What is a PBA?

A PBA (Packaged Bank Account) is a personal current account which has a range of services and insurance policies bundled up together. In return for these additional services, the customer pays a monthly fee, which is usually around £10 - £25 per month.

1 in 5 UK adults has a packaged bank account*

 

Customers can be pushed into taking a packaged bank account by sales people, with little or no explanation of the terms, and with the focus being on the underlying bank account rather than the add on (or packaged) insurance policies. Lenders have failed to check whether customers are eligible to be covered by the packaged services and as a result, millions of customers could have been paying for cover under a packaged bank account which is not necessary and, at worst, absolutely worthless.

Cover usually includes breakdown cover and travel and mobile phone insurance and complaints often include people who subsequently found out that they couldn’t use the benefits - because of age limits on travel insurance or not owning a car for example. Other complaints come from people who never wanted the accounts but found they’d been signed up without permission and customers who had agreed to the accounts but told the bank to cancel them, only to find out it hadn’t.

*FSA Consultation paper CP12-17

The account may have been mis-sold if...

  • You were automatically upgraded from a free account to a packaged bank account
  • You weren't told about the charges under a packaged bank account
  • You didn't know you had a packaged bank account
  • You didn't know you were paying a monthly payment for a packaged bank account
  • You have tried to claim against the insurance and have been told you were not covered
  • You were sold a packaged bank account and there was no discussion about your needs and objectives
  • You were sold a packaged bank account and already had insurance cover in place
  • You weren't told how the insurance policies worked under the packaged bank account
  • You felt pressurised into taking out a packaged bank account
  • You have fallen into financial difficulties as a result of a packaged bank account
  • You have tried to cancel your packaged bank account but have been unable to do so

The typical services or insurance that are usually provided within a packaged bank account include:

Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance

Card protection

Card Protection

Legal Expenses

Legal Expenses

Extended Warranties

Extended Warranties

Car breakdown

Car Breakdown

Discounts

Shopping Discounts

Accidental Damage

Accidental Damage

Phone Insurance

Phone Insurance

Some of the banks we can reclaim PBA fees from:

Bank of Scotland Barclays Co-operative Bank First Direct Halifax HSBC Lloyds TSB
Marks & Spencers Nationwide NatWest Royal Bank of Scotland Santander Yorkshire Bank See more banks...

Here's what our customers have to say...

  • 9th June 2012

    "Great service, would use again and recommend to anyone. Received more than I thought. Would not have got this amount if it wasn’t for the work FRS did on my behalf. Thank you."

    Mr. S Johnson - Halifax

    Received

    £3,620

  • 11th April, 2014

    "I never would have dreamed that the bank I had been dealing with would have 'pulled a fast one'."

    Mr D Davies - Barclays

    Received

    £28,174

  • 27th May, 2014

    "You have dealt with a lot of claims for me which has been very helpful in improving the standard of living that I have."

    Mrs B Mould - Lloyds Bank

    Received

    £4,699

  • 2nd February 2013

    "Very grateful for what you have achieved for me, I would never have done this myself. Thank you very much."

    Mrs. S Walsh

    Received

    £1,485

  • 27th August 2014

    "I wasn’t going to bother, but I’m glad I did. Everything was sorted very quickly, excellent communication. Very pleased."

    Mrs. M Berrecloth

    Received

    £12,706

  • 19th November 2014

    "For all the staff at at FRS a big thank you for everyone’s help in supporting me through my claims. I found it relaxing and not stressful, it’s greatly appreciated. A big thank you to you all."

    Mrs. P Goddard - MBNA

    Received

    £5,283

  • 20th July 2014

    "The service we received from FRS was first class. The staff are very friendly and extremely efficient."

    Mr & Mrs Lavin - Halifax

    Received

    £1,282

  • 7th March 2015

    "I found FRS to be very good they kept me informed at all times. They treated you very well and when I phoned them the service and information were easy to understand. I would rate this company at 10 out of 10"

    Mr. J H Robinson - Barclays

    Received

    £1,932

  • 7th July 2014

    "I'd never wanted the hassle of dealing with the banks but FRS took all the pain away!"

    Miss M Hayward - Lloyds

    Received

    £1,964

  • 20th July 2015

    "From the start to the end of the process, the whole experience of dealing with FRS was first class. I would recommend them 100%"

    Mr. A Owen - Lloyds

    Received

    £1,130

  • 28th October 2015

    "Was such a large amount and what a great service. Never did I think I would get back so much money. And it was so easy. Thank you all at FRS. A very big thank you."

    Mr. M Grundill

    Received

    £14,487

  • 4th February 2015

    "You have handled the case very professionally with superb correspondence and an excellent outcome, what more can I say, very pleased. Thanks."

    Mr. & Mrs. King

    Received

    £2,522

All figures above show amount calculated after deduction of taxes and fees