£257m set aside for RBS Packaged Bank Account bill

We’ve long been saying that the next mis-selling scandal will be the mis-sale of Packaged Bank Accounts, PBAs for short, and todays news appears to have confirmed our thoughts.

RBS and its sister bank Natwest, in releasing their quarterly figures to the city, have stated that they have set aside £257m to compensate customers who have been affected by the mis-selling of PBAs.

It is the the first instance of a bank specifically setting aside money for this new scandal, but it will not be the last.

We fully expect the PBA compensation bill faced by UK banks with run into £BILLIONS, less the the huge PPI bill but still a very significant sum.

What is a Packaged Bank Account?

PBAs have been around for years, and is basically a bank account that offers various insurances and ‘perks’ such as mobile phone cover, travel insurance and vehicle break down cover to name a few.

These ‘benefits’ are placed on the account in return for a monthly fee which generally ranges from £5 – £30 per month.

It is estimated that over 10 million of these accounts are currently active in the UK, with millions more closed.

These figures alone show that at least 1 in 5 UK adults have been affected.

There are various ways that banks have mis-sold these accounts, and we’ve previously done an article on this.

Why have RBS only put aside £257m?

Much like when the PPI scandal first came to light, UK banks underplayed the true cost and have found themselves having to continually add to the compensation pot, with it currently standing above £27bn at the time of this article.

Banks will not openly announce the true cost they believe they will have to pay for fear of the impact it could have on its investors and share price.

We’re likely to see regular additions to the RBS Packaged Bank Account bill over quite a few years, and the rest of the UK banks will do the same.

This announcement is the tip of the iceberg, and it is only a matter of time before the media grab hold of the story in the manner they have with the PPI scandal.

Making a PBA Complaint

Not sure whether you’ve been sold a PBA? Our fast and comprehensive checking systems that have been set up with almost all banks allows you to find out whether you’ve been one of the tens of millions who have been affected.

Not sure whether you qualify for a mis-sold PBA? Check here to see whether you may.

We’ve made claiming easy, taking the stress out of you having to deal with the paperwork, the stress, and the tactics employed by the bank to try and wriggle out of paying.

So….how do you start your claim?

#1: The first option for you is to fill in the ‘Start Your Claim’ form which can be seen on every page. By doing so, we will send you out a form in the post for you to complete. Once we’ve received the form back in the freepost envelope we send you with your form, we can make a start on your claim.

#2: The second option for you is to download our form, which again can be found on every page by clicking the ‘Download Claim Pack’ button. Simply print it out, complete it and send it back to us, our address can be found here. Once we receive is back we’ll let you know and make a start.

Our team of experts are on hand to answer any questions you have via telephone, email or our live chat facility.

So….why wait, let’s get started!

RBS Packaged Bank Account bill