Bank package fees

adelemoneysaver

Hi

I've completed my initial letter of complaint to the bank regarding my fee of £25 per month for the account.
They have responded with a questionnaire to complete asking questions like:
Have you been on holiday since opening the account
Do you have an iPhone
Do you own a car
I've never used the 'facilities' with the account, are these trick questions?
Thanks in advance

dunstonh

are these trick questions?

No. They are questions to ascertain whether the facilities they offer were suitable or not.

addedvaluebob

Think carefully before simply replying yes/no. If you answer yes to any of the questions they may come back with a response stating 'you could have benefited from the insurance offered within the account, therefore the sale was suitable (in full or part).

It is more important to consider whether the benefits of the policy could be used.

Did you have travel insurance elsewhere or only holiday in the UK (some policies did not cover this)
If you drive, is the car yours or a company vehicle, did you have breakdown cover elsewhere
Would the policy have covered you if the phone was a pay as you go, or an old phone of a value below the excess on the policy.

Before selling the packaged account they should have checked with you to see if you could actually use the plan conditions

If the bank turn down your complaint you are then faced with going to the FOS and further delays

Nasqueron

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Think carefully before simply replying yes/no. If you answer yes to any of the questions they may come back with a response stating 'you could have benefited from the insurance offered within the account, therefore the sale was suitable (in full or part).

It is more important to consider whether the benefits of the policy could be used.

That sounds suspiciously like suggesting someone tweak their answers to fit the bill!

Did you have a phone (for phone insurance)? The answer is yes or no, not whether you would have benefited. It's black and white, not grey. Unless the phone had to be registered to be covered then I would agree it was poor.

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Did you have travel insurance elsewhere or only holiday in the UK (some policies did not cover this)

Or more sensibly - simply check if the policy did cover UK travel as many do.

If you had cover running say as an annual policy, send proof of that to show it was not needed

addedvaluebob wrote: »

If you drive, is the car yours or a company vehicle, did you have breakdown cover elsewhere

The Halifax one with the AA covered you, not the car as an example, doesn't matter who owns it.

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Would the policy have covered you if the phone was a pay as you go, or an old phone of a value below the excess on the policy.

Again only going by Halifax but you could select thousands of phones on their site from old to premium new. Halifax excess was £30 for any phone, £100 for iphone

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Before selling the packaged account they should have checked with you to see if you could actually use the plan conditions

If the bank turn down your complaint you are then faced with going to the FOS and further delays

Depends, if you rang up and asked for it or applied online, why would they be "selling" it?


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OP - if you have never used these facilities, say so (make sure you are 100%!!) and as Bob says, if you had cover elsewhere then include that. Banks seem to pay out quite easily on packaged accounts so probably they are just double checking through a formal process - just don't lie!

addedvaluebob

That sounds suspiciously like suggesting someone tweak their answers to fit the bill!

Clearly you have a suspicious mind

Did you have a phone (for phone insurance)? The answer is yes or no, not whether you would have benefited. It's black and white, not grey. Unless the phone had to be registered to be covered then I would agree it was poor.

It is obviously grey in your second example then

The Halifax one with the AA covered you, not the car as an example, doesn't matter who owns it.

Again only going by Halifax but you could select thousands of phones on their site from old to premium new. Halifax excess was £30 for any phone, £100 for iphone

So if it is not the Halifax?

Depends, if you rang up and asked for it or applied online, why would they be "selling" it?

Who bought these by applying online, most of the complaints about packaged bank accounts were because the bank added these on not because somebody applied online or called and asked to be sold these benefits. Bank staff were targeted to sell these accounts


===============

OP - if you have never used these facilities, say so (make sure you are 100%!!) and as Bob says, if you had cover elsewhere then include that. Banks seem to pay out quite easily on packaged accounts so probably they are just double checking through a formal process - just don't lie!

Lying was never suggested

Nasqueron

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Clearly you have a suspicious mind

Hardly, you are suggesting that the OP doesn't say yes/no to simple yes/no questions if they could have benefited as it might weaken their case but rather tailor their answers as to whether they would benefit.

addedvaluebob wrote: »

It is obviously grey in your second example then

Nope - you either had a phone or you didn't. Black an white. 1 and 0. The literature on the websites makes it clear if you have to register the phone, as it does in the intro letter and the guide to the benefits. I think FOS may well look unfavourably on registering a phone but that is purely guesswork on my part.

addedvaluebob wrote: »

So if it is not the Halifax?

Chances are it's the Lloyds Premier when it's £25 a month.

The travel insurance covers UK (min 2 nights) and worldwide
The car breakdown covers YOU not a car, covers any vehicle as driver or passenger
The mobile insurance covers 2 phones, £100 iphone excess, £50 everyone else. It covers loss, damage (like for like replacement) - I can't see a requirement to register the phone in the Ts & Cs just a recommendation

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Who bought these by applying online, most of the complaints about packaged bank accounts were because the bank added these on not because somebody applied online or called and asked to be sold these benefits. Bank staff were targeted to sell these accounts

I went to the Halifax one by ringing up and asking for it, I was never cold called to upgrade.


===============

addedvaluebob wrote: »

Lying was never suggested

No but you did suggest to the OP they answer the questions based on whether they would have benefited from the feature rather than simple yes/no answers

addedvaluebob wrote:

Think carefully before simply replying yes/no. If you answer yes to any of the questions they may come back with a response stating 'you could have benefited from the insurance offered within the account, therefore the sale was suitable (in full or part).

It is more important to consider whether the benefits of the policy could be used.

There is your post - you are telling them not to answer yes / no to a question such as "did you have a phone" or "do you own a car" - these are not trick questions, they are asking to see if the OP would have benefited from the account feature. Telling them to "think carefully" about yes / no when it's a yes / no question is very grey