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Halifax charging blunder could spark payouts

by Daniel Grote on Dec 24, 2012 at 10:38

Thousands of Halifax customers could be able to claim compensation after the bank forgot to tell them it was raising the price of their accounts, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

The bank said a small portion of the million customers who use its Ultimate Reward account did not receive letters informing them of the price hike from £12.50 to £15 a month.

It told the Telegraph it was now writing to them informing of the change, and had ‘sought advice’ over whether compensation was due. It added it was required by the Financial Services Authority to give two months’ notice of price and terms changes on the account.

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1 comment so far. Why not have your say?

Julian Stevens

Dec 27, 2012 at 10:30

The banks, building societies and other DPI's are making massive profits from the billions, perhaps hundreds of billions of pounds languishing in various accounts under which the rate of interest being paid has declined to negligible levels. Cash ISA's are a prime example, under which, after 12 months, the rate being paid typically falls to something like 0.25% p.a. or even less.

Whether this is due to people ignoring letters notifying them of rate changes or because the letters themselves are framed in such a way as to underplay just how poor the rate has now become I know not, but I would have thought that the regulator should take steps to ensure they include a clear comparison with:-

1. the rate that was being paid when the customer first started using that particular account,

2. the best rate/s available from alternative accounts and

3. point out the wisdom of reappraising the best rates available in the open market.

Simple. So why hasn't the regulator acted? Too preoccupied with other things perhaps?

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