Santander free forever bank account changes

PyroJunky1

I got the same letter last week and made a telephone complaint straight away on 17th July, stating  "I was not happy that Santander are trying to renegue, once again on the free banking for life deal that I signed up to!". I made it clear that they tried it on in 2012 and had to reverse their decision then. Also, should my complaint fail, and the changes to my Everyday Business account go through this time, I would indeed move this account to another provider along with all the other Santander products that I have at present. insurances when due, stocks/shares and ISAs at maturity. I was not given a complaint reference number, but was assured that a complaint had been logged, and someone would phone me back within two to three working days.
Not having heard anything, I phoned again today to chase my complaint and was this time given a complaint reference number. I was told that the time frame for a return phone call is now three to five days. I can only assume that Santander Business Banking Division has done something that has upset a lot of people!
Hopefully, Santander will reconsider their position on this matter quickly, as for them, it goes far beyond the small business account. It is a breaking of trust.  We do all have the option of logging complaints with the FOS, which I shall be doing, dependent on the telephone call I get back from Santander Business complaints department. This needs to be actioned quickly as they have sixty days to respond I beleive? Anyone able to comment on this? We also have the option of using social media to our advantage.

ForumUser7

PyroJunky1 said:

I got the same letter last week and made a telephone complaint straight away on 17th July, stating  "I was not happy that Santander are trying to renegue, once again on the free banking for life deal that I signed up to!". I made it clear that they tried it on in 2012 and had to reverse their decision then. Also, should my complaint fail, and the changes to my Everyday Business account go through this time, I would indeed move this account to another provider along with all the other Santander products that I have at present. insurances when due, stocks/shares and ISAs at maturity. I was not given a complaint reference number, but was assured that a complaint had been logged, and someone would phone me back within two to three working days.
Not having heard anything, I phoned again today to chase my complaint and was this time given a complaint reference number. I was told that the time frame for a return phone call is now three to five days. I can only assume that Santander Business Banking Division has done something that has upset a lot of people!
Hopefully, Santander will reconsider their position on this matter quickly, as for them, it goes far beyond the small business account. It is a breaking of trust.  We do all have the option of logging complaints with the FOS, which I shall be doing, dependent on the telephone call I get back from Santander Business complaints department. This needs to be actioned quickly as they have sixty days to respond I beleive? Anyone able to comment on this? We also have the option of using social media to our advantage.

Santander has 56 days to respond with an FRL. If they have not responded after this, you can go to the FOS. Personally, I tend to wait a bit longer if there is no response just in case they were going to uphold etc. 

Totalbankers

I opened a free business account when Santander advertised the free banking forever as attached image. Im laughing at the last line -  'keeping our promises' (in white text on the red left hand page 2).  Seems like the only thing they want to keep is your hard earned cash.

 

gunjin

PSA: Santander have clearly been trying to convert formal complaints into "registrations of customer dissatisfaction" to avoid the inevitable tidal wave of Ombudsman referrals. Registrations of customer dissatisfaction require no further action by Santander according to the CS rep I spoke to today ("all the concerns are already addressed in the original letter". What's annoying is that I indicated that I repeatedly wanted to make a formal complaint in my original call to them 9 days ago but only learnt today after no follow-up that my complaint had been recorded as simply customer dissatisfaction. I have now had it upgraded to a formal complaint. So:

MAKE SURE YOUR CS REP ACKNOWLEDGES YOUR GRIEVANCE AS A FORMAL COMPLAINT

If you've not had any confirmation from Santander within a week, contact them again to make sure your grievance has not been recorded as "customer dissatisfaction". Note that Santander uses the same complaint reference number for both.

(Apologies if this point has already been made)

solidpro

amyfairweather said:

As seen on page 10 of this thread, Santander carried on advertising free forever banking until at least 2009, so that excuse (of it being before they took over) will not wash.

I took them up on their 'free forever' contract in 2008. It was in a Santander branch with Santander staff on Santander documentation.

RichardStevensons

Today I sent an open letter to Santander, copying in my local MP, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The BBC and BM Magazine:

Open Letter to Santander UK

Mr Mike Regnier Chief Executive Officer, Santander UK,

Mr Enrique Alvarez Labiano CEO, Retail and Business Banking, Santander UK

23/07/2025

Dear Mr Regnier and Mr Álvarez Labiano,

We are writing to express our serious concern regarding Santander’s decision to withdraw the “free for life” business banking service that our company signed up for in 2010.

At the time, this offer came with a clear, written guarantee:

“We guarantee that unless there are any changes to the law or banking regulations, or any new taxes relating to bank charges, you will benefit from free day-to-day business banking forever.”

This wasn’t a vague marketing statement - it was a binding commitment that played a central role in our decision to bank with Santander. We took it in good faith, built our financial systems around it, and remained loyal to Santander for over fifteen years as a result.

In 2012, Santander attempted to impose charges on these accounts by reclassifying them. However, following public and customer pressure, the decision was reversed and the original “free for life” promise was upheld. It was a clear acknowledgment that the bank’s commitment mattered and could not be set aside lightly.

In 2015, our account was migrated to the “Business Every Day” product. However, at no point were we clearly informed that this would override the “free for life” guarantee. The change was presented as administrative, not contractual. Had Santander stated explicitly that the lifetime guarantee was being revoked, we (and many others) would have strongly objected at the time.

We are now told that the free banking no longer applies because the account type has changed, and that such changes are permitted under Santander’s terms and conditions. With respect, this argument is disingenuous.

The right to change an account type does not override or invalidate a specific and binding contractual promise - particularly one offered in writing as “free day-to-day business banking forever,” with clear, limited exceptions (changes in law, banking regulations, or new taxes). None of those exceptions apply here.

Furthermore, we must correct a statement made by Santander to The Guardian in July 2025, which claimed:

“Accounts that predated the 2008 merger of Abbey and Alliance & Leicester were migrated into its Business Every Day account in 2015 and that the terms and conditions of that contract did not include the free for ever promise.”

This does not apply to us. We opened our account in 2010, after the mergers, directly under the Santander brand. We signed up for the account because of the “free for life” promise, clearly advertised and documented at the time. Ours was not a legacy product. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and misleading.

This is not simply about fees, it’s about trust. A promise made in good faith, relied upon by thousands of small businesses, and honoured for years, should not be quietly abandoned. If a bank cannot stand by its word, especially one given in writing and without caveat, what confidence can customers have in any future product or assurance?

We urge you to reconsider this decision and to reinstate the original “free for life” terms for those of us who were promised them. Doing so would demonstrate that Santander values long-term customer relationships, honours its commitments, and understands the importance of principle as well as policy.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

xxx

Managing Director
xxx

This letter has been submitted by email and distributed to relevant press contacts and regulatory stakeholders:

xxx@parliament.uk

xxx@maidenheadlibdems.co.uk

xxx@theguardian.com
xxx@theguardian.com

xxx@telegraph.co.uk

xxx@cbmeg.co.uk

xxx@bbc.co.uk

mediarelations@santander.co.uk

Reference material:

The Guardian (Jul 17, 2025) “Santander accused of breaking ‘free business banking for life’ promise” 

Small Business / Business Matters Magazine (July 21, 2025) “Santander breaks free forever business banking pledge” 

The Telegraph – "Santander hits customers with £120-a-year fee on 'free forever'…” (Jul 18, 2025) 

Yahoo Finance – “Santander hits customers with £120-a-year fee on ‘free forever’ accounts” (Jul 18, 2025) 

MoneySavingExpert (Sep 2012) “Santander U-turn saves free business banking” 

The Guardian “Money for nothing? Not with Santander” Nov 2012 

BruceLee999

Hi, RichardStevensons

Many thanks for posting this, I'm in the same position as are many others.

I have used your post to submit my own written complaint to Santander, also copying my local MP. I also contacted Santander via telephone to make a verbal complaint and managed to get a complaint reference number, of which I will be using in due time to make a complaint with the FCA, as I suspect Santander are just going to try and walk over us all.
Cheers Again

suef_3

Has anyone else noticed - if you go onto online banking and click onto your business account it tells you when you opened your account - might be useful if you don't know the exact date. Same sort code, same account number as others have mentioned. It doesn't say anything about a different account from 2015. Go online and get a screenshot now. 

WillPS

This is the last capture of the Abbey business website before it was merged up with A&L and B&B and renamed Santander:
https://web.archive.org/web/20090423170037/http://www.anbusiness.com/

Interesting to note the "Free forever" claims absolutely front and centre 5 years in to Santander ownership.

And it carried over to Santander rebranding too:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100116112656/http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/Satellite?canal=CABBEYCOM&cid=1210608670143&cidAgrup=845616358929450&empr=Abbeycom&leng=en_GB&pagename=Abbeycom%2FPage%2FWC_ACOM_TemplateU2&posSel=2

I'm interested to see how this pans out. It's bizarre to me that Santander would choose to pick this fight with their own customers at a time when free business banking options have never been more plentiful. Fair enough to stop offering it and just allow the accounts to naturally waste away, but is the legacy provision really costing the business so much that it's worth the negative PR they're stirring up (again!)?

boingy

The only thing I'm certain of is that Santander must be fairly confident that they have a stronger case for making the change now than they had in 2012 when they had to U-turn.

Best of luck to everyone in fighting it. Make sure you go the whole way with the ombudsman if it comes to that. In the meantime, keep up that publicity. Social media seems to be the best way to pressurise companies these days.