Martin Lewis advises those MIS-SOLD packaged bank accounts how to reclaim their money

Speaking on the show, Martin described packaged accounts as “the marmite of banking.”

He said: “They’re loved by some, detested by others. They work where you pay a monthly fee for extras.

“In truth you’re far better thinking of them as insurance deal with a bank account attached.

“The way to evaluate this is by working out what insurance you would be buying anyway and see if you can get it via one of these accounts cheaper – if so they’re great.”

But for those who were wrongly sold these accounts, he explained how to get money back.

He said: “Many people were mis-sold these accounts and should close them and get money back – see Martins ‘Free packaged bank account reclaiming tool’ for more on that here.”

Some people do find the accounts useful, so Martin revealed which he thinks are good.

He said: “However for those who need insurance, as the cover levels tend to be good, these can be winners. My top pick for years has been Nationwide’s FlexPlus account, which for £10/mth – so £120 a year – gives mobile phone cover for all the family (worth £60ish a person so a family of four is now £240 worth), worldwide family travel insurance for up to age 75 (worth c. £70 ish but more if you’re older) and European car breakdown cover (worth £60ish).

“As you can see that’s around £400ish or more of insurance. However from 21 Sept the price rises to £13/mth so £156 and scrapping its ‘free extended warranty’ if you buy electricals on it. It’s still a decent deal though especially for families.

“Yet it does now mean for many couples the Halifax Ultimate Reward account can beat it. It costs £15 a month, but you get three quid a month cash back as long as you pay in £750/mth.

“So in reality it costs £12/mth which is £144 a year. Yet when you switch to it, it currently gives a free £125.

“Its extras are similar to Natiowinde – it gives mobile cover (for the account holder only), world family travel insurance (up to age 70), UK breakdown cover (not Europe), and home emergency cover (so restoring gas, electric and water if they fail).

“To make it better value if you’re a couple, open it as a joint account so both get breakdown cover and phone insurance.

“Do this even if it’s really only an account for one of you – that person can then use it – and the other person can have their own bank account too, just access the freebies from this (though only do this if you trust each other).”

Martin also reminded viewers it is the Amazon Prime flash one-day sale today. And finally, Martin told viewers about improved rates for savers.

He said: “Savings rates have been dire the past few years, and a couple of weeks ago I mentioned one of the best ways to earn ‘high’ interest is by fixing your money (so you can’t access it), as then the highest one-year fix was 1.8 per cent and two-year fix was 2 per cent with Atom Bank.

“But now, rates have improved slightly and you can now fix for a year with OakNorth Bank at 1.86 per cent or two-years with Paragon Bank at 2.05 per cent – the highest rates we’ve seen in months.

“Check your own savings, you’ll likely be earning less than one per cent. “Both banks are fully regulated which means in the unlikely event something goes wrong you get the full UK £85,000 per person, per institution savings safety guarantee.”