We’re here to support you if you have been affected by coronavirus. We’ve answered some of our frequently asked questions below.
To keep your money safe, we’d advise you not to carry large sums of money. A quick way to pay for your purchases is by using your debit card.
We’ve increased the contactless payments limit for debit cards and credit cards to £45. The £45 limit increase may not be available in all shops, as not all systems have been updated yet, so it’s best to check with the retailer first. You can also use your debit and credit card for online purchases.
If you lose your card or if it’s stolen, you can cancel your card and request a new one. You can freeze your card if you’ve temporarily misplaced it, with the handy Card Freezes feature on our Mobile Banking app. For added control, you can also choose how and where your card can be used.
The safest way to bank with us right now is from home. If you do need to visit us in branch, most are open 9.30am to 2pm Monday to Friday. We've taken the decision not to open branches at weekends. Please check our branch locator if you need to visit.
To protect you and our staff, we’ve put social distancing measures in place in our branches so you can bank with us safely. You'll also be asked to wear a face covering. When you visit, we may ask you to wait outside if it’s busy and things may take a little more time to complete, but we’ll help you as quickly as we can, so please bear with us.
You can also do your everyday banking at your local Post Office. You can check your balance, make withdrawals and pay cash or cheques into your current account at Post Office counters. Make sure you check their website for up-to-date information about opening hours.
Can we save you a trip? Managing your money from home is the safest way right now, and there’s so much you can do online:
To protect you and our colleagues, you will be asked to wear a face covering.
A safe and simple way to bank right now is through Internet Banking and our Mobile Banking app.
Here are just some of the things you can do online:
We keep an eye on every account and warn about scams. Find out how to stay safe from scams on our new scam code page. If you haven’t banked online with us before, you can register now or find help with our step by step guide to registering.
Supporting friends and family outside the UK
You can send up to £100,000 per day quickly and easily through Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app. Our useful guide shows you where to find this option. You’ll need the recipient’s details to hand when you make the payment.
There are ways we can help you, help those most vulnerable with managing finances and their wellbeing. Help and guidance if you’re caring for or supporting someone close to you.
We have set up a dedicated phone number for customers aged 70 and over or who are listed as vulnerable.
We’re here to help make the next steps as simple as possible for you. The easiest way to let us know about a death is to use our online form.
Once you’ve told us, we’ll put a stop on the accounts. So we can understand the next steps and close the accounts we’ll need you to provide us with a copy of the death certificate. If you already have this, please call 0800 015 0012 (lines are open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm) or if you’d prefer you can visit us in branch. When we talk, we’ll take you through everything you need to know, what will happen next and answer any questions you may have.
We have more information on our dedicated bereavement page.
If you are going to struggle to make your monthly repayments due to coronavirus, we have online support available.
Find out about what support is available for you.
If you are struggling to make payments on your mortgage, you can visit our mortgages specific coronavirus FAQs page for further information and support.
You can also visit our Money Worries page to find out more ways we may be able to help you.
Additionally, the Money Advice Service Money Navigator Tool also gives instant help based on what you tell it about your circumstances. You can also call the Money Advice Service on 0800 138 7777. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Redundancy support
Many people around the UK are facing potential job losses as companies are operating under very challenging circumstances. Being made redundant can knock both your personal and financial plans off course. However, understanding your rights and options can help you take practical steps to get back on track. Find out everything you need to know from ACAS.
It’s worth noting that if you’ve worked for your employer for more than two years, you should be eligible for statutory redundancy pay. You can use the Government redundancy calculator to check the most current rates.
This sudden and unexpected change to your employment status could mean you need to claim benefits. The Turn to Us online benefits checker is a great tool to quickly find out which ones you’re eligible to claim.
The Department for Work and Pensions has temporarily suspended all face-to-face assessments for health and disability-related benefits. This is to reduce the potential exposure of coronavirus to those who are at most risk and to safeguard their health.
Reduced income support
If your income has been reduced and you are struggling to make your monthly payments, you can use our support tool to find the right support for you.
There are various options to help those affected by coronavirus to better manage their money, such as emergency access to savings in fixed term accounts without charge.
It’s also important to quickly understand and work to your new budget. Our free budget calculator has been designed with this in mind. Within the calculator, you can fill out the details of payments received, the savings you hold, and any amounts going out. Having a bank statement to hand might help remind you of regular incomings and outgoings.
You can also find some tips on how to stick to your new budget and ideas for what to do if things get tight.
If you’re worried about your financial situation because of coronavirus, please contact us.
If your income has been directly impacted by coronavirus, you may be worried about how you’re going to manage to pay your mortgage or your rent. In the first instance, you should use our budget calculator to see what you can afford. There’s support in place from ourselves, as a mortgage provider, and from the Government if you’re struggling to keep up your payments.
Mortgages and coronavirus: We have a number of ways to help, until things get back to normal. You can find out more about the help available to you by using our support tool.
Rent and coronavirus: The Government have published non-statutory guidance for landlord, tenants and local authorities in the private and social rented sectors. Find out more from Gov.uk.
Financial abuse can take a variety of different forms within different relationships, including partners, family members or carers. It might be financial control, exploitation or sabotage.
For anyone who is impacted by domestic or financial abuse, this period could mean you have additional worries.
If you are in immediate danger, call 999, if you cannot speak press 55, or call The National Domestic Violence Helpline a freephone 24-hour helpline 0808 200 0247 (24 hours).
We can support you, or someone else you know, if they are impacted by financial abuse. Find out more about how to keep your money and confidential information safe.
Additionally, Bright Sky is a free app that provides comprehensive support to people affected by abuse. We advise you to only download the app onto a device which is safe and that only you have access to.
How people manage their money is different for everyone and we know that different situations can affect the way that people spend. If you find yourself gambling more than you like, or if you have concerns because of gambling, we have a range of ways to help you.
If you’ve been made unemployed, or your employer has no work for you – and you are not eligible for a Government support scheme – you may be able to claim on your Payment Protection Insurance.
If your hours have been reduced due to coronavirus you may be able to claim. This will depend on how many hours you worked previously and how many hours you are currently working. Visit our Payment Protection Insurance page for details.
If you can’t work from home and due to your condition, you have been advised to stay at home and shield by the NHS, Government or your GP, you may be able to claim if you have Accident, Sickness or Disability cover.
If you are self-employed and can’t trade, or have suffered a significant impact on trade due to coronavirus, please contact us.
Payment holiday
If you have already taken a payment holiday for a mortgage, loan and/or credit card it will not affect your claim. If you are now unemployed or not due to receive payments through a Government support scheme, please visit our PPI page for details on how to contact us.
If you are in financial difficulty and struggling to make your premium payments please visit our PPI page.
Cancelled or postponed events
If you’ve bought a ticket for a cancelled event from an official seller, you could be entitled to a refund from them. You may not get back any extra costs paid such as postage or booking fees. The same rule should apply to entry fees if you’ve paid to take part in an event or competition - such as a marathon or cycling race - but you’ll need to check with the event organiser’s terms and conditions.
If you’ve bought tickets through a ticket reseller, you’ll need to check their terms and conditions to see if you’ll get your money back. Please consider these refunds can take longer than expected due to knock on impacts of coronavirus.
If the organisers are planning to move the date of the event, your tickets should be valid for the new date. If you can’t make the new date, you can ask for a refund from the ticket retailer, but you’ll need to check your booking terms and conditions. Again, you’re unlikely to get back any postage costs or booking fees. Refunds from ticket-reselling websites will also depend on their own terms and conditions.
Travel and hotel costs
If your event has been cancelled but you also booked travel and accommodation to attend, contact the organisations you booked with to see whether the service is still available. You could get a refund or be able to rebook for a later date. Packages with flights, hotels and event ticket included may be covered under your travel insurance.
Personal events
Cancelling or postponing a personal event - such as a party or wedding - will depend on what agreements you have with your suppliers. Speak to your suppliers about your options. You may not get your deposit or other payments refunded if you cancel completely. If your supplier cancels, you may be entitled to a refund. This will depend on the terms and conditions of your booking.
If you have wedding insurance, check your policy or speak to your insurance provider about what you can claim.
If you paid on a credit or debit card, you can raise a payment dispute for review. If you believe that you have paid for an item or service that has not been delivered, was not as described, a refund has not been received or where merchants aren’t following their terms and conditions, you can submit a claim for review. Find out more about payment disputes.
Credit card refunds
If you paid by credit card you may be able to claim a refund under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if you are eligible. Section 75 rights are only available where the seller/provider has misrepresented something or if there has been a breach of contract.
You may be able to make a claim from your credit card provider for the loss you have suffered. However it only covers goods and services valued over £100 and below £30,000. If you have a credit card with us, you can find out more about Section 75 and how to make a claim.
We understand that your travel plans and booked trips could have been affected by coronavirus. As a result you may have cancelled flights and package holidays that you would like to get a refund for. We always recommend getting in touch with your travel provider directly first, we have listed the main travel providers used by our customers here.
If you’ve contacted or attempted to contact the retailer and have been unable to resolve the issue, we may be able to support you. Please see below guidance dependent on your situation:
I decided to cancel – If you chose to cancel your booking and the service was still available, then we may be able to help provided you followed the cancellation policy set out by the merchant. If you have followed the cancellation policy (including paying any cancellation fees) and have not got a refund that you are entitled to, then you can use our handy travel disruption tool to understand your options. If you paid using a Lloyds Bank debit card and use Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, please see here for guidance on how to check your eligibility for a refund and raise a claim.
The retailer/business cancelled – If the trip was cancelled by the merchant we may be able to help you, depending on why they cancelled your trip. In most cases you are entitled to a refund, however the merchant may offer you an alternative e.g. different dates or a credit voucher. If you are not happy with their response, or have cancelled within your terms & conditions, then you can use our handy travel disruption tool to understand your options. If you paid using a Lloyds Bank debit card and use Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, please see here for guidance on how to check your eligibility for a refund and raise a claim.
Please be aware refunds may take longer than expected due to knock on impacts of coronavirus.
For more information, including how you can raise a payment dispute (chargeback) visit our credit card payment disputes page or debit card payment disputes page.
You may be able to benefit from either a chargeback (payment dispute) or Section 75 (credit card only).
Chargeback
A chargeback is a scheme put in place to protect customers, also known as a payment dispute. It gives credit and debit cardholders the ability to request a refund through their card issuer in a number of different scenarios. This includes where you have not received what you have paid for. We as your card issuer will refund you and will then seek to claim the payment back from the original merchant. However, merchants can dispute the chargeback request and this may result in your account having the payment taken again.
Chargeback rights cover the amount of the card transaction only, other losses cannot be claimed. A chargeback claim must also be made within a set time period. This is usually 120 days from the date of purchase, or from when the goods or services were expected to be received, though longer periods may apply in certain situations.
If you paid with a Lloyds Bank debit card and use Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, you can now log in to find out if you're eligible for a refund and raise a claim. You can find out how to do that here.
If you paid with a Lloyds Bank credit card, by other means or are not registered for Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, you can still use our handy travel disruption tool for guidance on the options available to you.
Section 75 (credit card only)
If you are struggling to get a refund that you are entitled to, and you paid using a credit card, you may be able to make a claim under Section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Section 75 covers most credit card purchases for goods or services over £100 and under £30,000. This means you may be able to make a claim through us for the loss you have suffered. Section 75 rights are only available where the seller/provider has misrepresented something or if there has been a breach of contract. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to claim a refund and potentially some consequential losses. You can find out more about Section 75 and how to make a claim if you have a credit card with us.
Please use our travel disruption tool to see if we may be able to help you.
If you have already accepted travel vouchers and you are not happy with that, you may be able to get a refund instead. You will need to speak to your travel provider to see if they will issue you a refund as an alternative to your vouchers.
If your provider agrees to issue you a full refund, note it may take longer to process than usual. Please therefore wait 15 days from the request being accepted.
If you struggle to come to an agreement with your provider, we may be able to help.
To contact our Disputes team, our telephone banking lines are open 7am -11pm, seven days a week.
For credit cards: Call us on 0345 606 2172 or +44 1702 278 272 if you’re calling from outside the UK.
For current accounts: Call us on 0345 300 0000 or +44 1733 347007 if you’re calling from outside the UK.
We aim to resolve all claims within 5 working days. If you’ve already raised a claim with us, we are working through these as quickly as we can.
When the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) or other regulatory authority advises against all but essential travel to a region or country, you may be able to claim under the cancellation or travel disruption terms of your travel insurance policy. Every policy will be different so it’s important you check what cover you have and what you can claim. Some travel insurance policies may only allow you to claim for trips booked before the coronavirus situation arose. Do check that detail.
Travel insurance advice for booking future holidays
Many insurance policies will no longer cover coronavirus for future bookings. So if you have an existing travel insurance policy, check with your provider to see if they have introduced any restrictions. If you are looking for a new policy, check to see if disruption due to coronavirus is included in the cover you are buying.
It is still important to take out travel insurance when you book any trips to cover you for future events.
If you have one of the following accounts: Platinum Account, Premier Account, Gold Account, Silver Account , travel insurance is included as a benefit. You can find out more in the FAQs by selecting the account you hold or use the handy travel disruption tool to see if we can help you raise a refund.
If there is no Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) warning in place for your destination when you are due to travel and your flights, accommodation, etc. are all running as normal, you are unlikely to get a refund if you don’t want to travel. Also, travel insurance is unlikely to cover ‘disinclination to travel’.
However, if you have received medical advice not to travel due to your health, or if you are in an ‘at risk’ group, you may be able to get a refund and/or claim on your travel insurance. Speak to your travel provider or insurer for more information. Otherwise check the terms and conditions to see whether you have the right to cancel and receive a refund.
If you have one of the following accounts: Platinum Account, Premier Account, Gold Account, Silver Account, travel insurance is included as a benefit. You can find out more in the FAQs by selecting the account you hold or use the handy travel disruption tool to see if we can help you raise a refund.
During these difficult times, we’re here to help support customers who have been affected by travel providers that have stopped trading due to coronavirus.
In the first instance, please check the website or any correspondence from the travel provider, or their administrator to understand how to get a refund.
Many flights and holiday purchases are covered by protection schemes, such as ATOL, who may refund you when a travel merchant ceases to trade. Most of these schemes will provide you with a certificate so please check your booking confirmation, the travel provider’s website or the administrator of your travel provider.If your booking is protected, please follow the guidance that will be issued by your protection scheme on their website.
If you are unable to get a refund through a protection scheme we may be able to help:
Stay safe
If you’re contacted about the company that has stopped trading, be aware that as Lloyds Bank, we’ll never ask you for your bank details. Sometimes there can be an increase in fraud attempts during these type of events.
If you paid with a Lloyds Bank debit card and use Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, you can now log in to find out if you're eligible for a refund and raise a claim.
You can do this by logging and following the below 3 steps:
You will need to have the following information to hand to raise your claim:
If you paid with a Lloyds Bank credit card, by other means or are not registered for Internet Banking or our Mobile Banking app, you can still use our handy travel disruption tool for guidance on the options available to you.
Below are links to the web pages for the main travel providers used by our customers, which may help you further. We’ve also included the links for their coronavirus web pages, however we suggest you ensure you look at information across all of their web pages to understand how they can best help you.
Lloyds Bank is not responsible for the content or function of third party websites.