Mis sold Bank accounts

Quiche81

Firstly, apologies if this is the wrong section but it does seem to fit in this area.

Quiet a few years back TSB called me in to the branch for a review
as my signature was causing concerns, which fair enough, I opened
this account when i was 16 and over the years it did change a fair bit.

While there, the women informed me that my old account was an
obselete account now and I should change it for this 'Gold' type, it
had a fair amount of benefits and as her words were 'Free banking is really a thing of the past' I went ahead and all was well.

Now last year, I went into the branch while tightning up the old
financial belt and the women informed me we could put the account
back to a basic one and save that monthly payment ?!

Perhaps i was naive, I dont know, but on reflection I should have
shopped about but when your own bank gives you this information
and you act on it, is it really down to me ? But more importantly
should I try and claim this back, could i claim this back ?

Many thanks
L.

Trumpeter

Part of it may depend on whether you used any of the so called benefits which go with these types of accounts.
After the death of my mother-in-law, we found that she had been using a Nat West Advantage Gold account & was being charged about £13 a month. At the time of her death, she was 86 years old & had no need for "free" travel insurance (which only covered people up to the age of 70 anyway), mobile phone insurance or car breakdown cover. After about a year of arguments & the involvement of the Financial Ombudsman Service, we got a repayment of almost £1000. This however was merely a return of fees & a tenner for lost interest, no penalty for the bank.
Nat West blaimed it on "a lack of staff training" but I would certainly like to know how many other elderly & vunerable people have been sold these unsuitable products.

Quiche81

Trumpeter wrote: »

Part of it may depend on whether you used any of the so called benefits which go with these types of accounts.
After the death of my mother-in-law, we found that she had been using a Nat West Advantage Gold account & was being charged about £13 a month. At the time of her death, she was 86 years old & had no need for "free" travel insurance (which only covered people up to the age of 70 anyway), mobile phone insurance or car breakdown cover. After about a year of arguments & the involvement of the Financial Ombudsman Service, we got a repayment of almost £1000. This however was merely a return of fees & a tenner for lost interest, no penalty for the bank.
Nat West blaimed it on "a lack of staff training" but I would certainly like to know how many other elderly & vunerable people have been sold these unsuitable products.

To be honest, I used none of it. I had very similair coverage as you've
just mentioned, but most of which was covered anyway, phone
with my provider, we dont travel abroad, it was more about being
told free accounts were obselete when they cleary were not to be frank.

Cheers
L.

magpiecottage

Trumpeter wrote: »

After about a year of arguments & the involvement of the Financial Ombudsman Service, we got a repayment of almost £1000. This however was merely a return of fees & a tenner for lost interest, no penalty for the bank.

That is because FOS is an adjudicator, not a regulator. It can award redress but cannot punish.

joanne13

I have been a Natwest customer for 20+ years, but have a bad credit rating score.

However, Natwest allowed me to have an overdraft on my then basic account of £1200, I had difficulty paying this back, so Natwest advised me to take out a loan to pay the overdraft.

I agreed to this, but was told I would have to upgrade to an advantage gold account for the loan to go ahead, which again I agreed to, as I felt this was the only option to pay of the overdraft.

The loan was paid off in Feb 2010, but I still have an advantage account, as the £13 monthly charges have become the norm that I have never thought to question it until I read the comments in this thread.

I have never used any of the benefits as none of them apply to me, and when I recently applied for an overdraft of £100 I was refused because of my credit rating.

So, did Natwest miss sell this card to me, and if so what is the best way to complain?

Help from anyone in the know would be much appreciated.