logo
Santander customers FUME over ‘disgusting' £120 fee for key bank account after being promised it would be ‘free forever'

Santander customers FUME over ‘disgusting' £120 fee for key bank account after being promised it would be ‘free forever'

Scottish Sun18-07-2025
The bank first tried to introduce fees for these accounts in 2012
CHARGED UP Santander customers FUME over 'disgusting' £120 fee for key bank account after being promised it would be 'free forever'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
SANTANDER customers are outraged after the bank revealed it will start charging £120 a year for an account it promised would be "free forever".
Thousands of small business and self-employed account holders are facing £9.99 monthly charges from October.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
1
Several other banks, such as Virgin Money, Monzo, and Co-operative Bank, continue to offer free business banking
Credit: Getty
This comes despite written assurances that their accounts would always remain free of fees.
Santander's move has left customers feeling betrayed.
Customers have taken to social media to vent their anger.
One user said on X.com: "Promised me free business banking forever in writing, and now they want to charge £9.99 a month. Is this even legal?"
Another branded the move "absolutely disgusting".
The changes will impact three types of business accounts: 1|2|3 Business Current Accounts, Business Everyday Current Accounts, and Business Current Accounts.
Santander said that the "free forever" promise only applied to accounts offered by Abbey and Alliance & Leicester before their 2008 merger.
The bank first attempted to introduce fees for these accounts in 2012 but backed down after customers threatened legal action.
However, these accounts were shifted to the Business Everyday account in 2015, which did not include the "free forever" promise.
From October 1, these accounts will be closed, and customers will be automatically switched to Santander's new Business Current Account – Classic.
Switch bank accounts for free perks
This migration comes with new fees and charges that could significantly impact businesses, especially those handling large cash deposits or relying on cheque transactions.
Under the new structure, every Business Current Account – Classic will incur a £9.99 monthly fee, regardless of the type of account customers previously held.
While some accounts were free, others offered additional benefits with charges as high as £40 per month.
Several other companies, such as Virgin Money, Monzo, and Co-operative Bank, offer free business banking.
A spokesperson for Santander said: "The business banking landscape has changed significantly over the last decade.
"As such, we are simplifying our business banking offering as the first step to ensure that we can sustainably and efficiently evolve to better meet the needs of our business customers in the future."
Santander Business Current Account – Classic charges
SANTANDER has also revised other charges that could hit businesses hard.
For example: Cash deposits : Free up to £1,000 per month via Santander cash machines, but £1.25 per £100 for anything over that. Deposits made at Santander branches or Post Office counters will also cost £1.25 per £100.
: Free up to £1,000 per month via Santander cash machines, but £1.25 per £100 for anything over that. Deposits made at Santander branches or Post Office counters will also cost £1.25 per £100. Cash withdrawals : Free at Santander cash machines, but £1.25 per £100 withdrawn at branch counters or Post Office counters.
: Free at Santander cash machines, but £1.25 per £100 withdrawn at branch counters or Post Office counters. Cheque deposits: £0.70 per cheque. Overdraft fees are also set to change, adding further financial strain for some customers.
What else is happening at Santander?
The bank is closing its 123 Lite current account, which offers up to 3% cashback on household bills for a £2 monthly fee, on August 21.
Customers affected by the closure will be automatically switched to Santander's Everyday Current Account.
This account has no monthly fee but does not include cashback benefits.
The 123 Lite account has not been available to new customers since 2022, however, hundreds of thousands still rely on the current account.
The 123 Lite account allowed bill payers to earn up to 3% cashback, capped at £15 per month, on expenses like council tax, mobile phone bills, energy, and water.
However, if you still have a 123 Lite account, cashback will stop automatically, and you will no longer need to pay the £2 monthly fee from August 21.
If you're looking to keep cashback perks, the Everyday Current Account you'll be switched to won't be suitable, as it doesn't offer any cashback features.
Instead, customers who want to stay with Santander may want to explore the Edge or Edge Up accounts.
The Santander Edge account offers 1% cashback on certain household bills and debit card spending at supermarkets, petrol stations, and on travel.
This account has a £3 monthly fee, with cashback capped at £10 per month.
For a higher cashback limit, the Santander Edge Up account costs £5 per month and allows you to earn up to £15 per month on both bills and debit card spending.
To keep these accounts active, Edge customers must deposit at least £500 per month, while Edge Up customers need to deposit £1,000.
However, from September 9, cashback on supermarket, fuel, and travel spending will be removed for both accounts.
Customers will only continue to earn 1% cashback on household bills like council tax and utilities.
If you're looking to maximise your cashback, there are other options available.
For example, American Express' Cashback Everyday Credit Card offers an impressive 5% cashback on purchases for the first five months (up to £125).
What is cashback?
CASHBACK is a type of reward offered by banks, credit card providers, and retailers where customers receive a percentage of their spending back as cash.
Essentially, it's a way to earn money while making purchases.
For example, if your card offers 1% cashback and you spend £100, you'll earn £1 back.
Cashback can be credited to your account, deducted from your balance, or saved up for future use, depending on the provider's terms.
It's often offered on everyday purchases, such as groceries, fuel, or online shopping, and may be part of a promotional deal or an ongoing benefit of your account.
However, remember to check the terms and conditions, as some transactions may not qualify for cashback rewards.
By using cashback offers wisely, you can usually make your money go further on purchases you'd already be making.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Time's running out to grab bank switch cash
Time's running out to grab bank switch cash

Daily Mail​

time21 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Time's running out to grab bank switch cash

It's nearly your last chance to get one of the most generous payouts for switching bank accounts. Santander will end its £180 switching bonus on Wednesday, July 30, at 11.59pm. The deal is available to customers who switch through the Current Account Switch Service (Cass) to a Santander Everyday, Edge or Edge Up account. The Everyday account is free, while the Edge and Edge Up accounts offer cashback but have a £3 and £5 monthly fee, respectively. To qualify, customers must pay in at least £1,500 within 60 days and at least two active direct debits need to be set up. Eligible customers will get the £180 payment within 90 days of starting the switch process if all the criteria have been met. Rival bank switching offers are also available. Lloyds Bank is offering the biggest bonus of £185 to customers who open a Club Lloyds account. You pay a £5 monthly fee for this account, in exchange for a range of perks, and must have at least three active direct debits to get the switching bonus. The £5 fee is refunded in all months that a customer pays in at least £2,000. Elsewhere, First Direct is paying £175 to new customers who move to its First Account, while Barclays is offering the same sum to new customers opening a Blue Rewards or a Premier current account by Thursday, August 28.

Full list of 156 banks shutting after Lloyds and Halifax confirm new closures
Full list of 156 banks shutting after Lloyds and Halifax confirm new closures

Metro

timea day ago

  • Metro

Full list of 156 banks shutting after Lloyds and Halifax confirm new closures

The UK's high streets are set to become even more desolate this year, as hundreds more banks are closing their doors for good. The number of bank branches across the UK has dwindled gradually in recent years as customers increasingly turn to online and mobile banking. In fact, figures from last December showed 6,214 bank branches have shut since January 2015 – around 53 every single month. While hundreds of branches have closed this year already, there are more in the pipeline over the coming months. NatWest has confirmed 54 further branch closures, followed by Santander with 42 sites. Many people, such as older or disabled customers or small business owners, rely on local bank branches. The issue is compounded for those in rural areas, which may have poor broadband or mobile phone signal, making it difficult to access internet banking. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says banks and building societies shutting down branches must ensure people in the local community can still access their money. Santander said previously that 93% of the UK population will still be within 10 miles of a branch even after the closures of more than a fifth of its branches. The banking giant said it has made the 'difficult decision' to close branches due to changing customer behaviour as most of its customers turn to online banking. A NatWest spokesperson told Metro that more than 80% of its current account holders use digital services, and over 97% of retail accounts are opened online. Banks need to open ATMs or open banking hubs at Post Offices if gaps are found. Basic banking services can be carried out at a Post Office otherwise. Sam Richardson, Which?'s deputy editor, highlighted the 'seismic' shift towards online banking evident in today's society. He said: 'The milestone of more than 6,000 bank closures in just nine years underscores the seismic shift that has taken place in terms of our banking habits and the character of the British high street.' Not every bank is closing branches, however. HSBC pledged last year that it would not announce any closures until at least 2026. Nationwide has gone a step further and promised it won't close any branches until at least 2028. And a spokesperson for Metro Bank told Metro that it wasn't planning to close any branches this year, and is in fact opening three new branches in Gateshead, Chester, and Salford. More Trending After a spate of closures this year, Barclays told Metro it has no plans to announce any further branch closures for the rest of 2025 or 2026. Here is the list of branch closures coming up this summer and autumn. Garstand, expected to be confirmed later Market Drayton, expected to be confirmed later Willerby, September 22 Abingdon, September 24 Birmingham (Acocks Green), September 16 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, expected to be confirmed later Bicester, September 30 Bridgwater, October 27 Bridport, October 29 Cardiff (Canton), September 16 Chippenham, October 15 Cirencester, September 17 Cromer, expected to be announced Cwmbran, September 1 Dorchester, October 22 Birmingham (Edgbaston), September 11 Ely, September 10 Evesham, expected to be confirmed later Bristol (Fishponds), September 4 Halesowen, September 3 Hinckley, September 17 Honiton, October 21 Launceston, expected to be confirmed later Luton (Leagrave), September 15 Leicester (Melton Road), September 2 Leighton Buzzard, October 28 Llangefni, September 4 Cardiff (Llanishen), September 11 Lowestoft, October 15 Melton Mowbray, September 29 Midsomer Norton, October 8 Mold, October 21 Neath, October 13 Newmarket (Suffolk), September 24 Northampton (Weston Favell Shopping Centre), September 15 Leicester (Oadby), September 10 Paignton, October 2 Portishead, expected to be confirmed later Rayleigh, September 2 Redditch, October 14 Ringwood, October 1 Romsey, October 13 Leamington Spa, October 1 Birmingham (Shirley), October 1 Birmingham (Smethwick), September 25 Stevenage, October 7 Stratford-upon-Avon, October 8 Sudbury, September 30 Torquay, expected to be confirmed later Trowbridge, October 16 Wellingborough, October 7 Wickford, September 18 Wisbech, September 1 Yate, September 25 Blyth, August 4 Brixton, August 11 Canvey Island, August 5 Colwyn Bay, July 24 Downpatrick, August 6 Edgware Road, August 12 Farnham, July 29 Finchley, August 6 Formby, August 11 Hawick, July 24 Hertford, July 29 Holywell, August 13 New Milton, July 28 Plympton, August 14 Pudsey, July 28 Ross-On-Wye, July 30 Rustington, August 5 Sidcup, August 11 St Neots, July 30 Stokesley, July 31 Surrey Quays, November 10 Whitley Bay, August 6 Willerby, August 13 Wimborne, August 4 A further 18 branches have been earmarked for closure and the date will be announced later. Barrow-in-Furness, September 10 Bexleyheath, October 23 Blackpool (South Shore), October 29 Brentwood, September 10 Bristol (Kingswood), October 8 Carmarthen, October 6 Castleford, September 8 Cirencester, September 25 Crewe, October 14 Derby, October 23 Eltham, October 29 Epsom, September 15 Erdington, September 24 Folkestone, October 9 Hayes (Hillingdon), October 6 Hexham, November 11 Hove, October 20 London Clapham Junction, September 23 Long Eaton, September 18 Mold, October 16 Nortwich, September 3 Rhyl, September 23 Richmond (Surrey), September 16 Skegness, September 3 Southport, October 7 Stevenage, October 23 Telford, October 22 Walkden, September 25 Wickford, November 10 Woolwich, October 1 Bolton, November 20 Manchester (Stretford), October 15 Biggleswade, November 5 Blandford Forum, November 10 Bristol Bishopsworth (Church Road), November 6 Bury, October 21 Chard, November 11 Coventry (Foleshill), November 4 Debden, November 12 Dunstable, November 4 East Grinstead, November 12 Feltham, November 4 Ferndown, November 17 Hexham, November 5 Hornchurch, September 11 Kidderminster, October 16 Leeds (Cross Gates), August 20 London Tooting, October 8 Manchester (Newton Heath), November 5 Plymstock, November 4 Pontardawe, November 20 Sheffield (Woodhouse), November 11 Shipston-on-Stour, November 11 Southall, October 15 Stoke-on-Trent (Trent), October 10 Walthamstow High Street, October 22 Edinburgh (Corstorphine), October 29 Moffat, November 19 Pitlochry, October 30 Thornhill, November 3 This article was first published on March 20, 2025 Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Full list of store closures in July 2025 from Poundland to New Look and River Island MORE: Banker sues Merrill Lynch after being sacked over cheating on pregnant wife MORE: Monzo fined £21,000,000 after customers claim to live at 10 Downing Street

We need Mum's £300k for her care, but Santander is ignoring us
We need Mum's £300k for her care, but Santander is ignoring us

Times

time2 days ago

  • Times

We need Mum's £300k for her care, but Santander is ignoring us

My mother is 97 and lives in a care home, so I have power of attorney to manage her finances. She has been a Santander customer for decades and has about £300,000 in a fixed-term bond. This was due to mature in May, so in April I called the bank to instruct it to send £100,000 to her nominated bank account, and move the remaining amount into a new one-year savings bond paying 4.05 per cent interest. To my surprise, Santander said it could not accept my instruction because I was not recorded as having power of attorney. Given that I registered as her attorney in 2015 and had set up this bond on her behalf last year, I said this didn't make any sense but the bank refused to speak to me about her account. I raised a complaint and expected this error to be resolved quickly. But the bank still wouldn't take my instructions when I called two weeks later. At that point I started to get concerned because we need that £100,000 to pay my mother's care home fees in August. This is very alarming indeed. In the meantime, her bond has matured and the £300,000 has automatically rolled into an account paying just 1 per cent interest. Essentially Santander ignored my instructions, leaving my mother missing out on hundreds of pounds of interest and unable to access her own cash. Santander finally admitted that it had made a mistake and promised to resolve this, but then closed my complaint without sorting anything Hampshire • Blocked drains and blood stains: our Airbnb guest cost us £15,000 Care home fees are usually eye-watering, so you were understandably anxious to get your mother's funds ready for the next payment. Given that you were moving the money around on her behalf and had a registered power of attorney, this should have been a reasonably straightforward request for Santander to complete. A lasting power of attorney is a legal document which lets you make decisions on someone else's behalf if they have lost the ability to manage their own affairs. They must have set up the power of attorney when they still had capacity and the document must have been approved by the Office of the Public Guardian. Powers of attorney must be registered with a bank before you can manage someone else's account for them. You had registered your document with Santander in 2015, so everything should have been in place for you to move your mother's money and open and close accounts for her. Although you had used your rights as her attorney when you set up the fixed-term bond in April last year, Santander explained that while it received the money, the request to register you as her attorney on that account wasn't processed properly, which it said was down to human error. Santander then closed your complaint before it had been resolved, which the bank said that a complaints handler had done by mistake — another human error, which it apologised for. You did all the right things by raising a complaint and, given that Santander had not addressed your issues, your next move could have been to escalate your complaint to the ombudsman. I was able to step in before it came to that, which spared you some added stress. The bank has now finally carried out your instructions, so that your mother has £100,000 in her account and the remaining £200,000 is tucked away in a one-year bond paying 4.05 per cent. Santander has also given her £604 in backdated interest, plus £250 compensation. Santander said: 'We are really sorry for the experience Howard received and can confirm that his access has been rectified, and the savings have been transferred according to his instructions.' You said: 'It was only once I came to you that anything constructive happened, so many thanks for your help.' In June I had a notification from my Revolut banking app asking me to authorise a payment to the food delivery company Uber Eats. As I have never used Uber Eats, I declined the transaction, which was for £20.87. A couple of minutes later I had another notification for the same transaction, and declined the payment again. But £20.87 was deducted from my account. I then checked my transactions and realised that a couple of days earlier there had been another payment to Uber Eats for £16.38. I had not authorised this payment either. I haven't lost my phone or my Revolut card, so I'm really concerned as to how this happened. I immediately contacted Revolut through the app and after some wrangling with the dreaded chatbot, was finally put through to a human who said that both transactions would be reversed. Relieved by this prompt action, I felt sure that Revolut would refund me and that would be the end of the matter. But it then claimed that I had authorised both payments on my phone. I said this wasn't correct but Revolut said there was nothing more it could do. It would seem that Revolut's banking security leaves much to be desired. While the amounts are relatively small, I am left feeling that the company won't keep my money Liverpool • 'Thieves went on a £21k shopping spree with my Revolut cash' Worryingly it sounds like someone must have used your card details for a fast-food spree. While I was pleased that Revolut had immediately cancelled your card and sent you a new one after this incident, it was unacceptable that it tried to claim that you had authorised these payments when you clearly had not. Being a victim of fraud can leave you feeling shaken up; Revolut left you feeling even more vulnerable. It sounded like there had been a misunderstanding during your conversation with Revolut because it was under the impression that you had been tricked into authorising the transactions. But that didn't explain why the transaction had gone through after you had rejected it. It might shock readers to learn that companies can proceed with a payment even if a customer has declined it, so it's possible that Uber Eats or its payment company had pushed it through. Uber Eats told me: 'Uber takes reports of fraud very seriously and our specialist teams promptly investigate any concerns, as we did in this case.' It has now reimbursed you and banned the fraudulent account. Revolut said: 'We are sorry to hear about this case, or any instance where our customers are targeted by ruthless and highly sophisticated criminals. If you notice any unrecognised activity on your account, we advise you to freeze your cards immediately.' Sadly this didn't explain how fraudsters got your card details, or restore your faith in Revolut, and so you have decided to close your account. • £1,476,988 — the amount Your Money Matters has saved readers so far this year If you have a money problem you would like Katherine Denham to investigate email yourmoneymatters@ Please include a phone number

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store