Missold account

RDean

Hi,

Last year I went to my bank to switch my account to another package however while I was there the banks sales team managed to trick me into opening a business bank account despite me telling them I did not own a business but was simply thinking about running one. I was told that I could face legal problems should I not open the account as 'money from business cannot be put into a normal account'.

I was told there was free banking for a year, they quite explicitly stated there were no charges until a fixed date. Anyway further down the line I began receiving notifications that various charges were being deducted from my account, believing these to be an error (as I had 'free banking'), I ignored them and once these charges were deducted, further interest charges were also added on.

I reluctantly paid all of the debt off which totalled nearly £200 and was again notified that various charges were being added on. The account was closed and I was told that the debt was a fixed amount, however now I am receiving notifications claiming the debt has rapidly increased as more charges have been added on, both in interest and account charges.

I'm going to complain to the bank and was wondering whether or not I have a case and how much I can reclaim.

Any pointers would be much appreciated,

thanks, Dave.

YoYoY

RDean wrote: »

Hi,

Last year I went to my bank to switch my account to another package however while I was there the banks sales team managed to trick me into opening a business bank account despite me telling them I did not own a business but was simply thinking about running one. I was told that I could face legal problems should I not open the account as 'money from business cannot be put into a normal account'.

I was told there was free banking for a year, they quite explicitly stated there were no charges until a fixed date. Anyway further down the line I began receiving notifications that various charges were being deducted from my account, believing these to be an error (as I had 'free banking'), I ignored them and once these charges were deducted, further interest charges were also added on.

I reluctantly paid all of the debt off which totalled nearly £200 and was again notified that various charges were being added on. The account was closed and I was told that the debt was a fixed amount, however now I am receiving notifications claiming the debt has rapidly increased as more charges have been added on, both in interest and account charges.

I'm going to complain to the bank and was wondering whether or not I have a case and how much I can reclaim.

Any pointers would be much appreciated,

thanks, Dave.

How exactly did the bank trick you? :huh:
You say the bank informed you that you may not use a personal account for business purposes, and you say you do not run a business, son I'm a little confused as to why you agreed to open a business account.

What were the charges for?

Why did you pay the charges if you didn't agree with them? Did you raise a complaint the first time you noticed a charge applied? If not, why not? If so, what was the outcome of that complaint?

RDean

YoYoY wrote: »

How exactly did the bank trick you? :huh:
You say the bank informed you that you may not use a personal account for business purposes, and you say you do not run a business, son I'm a little confused as to why you agreed to open a business account.

What were the charges for?

Why did you pay the charges if you didn't agree with them? Did you raise a complaint the first time you noticed a charge applied? If not, why not? If so, what was the outcome of that complaint?

I was led to believe that donations I was receiving for various favours could not be put into a personal account and that this itself constituted a business entity. I was reluctant but opened the account anyway with a view to closing it before any charges were applied at the end of the free banking period.

Apparently the charges are for a credit card they bundled with the account, some monthly charge which was not mentioned and which I did not agree too.

The reason I paid the charges at the time was to try and get them to close the account so that I could just put it all behind me. I did make a complaint but unfortunately only in person and it was not followed up.

I'm heading to the bank tomorrow with a file to make another complaint seeing as they are now threatening legal action.

Little_Mo_70

RDean wrote: »

I was led to believe that donations I was receiving for various favours could not be put into a personal account and that this itself constituted a business entity. I was reluctant but opened the account anyway with a view to closing it before any charges were applied at the end of the free banking period.

Apparently the charges are for a credit card they bundled with the account, some monthly charge which was not mentioned and which I did not agree too.

The reason I paid the charges at the time was to try and get them to close the account so that I could just put it all behind me. I did make a complaint but unfortunately only in person and it was not followed up.

I'm heading to the bank tomorrow with a file to make another complaint seeing as they are now threatening legal action.

But in your original posting you said that you told the bank you did not own a business and were just thinking about running one, now you say that you were receiving some payment for services and presumably they advised a business account because of that. The T's and c's would have surely shown how this account was to run and what charges were to be incurred. If you were charged a monthly fee then it would have been taken out after the first month. If this wasn't for you couldn't you have closed the account then?

I'm sorry Dave, I'm not being unkind but I have to agree with YoYo, because I cannot see why you signed up for the account without reading all the terms during the cooling off period . The bank didn't force you to sign up, it was the free banking carrot that did it:rotfl:

However, you should challenge the legal action threats if, as you say, the debt has been paid and the account closed, but...,.., don't go in will all guns blazing. Get all your facts ready first and simply stick to them. Keep records of everything that happens from now on as you might need to use them- hope not though:)

Good luck anyway

Mo

RDean

I'm afraid it's a difficult and complicated case for me to explain (without delving into details) and I realise this only now after trying.

I'm in the complaints process now and gathering together various facts from the bank in order to present a good case (much better than the one here of course :rotfl: )

The essence of the complaint is that I was misled as to the charges and the extent of 'free banking'.

Thanks Mo & YoYo for your honest opinions anyway, but I don't think this thread is going to go anywhere considering my inability to explain the circumstances without trailing off into a novel.

magpiecottage

Put in the complaint - if necessary take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service - and see what happens.