of all the insurance that it offers although £25 a month does seem a bit steep but it does simplify things with AA cover and identity theft cover etc, although as a non flier and non overseas traveller I wonder how one can easily compare it and whether other companies offer this sort of comprehensive emergency cover package.

Right now I am looking to get home emergency cover for plumbing and electrical faults but am tempted by the Premier cover and would replace my Britannia vehicle rescue cover and deal with Sentinel card protection, which I am also overdue renewing.

Before I decide I would like to hear others views of this.

Nitwit

Tolkny wrote: »

I am considering upgrading our bog standard LLoyd's TSB current account to a premier account because of all the insurance that it offers although £25 a month does seem a bit steep but it does simplify things with AA cover and identity theft cover etc, although as a non flier and non overseas traveller I wonder how one can easily compare it and whether other companies offer this sort of comprehensive emergency cover package.

Tolkny wrote: »

Right now I am looking to get home emergency cover for plumbing and electrical faults but am tempted by the Premier cover and would replace my Britannia vehicle rescue cover and deal with Sentinel card protection, which I am also overdue renewing.

Before I decide I would like to hear others views of this.

I neither work for nor have any connection with LloydsTSB, apart from having had a current account with the bank for just over 40 years without any complaints or problems. My wife and I opened a joint Platinum account at our local branch in March 2007 because the savings far outweighed the monthly charge, even in a full year at the full rate. Our actual savings now amount to £407 compared to what we would have been paying, in return for a total annual charge that even after the recent rises is only £204. The mobile phone insurance that I was paying at the time actually cost me more than the monthly charge so the rest of the benefits, especially the AA cover, were an added bonus. The only thing I would suggest is that you consider which of the benefits on offer you are actually likely to use and pick the appropriate account. The various accounts are compared at http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/compare_accounts.asp. We didn't choose the Premier account because upgrading the free AA cover to Relay Plus only cost us £35 last June and it seemed better to pay that than another £5 a month to the bank. It’s now £8 a month more since the rates went up recently. If you're worried about identity theft, it might make sense to go for the Premier account but I think you’d do well to read the article about it on this site before deciding whether you need it and want to pay for it. (See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/identity-fraud if you haven’t already.) On top of that, we get home emergency cover for £50 a year at the moment with our buildings and contents insurance through Swinton.

Hope this helps.

Dean

cloud_dog

Had a similar situation when the MIL passed, she had taken care of finances and when I was reviewing the FIL finances found their Lloyds account was making a charge which related to breakdown cover, travel ins, etc, unfortunately the in-laws don;t have a car a rarely (if ever travel) - got the FIL to changethe account to the classic.

I know Lloyds introduced these charges a while ago but, a good example of institutions forcing people to opt 'out' rather than offering them the chance to opt 'in'.

cloud_dog