Changes to our Bank Account Terms and Conditions

Transcription

1 ACCOUNT TERMS AND CONDITIONS Changes to our Bank Account Terms and Conditions Effective from 1 December 2014 Talk to us today

2 Contents Page Introduction 3 Key changes to Ultimate Reward Current Accounts 3 Ultimate Reward Current Account insurance terms and condition changes and travel money change 4 to 7 Changes to our Bank Account Terms and Conditions 7 to 10 Changes to the Reward payments, interest and account fees section 10 to 11 Other changes 11 2

3 Changes to our Bank Account Terms and Conditions We re making some changes to our Halifax Bank Account Terms and Conditions which will come into effect from 1 December So that you understand these changes and how they will affect you, please take time to read this leaflet. The new Bank Account Terms and Conditions will be available from 1 December From that date you will be able to obtain a copy online at or from your branch or by calling us on If you need to call us from abroad or prefer not to use our 0845 number, you can also call Key changes to Ultimate Reward Current Accounts What s changing How is it changing How this affects you Ultimate Reward Current Account Worldwide multitrip family travel insurance Ultimate Reward Current Account Card Protection Ultimate Reward Current Account Preferential Travel Money benefit The number of medical screening questions you need to check against whenever you book a trip will be reduced. The new medical screening questions can be found in this leaflet. Card Protection is being replaced with a Card Cancellation Service. All insurance cover previously provided with Card Protection will no longer be available. The preferential exchange rate and free home delivery for travel money is being removed. If you answer Yes to any one of the medical screening questions you must contact us on at the time of making your travel booking to make sure your policy fully covers you for your trip. We will no longer provide insurance cover for things such as losing your money, purses or wallets or provide cash advances. You can still contact us to cancel all your financial cards, and replacements can be requested by calling us on Further details and full terms and conditions can be found in this leaflet. Our standard exchange rate will be provided on travel money orders and our standard home delivery fee will be charged. Please ask us for details. 3

4 4 A. Ultimate Reward Current Account insurance terms and condition changes and travel money change (i) We are updating some of our insurance terms and conditions, details of the changes are set out below. 1. Worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance medical screening changes We are simplifying the medical screening process by reducing the number of medical questions you will be asked. Under the heading About YOUR insurance contract You must declare all medical conditions, the paragraphs numbered 1, 2 and 3 will be replaced with the following question: In relation to any person to be insured, does anyone have, or has previously had, any medical condition for which: (a) they are currently taking prescribed medication or, (b) are waiting to receive, or have received treatment (including surgery, tests or investigation) within the last 6 months prior to the opening of this account, or within 6 months prior to booking any trip, whichever is later. 2. Card Protection product replaced We are replacing Card Protection with a Card Cancellation only service. This means we will no longer provide you with insurance cover for things such as lost money, purses or wallets, or provide cash advances with this benefit. All insurance cover previously provided with this benefit will no longer be available. Instead you will have Card Cancellation which means in the event that your cards are lost or stolen, all you need to do is call and we will arrange for all your financial cards to be cancelled and request replacements. Details of the new Card Cancellation Terms and Conditions that will be effective from 1 December 2014 can be found below: Card Cancellation Terms and Conditions Card Cancellation is a monthly contract. This service is provided as a benefit to you as an Ultimate Reward Current Account holder. The cost is included as part of your standard monthly fee. The service will end if your Ultimate Reward Current Account is closed or as a result of the following: you fail to pay your monthly fee for your account, your account is changed to another type of account, your account becomes under the management of your account provider s collections and recoveries department, or your residential address is no longer in the UK. We may cancel or change this service agreement upon giving you 30 days notice in writing. We recommend that you review the benefits of this service to ensure it continues to meet your needs. If you or Halifax close your account, or Halifax terminates the service provided through the programme, the service will stop immediately unless you are moving from one qualifying account to another. Getting the most from Card Cancellation To help you take full advantage of the features provided you should complete the following actions: 1. Register all your financial cards, including credit, debit, bank and building society cards and store cards as soon as possible. You can do this by calling us on Registration, although not compulsory, will help you to report the loss of your cards and speed up the cancellation process. 2. Inform us if any of your registered card details have changed so that we can update our records. Up to date records of your cards makes it easier to make a loss report on your behalf, so that we can cancel your cards straight away. 3. Register your Passport and Driving Licence Number by calling (or +44 (0) if you re abroad). You can then call this number should you need to retrieve these document numbers for any reason. 4. If after a loss you feel you may be at risk of becoming a victim of fraud, you can ask us to file your details with CIFAS please refer to the CIFAS Protective Registration section of this booklet for more information.

5 Reporting lost or stolen cards 1. In the unfortunate event your cards are lost or stolen, please call us as soon as possible: To report your cards lost or stolen in the UK, please call To report your cards lost or stolen whilst abroad, please call +44 (0) Both services are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 2. Upon calling us, we will immediately complete a loss report and contact your card issuer(s) to have them cancelled and re-issued to you. Exclusions There is no insurance cover included with this service. You are not covered for any financial loss incurred due to the loss or theft of your cards or documents. How to complain We set high standards and seek to provide levels of service that you have the right to expect. However, things can go wrong and if they do, we want you to tell us about them. If you have a complaint relating to this service please let us know by: calling us on or, writing to the Customer Services Manager at Lifestyle Services Group Limited, PO Box 588, Walton on Thames, KT12 9EL. CIFAS Protective Registration What is CIFAS? CIFAS, the UK s fraud prevention service, is a not for profit membership organisation dedicated to the prevention of financial crime. CIFAS provides the UK s most comprehensive databases of confirmed fraud data, as well as an extensive range of fraud prevention services, using the latest technology to protect organisations from the effects of fraud. Among other initiatives, CIFAS helps prevent the misuse of individuals identities through the sharing of information and the use of identity protection tools. Recognised by around 300 organisations, which includes the UK s leading and most well known financial institutions, Protective Registration places a warning flag against your name and personal details warning all organisations which use CIFAS data that you are at an increased risk of fraud. This notifies Members that they must undertake additional checks to ensure that the application they have is really from you and not from a fraudster using your name. More information about CIFAS can be obtained from their website You may request that we file a Protective Registration with CIFAS on your behalf. This will allow other banks and lending organisations to know your details may be at risk of fraudsters taking out credit in your name. If you instruct us to file a Protective Registration, your details will be used in the following way: If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information. We and other organisations, may access and use from other countries, the information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example, when: Checking details on applications for credit and credit related accounts or other facilities. Managing credit and credit related accounts or other facilities, i.e. recovering debt. Checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance. Checking details of job applicants and employees. We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies. Legal The document tells you what you need to know about this product. These terms and conditions can be subject to change from time to time. Any change will be notified to you at least 30 days in advance in writing or by . 5

6 Your Card Cancellation service is provided by Lifestyle Services Group Limited. Registered in England, No Registered Office: Assurant House, 6-12 Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1EN. The laws that apply to this service are the laws of England and Wales. Data Protection Your Information Lifestyle Services Group Limited is committed to preserving the privacy of our customers. Please read the following privacy policy to understand how we will use and protect the information that you provide to us. By paying for this product, you consent to the collection and use of your information under the terms of this privacy policy. The information you provide will be used by us to supply you with the services which you have agreed to. We may use the information to contact you to obtain your views and to let you know about important changes to the services we offer and for statistical analysis. We may contact you by post, telephone, SMS text, fax or . You will only be contacted by the methods you have asked to be contacted by. Your information will not be used or disclosed other than in accordance with this privacy policy, or without your permission, unless required by law. If you would prefer us not to contact you to obtain your views or you change your mind in the future and would like us to stop contacting you for this purpose, please write to: Customer Services, Lifestyle Services Group Limited, PO Box 588, Walton on Thames, KT12 9EL. We may co-operate with the Police and any other relevant authorities or organisations in connection with any misuse or suspected misuse of the services provided by us or any member of our group of companies. If necessary, we may divulge information about you for this purpose. You have a right to ask for a copy of the data held about you and you may ask us to make any necessary changes to ensure that it is accurate and kept up to date. If you wish to do this, please contact us on We are entitled by law to charge you a fee of to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you. We employ security measures to protect your information from access by unauthorised persons and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage. We will retain your information for a reasonable period or as long as the law requires. Any changes to our privacy policy will be notified to you in the appropriate way. All comments, queries and requests relating to our use of your information are welcomed and should be addressed as specified above. 3. Mobile phone insurance changes to the Mobile phone insurance underwriter The underwriter for mobile phone insurance is changing from London General Insurance Company Limited to Assurant General Insurance Limited. Assurant General Insurance Limited is registered in England, No Registered Office: Assurant House, 6-12 Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1EN. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number Home emergency cover clarification of cover Under General conditions applying to Your policy, we have updated the condition to clarify where home emergency cover is available. The condition will be updated to read: Your policy is only available to persons resident in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. 6

7 5. Travel Money change removal of exclusive offer for Ultimate Reward Current Account customers From 1 December 2014 we will no longer offer the preferential travel money exchange rates and free home delivery service to Ultimate Reward Current Account customers. B. Changes to your Bank Account Terms and Conditions 1. Under: Section 1 Introduction We are removing reference to guarantee cheques and cheque guarantee logos in the debit and cash machine card bullet point under Services and facilities on your account as the Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme closed in June Under: Section 2 special conditions Ultimate Reward Current Account 2.1 We are improving the wording under the Ultimate Reward Current Account section as follows: (i) updating part of paragraph c of the Ultimate Reward Current Account special conditions to make it clearer that the first monthly account fee is pro-rated by the number of days the account has been opened. The updated second sentence in paragraph c will read: Account fees are paid in arrears monthly. The first monthly account fee will be pro-rated by the number of days the account has been open. Please see the Reward payments, interest and account fees leaflet for full details. (ii) updating paragraph p of the Ultimate Reward Current Account special conditions to make it clearer that the monthly account fee on closure or account change will be pro-rated from the last fee debit day to the date of closure or account change. The updated wording will read: (p) If you close your Ultimate Reward Current Account, or transfer to another of our accounts, your final account fee will be prorated from the last fee debit day to the date of closure or account change. Please see the Reward payments, interest and accounts fees leaflet for full details. (iii) including an example of how you would stop being eligible for the account in paragraph q of the special conditions as follows: q) If you: (i) do not pay the Ultimate Reward Current Account monthly account fee (or use an unplanned overdraft to do so) twice in a row, we may change your account to the Current Account, or if this account is no longer available, to a standard current account with similar features to the Current Account or (ii) stop being eligible for the Ultimate Reward Current Account in any other way, for example you hold more than one Ultimate Reward Current Account, we may change your account to the Reward Current Account or Current Account depending on your eligibility for these accounts (please see the relevant special conditions for details). If these accounts are no longer available, we will change your account to a current account with similar features to the Reward Current Account or Current Account as appropriate. In all cases, we will give you at least 2 months notice before doing so. (iv) removing the following wording from the Worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance section under the Accounts Benefits Package heading: Cover is activated the day after your account is opened and funded. We are also adding the following wording at the end of all the benefits listed under the Account Benefits Package heading: Cover for the above benefits will be activated at the point you open your account. 2.2 Mobile Phone Insurance underwriter change The Mobile phone insurance special conditions are changing to reflect the change in underwriter from London General Insurance Company Limited to Assurant General Insurance Limited, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number

8 8 2.3 Card Protection We are replacing the Card Protection policy with a Card Cancellation service and the special conditions and policy are changing to reflect this. The special conditions will change as follows: Card Cancellation. Cancels and replaces all financial cards that have been lost or stolen in one phone call. Card Cancellation is provided by Lifestyle Services Group Limited. Lifestyle Services Group Limited is registered in England, No Registered Office: Assurant House, 6-12 Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1EN. 2.4 Easycash account We are removing the wording cheque guarantee cards in point (d) so that it reads: (d) Cheque books and planned overdrafts are not available to use with this account. 2.5 Cardcash account We are removing the wording and cheque guarantee cards in point (e) so that it reads: (e) Cheque books (unless you are aged 18 or over) and planned overdrafts are not available to use with this account. 3. Under: Section 3 General conditions 1. Security We are adding an additional condition 2.8 as follows: We will not treat you as breaking your security obligation just because you use an aggregation service we do not provide, as long as you continue to keep your Security Details secure and do not disclose them to the service provider. A typical aggregation service allows you to view information about your accounts with different banks on a single website. The current condition 2.8 will become Statements We are changing condition 3.1 as follows: We will provide or make available a statement each month there are payments on the account. We will provide statements in electronic format for your accounts with us that are accessible by online banking and you can tell us to stop sending you paper statements for all, or any of these accounts. You can change your mind and tell us to start sending you paper statements again. 3. Scottish Island branches We are making a change to 5.2 to include Bank of Scotland branches in the Scottish Islands as follows: (b) Payments at the Post Office and at Bank of Scotland Scottish Island branches (i) If cash or a cheque is paid in at the Post Office an extra working day has to be added to these timings; (ii) If a cheque is paid in at a Bank of Scotland branch on one of the Scottish Islands, an extra working day has to be added to these timings. 4. Paying someone using mobile phone numbers for payment instructions We are amending condition 6.1 (b) to reflect the new Pay a Contact service which allows payments to be made using your mobile phone number. The new wording will confirm that when you give us payment instructions to transfer funds to another account, other than by cheque, you must provide either: i) the sort code and account number, or ii) where making a payment through the Pay a Contact service, a mobile telephone number; or iii) any other unique identifier that we agree with you when you request to use a product or service we offer for payments in the UK. You must provide equivalent information for payments outside the UK. We may also ask you for other details, such as the name of the person you are sending the payment to, so we can make the payment. 5. Retrying standing order payments We are adding wording to the end of condition 6.1 (c) as follows: If we are unable to make a standing order or future dated payment from your account, because you do not have enough money in your account and we do not agree to your request for an unplanned overdraft or increased unplanned overdraft, then we will continue trying to make the payment each working day for up to 26 calendar days until there are funds available to make the payment.

9 6. Notification of declined contactless transactions We are adding wording to the end of 6.1 (k) to cover situations where a retailer or organisation may not be able to confirm at the point of sale that a transaction has been declined. For example, contactless transactions on public transport may only be processed at the end of the day to ensure that the appropriate fare is charged on your account. This will say: For certain contactless transactions, the retailer or organisation may not be able to confirm at the point the card is used whether the transaction has been declined. If you want to check that a transaction has been accepted, you can call us on the number in the Our contact details at the end of this leaflet. 7. Payments in error We are adding condition 6.1 (p) as follows: If we are advised, for example by another bank, that money has been paid into your account by mistake, we can remove up to the amount of the mistaken payment from your account. We do not have to ask you to agree to this, but will let you know if it happens. If this happens we will always act in a reasonably appropriate way and will try to minimise any inconvenience to you. 8. Cancelling or changing a direct debit In condition 6.2 (l), we are changing the word must to should so that the sentence now reads: If you wish to cancel or change a direct debit, as well as telling us so that we can suspend any further payments, you should tell the business or organisation so that they can cancel the direct debit. 9. Card services at machines operated by other providers We are adding condition 6.3 (f) as follows: Your card may not allow you to use all services offered by cash machines operated by other providers. 10. Guaranteed cheques We are removing references to guaranteed cheques in condition 6.5 as the Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme closed on 30 June We are removing the words (apart from a guaranteed cheque) from condition 6.5 (c) and removing sub-clauses (g), (h), (i), (j) and (k) from condition Reward Payments, interest and account fees We are changing condition 7.5 as follows: Where we add reward payments to your account, we pay it net (after deduction of income tax currently 20%). You cannot register to receive this payment gross as a non-uk tax payer. If you have an interest bearing account, your interest will be paid either net or gross dependent on your personal circumstances. If you are eligible, you can register your account to receive gross interest, you can do this in branch or by telephone. Or you may be eligible for a lower rate of tax on your savings income based on the thresholds set by the Government. You may claim income tax back from HMRC if the amount of tax we have taken off is more than you have to pay. Higher rate tax payers may have to pay additional tax themselves. 12. Overdrafts We are removing the following wording from the end of condition 8.15 as it will be cheaper for you to have a planned overdraft rather than an unplanned overdraft. 13. Where we need instructions from more than one account holder We are adding a new condition (k) as follows: We will not normally make enquires about the purpose of any payment instructions or other instruction or confirm the instructions with the other joint customer unless we are required to do so by law or a regulator. 9

10 14. Ending this agreement or an account service We are adding a new part (b) to condition 15.3 so the condition will read: 15.3 We may end this agreement (or any account or service under it): (a) by writing to you and giving you two months notice or (b) immediately if: (i) you are, or we reasonably consider you may be: using or obtaining, or allowing someone else to use or obtain, a service or money illegally; acting fraudulently; behaving improperly (for example, in a threatening or abusive manner); or (ii) we reasonably consider that by continuing the agreement: we may break a legal requirement or a court order or other authority; we (or another company in the Lloyds Banking Group) may be exposed to action from any government or regulator; or (iii) you have seriously or persistently broken this agreement in any other way. C. Changes to the Reward payments, interest and account fees section 1. Reward Current Account We are making the Reward Payments section clearer by adding for the Reward Current Account in the heading, stating that the reward is paid into the account by the 2nd working day of the following calendar month and removing reference to the 10th day of the month. We are also updating the table to make it clearer that to receive the reward payment, as well as the other qualifying requirements, customers need to have their account open/not change it to another type of current account at the time the reward payment is due to be paid into the account. We are also removing wording above the table that is repeated in the table. 2. Wording under the Interest we pay on credit balances section (i) We are adding the words has been deducted to make this sentence clearer: The net rate is the interest rate we pay after tax has been deducted (currently 20%) (ii) We are adding the following: If you are eligible you can register your account to receive gross interest, you can do this in branch or by telephone. Or you may be eligible for a lower rate of tax on your savings income based on the thresholds set by the Government. More details about the lower rate and how to reclaim tax deducted are available on HMRC website or from your tax office. 3. Unplanned overdrafts To reflect the maximum amount that we will charge in unplanned daily overdraft fees in a monthly billing period, we are adding wording after the sentence: We ll send you regular reminders if you continue to use an unplanned overdraft., as follows: We will charge you a maximum of 100 in unplanned daily overdraft fees in a monthly billing period. 10

11 4. Ultimate Reward Current Account We are updating the wording above the Ultimate Reward Current Account monthly account fee table to make it clearer that the first monthly account fee is pro-rated by the number of days the account has been open and to make it clearer that closing your Ultimate Reward Current Account or changing it to another type of current account means the full monthly account fee is pro-rated from the last fee debit day to the date of closure or account change. We are also updating the table to make it clearer that to pay the lower monthly account fee, as well as the other qualifying requirements, customers need to have their account open/not change it to another type of current account at the time the monthly account fee is due to be taken from the account. We are also removing wording above and below the table that is repeated in the other wording. D. Other changes Our charges that apply to you for making international payments are changing as follows: Branch and Telephone Banking changing from to The International Payments Terms and Conditions will be updated accordingly. International Payments sent via Online Banking will continue to be charged at Any other fees or charges associated with the international transfer (for example, recipient bank or agent bank, as applicable) will continue to apply. We have also made a change to the International Payment Terms and Conditions so that condition 1.1 reads as follows: We must receive your payment instruction before the cut-off time on a working day so that we can start processing it the same day. The cut-off time for international payments sent in euro via branch and telephone banking will be communicated to you at the time of the transaction but will be no earlier than 2pm and no later than 3pm, and the cut-off time for all other currencies is 3pm. If you make your international payment online the cut-off time for all currencies is 3pm. 11

12 It s easy to get in touch Investments Current accounts Savings Credit cards Personal loans Mortgages Secured lending Insurance Share dealing Lost and stolen cards Speak to a colleague in branch today Phone your local branch direct. You can find the number online at Please contact us if you d like this in large print, Braille or on audio. If you have a hearing or speech impairment you can use Text Relay (previously Typetalk) or Textphone on (lines are open 9am 5.30pm, seven days a week). Telephone calls may be recorded for security purposes and monitored under our quality control procedures. Not all Telephone Banking services are available 24/7. Please ask an adviser for more information. Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc, Registered in Scotland No. SC Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number WEB-HXPCANOV (09/14)