informed of bank account closure !

simonnixon65

I have just received a letter from my online bank, Secure Trust, which is actually part of Barclays Bank, informing me that they will be closing my account as of Sept this year ! The reason they have given is that they will cease to provide a bank account that charges a monthly fee as they are no longer allowed to do so, as there are now basic bank accounts that clients in my situation can apply for !! I'm currently about half way through a 6 year IVA with Debt Free Direct and was told at the commencement of my IVA that I would have to open a bank account with the above mentioned bank as I wouldn't get an account at any of the mainstream high street banks, I was told that the main benefits of having an account with Secure Trust was that I would not be charged for any failed automatic payments such as DD's or Standing Orders should there be insufficient funds in my account.
however when I opened the account I was surprised to find out that a monthly fee of £12.50 was charged to offset the lack of any failed payment charges, but they do pay interest on the account balance monthly and there is a cash reward scheme for purchases made with the pre paid debit card that they also provide with the account, my question is, would I be able to claim back the monthly fee that I have been paying for the last 3 years or so, as a lump sum would help towards my IVA ?! or would any claim be rejected because of the reward scheme and interest payments (pennies)? and were there any "Fee Basic Bank Accounts" available 3 years ago that I could have applied for ??
I look forward to any advice, Simon.

boo_star

Yes, there were fee free high street bank accounts available to people in IVA's 3 years ago.

Barclays springs to mind and probably the Co-op too. There were possibly more than that.

I'm guessing it was the IVA company that told you you needed to open up this specific account and couldn't go elsewhere? You could make a complaint for mis selling (as it was clearly incorrect advice) against them, the bank don't appear to have done anything wrong (there's no law against charging for a bank account after all.)