September Ultimate Reward changes mean avoid this account

Upgraded our joint Reward account in May to the Ultimate - a £12.50 monthly fee seemed good for the benefits available.
Logged on today (September 1 ) to see fee of £15.00 had been debited, although I had received no notification of change. On looking at online brochure, the fee had been increased by 20 % and, in our case, benefits had been reduced or removed: iPhone excess for loss had increased from £30 to £100 (other phones remain the same), and Travel Accident Cover, Price Promise, and Purchase Protection had all been discontinued due to general 'lack of use' (!).

On telephoning HBOS to complain and revert account to Reward, was told that all customers had been informed - not in my case. I then had to be told over a period of nearly 20 minutes the full details of my "new" account", while on a 0845 number. When I interrupted to say I already had a sole account of this type, was told this had to be done due o "regulatory" requirements. Not true, and manager I later spoke with was unable to tell me what the so-called regulations were, and then said that this would be logged as a complaint and I wqas not the first customer to make such observations.

In conclusion, look very closely at the worth of the benefits you now get versus an annual cost of £180. It MIGHT work for you, but certainly not for me.