Banking

HSBC, First Direct, M&S Bank and John Lewis Finance borrowers who have fallen behind on repayments between 2010 and 2019 may get up to £100 in compensation after receiving a substandard level of service – and it's not a scam, despite some confusion caused by letters arriving out of the blue.    HSBC Group, which all four brands come under, says in an internal review it uncovered instances where customers in arrears hadn't received the quality of service it expected, and it's decided to put this right. HSBC wouldn't confirm exactly what it did wrong or who is impacted but said examples of bad practice included poorly worded letters that didn't engage customers who might have been struggling to make repayments.  Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority generally defines credit arrears as any shortfall in one or more payments due, while for home mortgages it's a shortfall equivalent to two or more regular payments. HSBC has confirmed this issue affects all types of consumer banking products where you could fall behind with repayments, from mortgages to personal loans to credit cards.  The banking group wouldn't tell us how many customers are in line for a payout but as it has 14 million active UK customers across the four brands, even if just 1% were affected that would amount to 140,000 people – plus, there are those who have already closed accounts on top. Read our Debt Help guide if you're struggling. 

Premium Bond holders can continue to get paper prize cheques until at least spring 2021, as NS&I has delayed phasing them out after some reported difficulties registering bank account details.

At least 10 banks, building societies and credit card firms have now decided to close accounts held by Brits living abroad in Europe as a result of Brexit, MoneySavingExpert.com has found – with Nationwide and Co-op Bank among the latest to announce closures. We've full info below on what banks are doing, plus help on what to do if you're affected.

Pension savers could see their pots fall from 2030 as a result of a shake-up to how inflation is calculated. But rail passengers and student loan borrowers are likely to be better off. 

HSBC has raised fresh fears that it could be about to slash the interest rate on its regular savings account after accidentally sending emails to customers showing a reduced rate of just 1%, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal.

A MoneySaving couple have made £1,000 by switching banks seven times after following the tips in our weekly email – and they've used the cash to help spruce up their new garden.

M&S Bank is soon to close its 2.75% AER regular savings account to new customers – and it's possible its sister banks HSBC and First Direct could follow suit. Yet if you have a current account with one of these banks already, there's still time to open a regular saver and lock in the 2.75% rate for a year.

Virgin Money has launched an unusual bank-switching incentive, offering new customers who switch to its current account a free case of 15 bottles of wine from Virgin Wines – but how does it compare?

Santander will cut the interest rate on its popular 123 account again in August to 0.6%, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. This comes on top of a rate cut in May from 1.5% to 1% and should act as a clarion call for anyone still with the 123 account to switch to better payers – and there are still a few out there.

App-based bank Monzo has launched a packaged account – 'Monzo Premium' – with a £15 monthly fee. It offers new features including travel and mobile phone insurance and a metal card – but is it worth it?