Lloyds Bank account Fees reclaim

Skyler

Hi All,

just wanted to let you know my experience so far with my claim and the barriers I've come up against.

OK, I've banked with Lloyds for a number of years so they were a trusted bank to me. For those that remember I've held a very old Jeans Scheme Account and been upgraded at various points through advise from Lloyds customer services.

In 1999 I upgraded my account to a Select saver account. The account had a £5 fee and with it came mobile phone insurance and Green Flag cover, I registered my phone at time but used neither product. Neither product was expained to me in detail and I just accepted that if I wanted to keep an account with an interest free overdraft I would have to upgrade to the select account.

Around Nov 2006 my account was upgraded again to what was now know as a Gold Service account. This account offered the added benefit of travel insurance and breakdown cover but the full terms and conditions weren't explained.

Subsequently in Aug 2011 I tried to use the travel insurance that was offered on my account. I was told at the time that the cover was not for a family of 4 and would only cover 2 adults and 1 child. Also as my husband suffered from Crohns that he wouldn't have been eligable for the travel insurance cover.

I continued to pay for the account which the fee increased from £5, to £7, to £9 to now £12.95 because I believed that I was benefiting from other benefits that I could use the account for. for example the breakdown cover

Again this is something which when I tried to arrange a home start I was told that I wasn't covered and that I would only have been covered if I had a platinum account.

So I put all this in writing to Lloyds and i've had my claim rejected on the basis that it's taken me since 2011 to raise the concern about the travel insurance and if I had wanted home start I should have paid the extra for the platinum account.

Hmmmm I don't know where I stand now, I know I should have raised my concerns before but I've only just been informed that you can claim your bank account fees back if you think they have been missold!

The insurance cover for travel wouldn't have been eligable no matter what as I have 2 children and my husband has a longstanding condition, neither of which were discussed at the time!

Hmmm do I stand a chance if I go to the ombudsman?

Nasqueron

You have the right to refer to the ombudsman within 6 months but the bank's position would suggest they have evidence they sent you details of the account benefits plus terms and conditions so are using the 3 year time bar rule "three years from the date on which the complainant became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that he had cause for complaint"

Your argument these weren't explained is largely moot as the details would have been in the booklet and you not reading it is not the bank's fault.

That said, the bank may agree to ignore the time-bar at the FOS fee so you never know, worth doing as it sounds like the account features were useless, worst case the FOS agree with the bank and it doesn't cost you anything personally.

dunstonh

I registered my phone at time but used neither product.

That works against you. As you have used the product. Just because you havent suffered a claimable event, doesnt matter. Its a bit like paying for life assurance. If you dont die in the term then its not a mis-sale. By registering the phone, you have used the product and it shows you knew what the product offered.

Neither product was expained to me in detail and I just accepted that if I wanted to keep an account with an interest free overdraft I would have to upgrade to the select account.

That argument has no credibility. You say it wasnt explained to you but you managed to register the phone and the phone registration process would have had explanation documentation as well.

This account offered the added benefit of travel insurance and breakdown cover but the full terms and conditions weren't explained.

There is no requirement to go through the terms. It would take hours and is unrealistic and not required. Only the key things are required to be notified.

Subsequently in Aug 2011 I tried to use the travel insurance that was offered on my account. I was told at the time that the cover was not for a family of 4 and would only cover 2 adults and 1 child. Also as my husband suffered from Crohns that he wouldn't have been eligable for the travel insurance cover.

Did you raise a complaint in 2011 about this? If no, then this works against you as you have 3 years from an event to make a complaint. That is a regulator guideline. This is a major blocker.

So I put all this in writing to Lloyds and i've had my claim rejected on the basis that it's taken me since 2011 to raise the concern about the travel insurance and if I had wanted home start I should have paid the extra for the platinum account.

As expected, Lloyds are using the timebar. They appear to be using it correctly to as 2011 was 4 years ago.

Hmmmm I don't know where I stand now, I know I should have raised my concerns before but I've only just been informed that you can claim your bank account fees back if you think they have been missold!

You dont claim your fees back on a whim. That is not how it works. You make a complaint about the sale giving your reasons for the complaint and supply any evidence you have to support that complaint. If the bank agrees with your complaint then it will pay redress accordingly. You must raise the complaint within 6 years of the purchase or 3 years of being reasonably aware of an issue.

In 2011 you say you had something that was reason to complain but you didnt. So, either you didnt think it was complaint worthy or you couldnt be bothered and put it down to experience. Either way, that has a consequence as the 3 year clock starts ticking.

The insurance cover for travel wouldn't have been eligable no matter what as I have 2 children and my husband has a longstanding condition, neither of which were discussed at the time!

The pre-existing condition would have applied to any travel insurance but would cover other unrelated things. IIRC, the Lloyds packaged account travel insurance did allow you to pay for bolted on options such as extra child or winter sports etc.

However, none of that really matters because even if your complaint is 100% valid and correct, the timebar of 3 years kills it off.

Hmmm do I stand a chance if I go to the ombudsman?

The ombudsman cannot overrule a valid timebar unless in rare cases. The ombudsman says that things like bereavement of close relative or incapacity are the sorts of things they consider and it has to be for the whole period of the delay. You dont appear to have any compelling reason for the delay. So, I would expect the FOS to tell you that they cannot review your complaint as you are timebarred.

Nearlyold

From the Gold account terms and conditions it appears Crohns is covered :-

"If You have any Medical Conditions and they all appear in the following list of No Screen Conditions, then these will all be covered under the policy without the need to contact Us.

No Screen Conditions (for which You do not need to contact Us if all the Medical Conditions that You have are included on the list below): – Achilles tendon injury – Acid excess – Acid Reflux – Acne – ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – Allergy (requiring no prescriptive treatment only) – Allergy (with Epipen if prescribed) – Anal fissure/fistula – Arthritis – Asthma – Benign Prostatic Enlargement – Blindness – Broken bone (not head or spine) – Carpal tunnel syndrome – Cataracts – Chicken pox – Colitis (no hospital admissions in the last 12 months) – Common cold/influenza – Corneal graft – Cosmetic surgery – Crohn’s Disease – Cuts and abrasions (non self-inflicted) list continues........."