NatWest shamed over pricey bank accounts

NATWEST has been named as the worst bank for complaints about paid-for current accounts.

Customers pay a monthly fee, from £5 up to £25, for perks like travel insurance or breakdown cover. But in some cases the accounts’ benefits are useless. Elderly people can find they are too old for the holiday cover, for example.

For the first time, a complaints watchdog has revealed which banks are the worst offenders for gripes about the expensive packaged accounts. The Financial Ombudsman said in the last six months of 2015 it dealt with 4,872 complaints about NatWest and found in favour of customers in almost one in four cases.

Barclays was second worst with 4,525. Customers won their challenges in 15 pc of cases.

The ‘big five’ High Street banks — NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and HSBC — attracted 17,189 complaints over the period.

The Ombudsman is receiving 800 cases a week from customers who fear they have been mis-sold a package account or feel poorly treated. Experts say the total number could be 20 times as high — or 3,200 a day — as the Ombudsman only steps in when a customer is fobbed off by a bank.

A British Bankers’ Association spokesman says: ‘Packaged accounts can offer convenience and great value, but it’s a good idea to consider how many of the benefits will be directly of use.’