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Banks ignore 70% of complaints about mis-sold paid-for current accounts
Figures from the Financial Ombudsman reveal how Britain’s banking giants are wrongly throwing out 70 % of complaints about so-called packaged accounts – which cost customers up to £300 a year.
Over the past year, the watchdog has seen a 75% surge in the number of complaints about these accounts, which include extras such as mobile phone, travel and identity insurance, the Daily Mail reports.
A fifth of current account holders are signed up to these deals. Many customers were lured into opening them by commission-hungry branch staff.
But for many the perks have proved to be useless. Others were secretly switched from free accounts – only realising once they had forked out hundreds of pounds.
The Financial Ombudsman says it is receiving around 70 complaints a week about the accounts, compared with 40 the previous year.
Common complaints include those from customers whose accounts were automatically switched to paid-for deals without realising. Others were not clearly told how much the account would cost or were simply unable to claim on any of the perks.
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Under rules introduced earlier this year by the Financial Conduct Authority, banks are now forced to check whether customers are eligible to claim under the accounts.