The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) describes packaged bank accounts as “a current account that comes with other goods or services”. Essentially, what this means is that customers have a bank account that offers additional perks, most commonly insurances like travel insurance or mobile cover, although other services could include access to premium products, a courtesy car or discounts. To obtain these perks, account holders pay a monthly fee, similar to a subscription service.
Packaged bank accounts can be hugely beneficial to some individuals, allowing them access to services they either don’t currently have or at a cheaper price than they would pay from another provider. However, packaged bank accounts aren’t always advantageous, and this is where problems arise.
What Are Packaged Bank Account Claims?
Packaged bank accounts are provided on what is called a non-advised basis. This means consumers aren’t talked through their options and what is best for them with impartiality. Instead, they are offered package bank account deals and given the chance to make up their own mind like a normal consumer product. Packaged bank accounts are most often sold, unlike other banking services, which are usually sought out.
However, just because these are non-advice-based services does not mean that a bank can just say and do whatever it likes to hook in a customer. Representatives are not allowed to act like a used-car salesperson attempting to get rid of an old banger.
They must provide honest and accurate information that makes it abundantly clear what consumers are paying for and how it will affect them. Packaged bank account claims come about when it transpires that a bank misled the account holder about the benefits they were paying for, did not make the terms of the agreement clear or did not inform a consumer they’d be paying to receive such perks.
Common reasons behind packaged bank account claims include:
- Misinformation about, or lack of information on, the eligibility of perks under reward schemes that meant account holders did not actually qualify for the benefits promised. This may be travel insurance, as an example, whereby an existing medical condition disqualifies them from using the insurance and they were not told this at the time of sale.
- Being wrongly told that to obtain another service, such as a loan from the bank, they must first agree to a packaged bank account.
- Being told that by opening a paid-for bank account, the customer could improve their credit score.
- Being informed that they are getting the best possible deal on the provided perks when they can be bought cheaper elsewhere.
- Not being informed of the full cost of their packaged bank account, having fees rise without giving permission or not being told they had been signed up for payments at all.
- Having a particular service or perk removed from the packaged bank account without being informed. This also applies to features becoming unavailable over time, such as a customer ageing past the restrictions of health insurance without the bank telling them they are no longer eligible.
- Being forced to maintain an account they wish to close.
- Being pushed towards a packaged bank account they did not want or need using aggressive sales tactics.
How Many Packaged Bank Account Claims Are There to Be Made?
There are no official estimates on how many packaged bank account claims are available for Claims Management Companies (CMCs) to make on behalf of their customers, but experts suggest it could be as high as 10 million. Given the volume of package bank accounts in use across the UK, and the individual circumstances associated with claims, it is hard to reach an actual figure. One thing that is for certain, though, is that there are a substantial amount of claims to be made — both current and historic.
How Much Money Is Available from Claims?
Because packaged bank account claims are based on small monthly payments and not massive financial agreements like a mortgage or a pension, you’d be forgiven for thinking this kind of claim is not suitable for your claims management company.
After all, how are you going to earn a decent commission on such small claims?
The fact of the matter is that these claims are rarely so small that they aren’t worth your time. Individuals have often been unnecessarily paying fees of around £10-£25 per month for years. Claims are usually in the hundreds of pounds, with higher examples ranging from £1,000 to £3,000.
There is plenty of money to be made here, with claims management companies capable of earning hundreds in commission on each claim they process while still securing considerable payouts for their customers.
How to Optimise Your Business for Package Bank Account Claims
Packaged bank account claims can earn your claims management business a nice chunk of income per claim, but it cannot be said that most are going to be as individually lucrative as something larger like recent PPI claims. That does not mean they cannot be powerful profit generators, though. Instead, it means your claims management company needs to be thinking about how to process them properly.
While some claims are large, most package bank account claims are essentially quite small, but because they are so numerous, there is still massive scope. They are the small fish, but a big haul can make just as much money as a prize catch. The key to maximising ROI on these claims is fast work with quick results, allowing you to churn out as many cases as possible.
LogiClaim claims management software is a powerful claims tool built by our team here at Logican to support more efficient and effective claims practices. There are many ways our systems can help you get the most out of package bank account claims, although the two most noteworthy benefits for profit optimisation are:
- Automation — LogiClaim allows you to automate a number of vital but time-consuming tasks, including customer onboarding, updates, follow up messages, task tracking and management, and inbound message forwarding. It also speeds up client communication through access to automated email and document templates. These templates pull personal information directly from client files stored on your systems, which allows you to quickly draft unique customer messages. All this automation means your team is able to delegate many menial tasks to our software, letting them both focus on more important tasks and manage a higher volume of claims — key factors in maximising ROI for package bank account claims. We essentially do all the basic administrative work for you, freeing your skilled workers up to their jobs, without having to hire new staff to cover these tasks.
- Streamlined Project Management — Through our bespoke customer app, your clients can manage and monitor claims using their smart devices, without the need to contact your business. The app allows you to source important information about claims through the supply of intelligent customer questionnaires, as well as offering your CMC the ability to request signatures for legal documents. The LogiClaim app also lets your clients upload files and access live updates about the progress of their claim, so they don’t need to contact you with questions. The result of all this customer empowerment is a reduction in time and resources invested in project management by your CMC. Agents are now able to focus more on moving claims forward and acquiring compensation, rather than spending time supporting customers.
Thanks to these, and a host of other benefits, LogiClaim can help your claims management business quickly make the most of package bank account claims, satisfying your own financial needs and the needs of your customers.
Discover the business-boosting benefits of LogiClaim today. Get in touch with our team to find out how our software can help your CMC or to arrange a free no-obligation demo.
