What is PBA?

It is a ‘paid-for’ account for which you pay a monthly or annual fee. These accounts can also be referred to as ‘gold’, ‘premium’, ‘upgraded’ or ‘reward’ accounts and usually cover a range of insurance and non-insurance benefits. Some of the benefits offered can be, but are not limited to, car breakdown cover, preferential rates on overdrafts or loans, use of airport lounges and discounts on various products and services.

How could my PBA have been mis-sold?

The following case study titles are given as ‘common complaints’ on the Financial Ombudsman Service website.

1. The bank pressured me into taking out a packaged bank account.
2. The bank told me that I had to have the account to get an overdraft, credit card or loan.
3. I didn’t know I had a packaged bank account – I wasn’t given a choice.
4. The bank sold me a packaged account – but I already had some of the things it came with.
5. I didn’t use the features that came with the account.