Anger over Santander charging for business accounts it said would be ‘free for ever’

Santander customers have accused the bank of misrepresentation after it announced it would start charging for business accounts it had promised were “free for ever”.

Thousands of small business owners have been informed they face charges of £9.99 a month from October despite a written guarantee that they would never incur fees. The free accounts were withdrawn for new customers in 2011.

The sole trader Dave Lawrence* opened his business account in 2005 and received a letter confirming that he qualified for the Free Banking Forever tariff and “need never pay banking charges again”.

He said: “Which part of for ever do Santander think doesn’t apply now, and how can they justify introducing charges given their pledges to the contrary?”

Santander took over the bank previously known as Abbey National in 2004 and, after the acquisitions of the building societies Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester, it rebranded everything as Santander in 2010.

It was forced to U-turn on proposed charges to its forever accounts in 2012 after customers threatened legal action. It claimed that it had been responding to customer demand for upgraded services.

Jennifer Iles, a graphic designer, also signed up to the service because of the “free for ever” promise. “I objected when Santander tried to impose monthly charges in 2012,” she said. “Now they are not only trying to renege again but are denying the obligation. They will have a fight on their hands.”

Abbey National business banking advert. Photograph: Abbey customer

Santander told the Guardian that accounts that predated the 2008 merger of Abbey and Alliance & Leicester were migrated into its Business Every Day account in 2015 and that the terms and conditions of that contract did not include the free for ever promise.

A spokesperson 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.”

Lawrence and Iles say they were not notified that the guarantee had been withdrawn when their accounts were migrated.

“If I had originally signed up to a business bank account that cost £9.99 a month that would have been my choice, but I opened the account with the promise in writing of free banking for ever,” Lawrence said. “The charges are not huge; it is the principle that matters.”

* Name has been changed