The Money Stop

The monthly fees charged on some packages current accounts have been hiked up recently according to a recent report, with officials stating that this is the first step that banks are taking in order to make up for possible losses stemming from the recent High Court test case into bank charges. Whilst the judge ruled in favour of the Office of Fair Trading in the case, which means that the OFT will be able to assess the banks’ terms and conditions for fairness, banks have appealed against the ruling.

However, whilst it may be some time before there are any changes to bank charges it seems that some banks are already gearing up by raising the monthly fees on packaged current accounts. NatWest, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB have already contacted around seven million customers with these accounts to advise them that the monthly fee is going up.

Packaged current accounts charge a set monthly fee in order for a range of benefits, but other than this work in the same way as a standard current account. The benefits include things such as free travel cover, free breakdown cover, preferential borrowing rates, extended protection and warranties, discounts, and various other benefits. However, the ‘free’ benefits are, of course, not really free because the consumer is paying a monthly fee.

An official from Lloyds TSB recently stated: ‘Customers told us they would value additional benefits, and to cover the cost of these we have increased the cost of the Gold and Platinum accounts.’ A NatWest official also said: ‘The packaged accounts offer our best-ever potential savings for customers with the addition of new features, and this has been reflected in modest price rises.’

Recent additions:

• Prospect of monthly bank charges unpopular with consumers
• Smart saving with a regular savings account
• How you can benefit from a notice savings account
• Different types of bank account for UK consumers
• Are premium bank accounts worth the cost?

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