I want to switch banks but I feel I am locked in unfairly!

CeeJayKay

We currently have a fee-based Platinum account with NatWest that offers travel insurance etc via its membership services. In December when our policy renewed we took out medical upgrades, age upgrades and upgraded cancellation cover - almost £400 in total [on top of the monthly fee for the bank account].

I think we had assumed that the travel insurance offered by different banks would all be similar However, following one of Martin's recent emails, we realised that we could get very similar insurance with a Nationwide Flex account with the advantage that there was no upper age limit.

Before switching we got an insurance quote via the Nationwide website and found that their medical upgrades were also much cheaper - my medical upgrade with Nat West / Allianz was £90 - with Nationwide / Avivia insurance it would be only £30.

We thought we should confirm that we would get a proportion of our upgrades back if we cancelled the policy by closing our bank account. We were astounded to discover that we won't get a penny back from Allianz - this is stated in very small print within a 60 page NatWest policy document. However, when we took out the upgrades, I don't think this was made clear to us. And there is no mention of it on the Certificate of Insurance upgrade documents we received.

So essentially we are locked in to NatWest / Allianz for another nine and a half months or lose all that money.

Has anyone experienced anything similar. Any ideas anyone?

Nasqueron

Read the terms and conditions, if it's not in there you could try a formal complaint but I suspect it will be covered there.

Ayr_Rage

The only suggestion is to read all the small print and never assume anything.

It is not unfair if it's in black and white and available to view, they don't need to spoon feed customers line by line.

I've renewed insurance today and along the way I had to confirm I had opened and viewed several documents, but I did so knowing full well that I wasn't going to read them fully.

born_again

I think we had assumed that the travel insurance offered by different banks would all be similar

They are, but different banks use different providers, who all have their own limits based on risk. You may also find that the cover or excess is not the same. Hence why you are having to not pay extra.

Why is it unfair? Many insurance polices have no refund on certain extra's.

Such as car ins with added breakdown cover.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657628/i-want-to-switch-banks-but-i-feel-i-am-locked-in-unfairly

…this is stated in very small print within a 60 page NatWest policy document. However, when we took out the upgrades, I don't think this was made clear to us. And there is no mention of it on the Certificate of Insurance upgrade documents we received.

There is certain information you have to be provided with when taking out an insurance policy or certain other financial products - one of which is what happens if you change your mind or want to cancel.

If you could prove you weren't given the information you were supposed to get then you might have valid grounds for complaint - however there is some obligation on you to read the information, rather than expecting every detail to be explained to you on an individual basis.

What appear to be the relevant terms and conditions here:

https://www.natwest.com/content/dam/natwest/personal/current-accounts/documents/platinum-travel-insurance-terms.pdf.coredownload.pdf

include (page 6):

…..which seems pretty clear, and can hardly be called "very small print".

You need to review everything you were shown or given to see whether the requirement to inform you of your rights was fully met.

CeeJayKay

It is not a new policy - we have been with them for many years. But each year when we have had to purchase upgrades we get upgrade certificates. Nowhere on those document does it mention a cooling off period or cancellation rights - we think there is a lack of transparency. But we are also taking the issue up with NatWest - as a complaint based on them creating an unfair barrier to switching banks.

friolento

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81907690#Comment_81907690

if you have held the insurance for several years, it is likely that you would be considered as having had plenty of time to familiarise yourselves with the T&Cs. Everyone has a certain amount of personal responsibility for the purchases we make. If you feel that specific terms from the 60 page policy document should have been highlighted to you, why did you not ask for this at the time you took out the policy? Why did you agree to T&Cs without reading them?