Current account fees refund

drnn

Ever since I came to work and live in the UK in 2001, I have banked with Lloyds and have always had a fee paying current account. Until recently I thought you HAD to pay a fee in order to have a current account. Can I claim these fees back from my bank and request they provide me with a current account with no fees? 

sparklep0ny

On what basis did you think you needed to pay fees?

drnn

I was told the fee was to cover the benefits the current account came with 

sparklep0ny

Yes, well that's true. But on what basis were you lead to believe that you had to pay a fee for a bank account?

drnn

When I had to open a bank account to have my salary paid into, this is the current account I was given. I was not given a choice. I believe at the time the fee was about £10 a month. And coming from a different country, I thought this is how it works in the UK. 

sparklep0ny

I'd fully expect them to timebar it.

Not knowing for 20 years that there are free bank accounts seems...implausible.  And the bank will have sent documentation annually that would have tipped you off.

drnn

They definitely sent information regularly about the benefits on the account but nothing that tipped me off that I am eligible for a free current account if I so chose. 

Thank you for having taken the time to answer my question. 

[Deleted User]

drnn said:

They definitely sent information regularly about the benefits on the account but nothing that tipped me off that I am eligible for a free current account if I so chose. 

Thank you for having taken the time to answer my question. 

The benefits packages included a letter that covered this, it will have specific, FCA approved wording that allows them to trigger the time bar. 6 year (from opening account) and 3 year from knowing (or when you could reasonably have known) that there was a cause for complaint which the letters trigger.