Coronavirus: help and support

To protect you and our colleagues, we’ve put social distancing measures in place in our branches so you can bank with us safely. 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. Our branches will open again fully, ready to help you, as soon as it’s safe to do so.

We’re keeping as many branches open as we can but, in some cases, we may have to temporarily close a branch.

We’ve made some changes to our opening hours and services we’re currently providing. Most of our branches are now open between 9.30am and 3.30pm Monday to Friday. To find out if your local branch is open and when please check our branch locator.

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.

Internet and Mobile Banking

So that we can support those in the most vulnerable situations, please use the numbers below if your enquiry is urgent. Our call wait times are much longer than normal.

Call us on 0345 721 3141 (or +44 1313374218 if you’re calling from abroad) to access your accounts using our quick and easy 24/7 automated service and our advisers are available 7am to 11pm if you need to speak to someone. If you aren’t already registered, we can help you start the registration process to make it easy for you in the future.

You can call us on 0345 850 1022 to register for our voice ID service.

We have set up a dedicated phone number for customers aged 70 and over. You can find the number in either the letter or email we sent, or from one of our colleagues in branch. If you’re a nominated trusted person you can also ask for the number in branch.

You can still use our Internet and Mobile Banking services.

If you have booked travel and your flights or holiday have been cancelled, you may be able to get your money back. This can be done through a number of ways:

Contact your travel provider

The company you booked with may be able to help. To resolve any travel disputes please contact the merchant in the first instance and check their website for helpful information.

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.

Bank of Scotland is not responsible for the content or function of third party websites.

Ways we may be able to help

If you’re struggling to get a refund from the travel provider, and you paid on a credit or debit card, we may be able to help. Use our handy travel disruption tool to see the options available to you.

Travel Disruption Tool

If you have one of the below accounts, travel insurance is included as a benefit. If you’re abroad or if your travel plans have been impacted by coronavirus, you can check what you're covered for on the following pages. 

Platinum Account

Ultimate Reward Current Account

Premier, Gold or Silver accounts

Please note that trips booked after March 18th 2020 are not covered under the ‘Cancellation or curtailment charges and early return’ section in relation to coronavirus. However, AXA will continue to cover medical costs if you become ill in a country or region the Foreign and Commonwealth Office hasn’t advised against visiting.

We know that this is a very confusing time, so we’ve answered some of your frequently asked travel questions to help make things simpler.

We’ve extended the length of time you can leave your property empty for. Usually it shouldn’t be left empty for more than 30 days (60 days for some policies). However, if your property is empty for longer due to the coronavirus outbreak (for example if you’re stuck abroad or staying with family) we will still cover your property for as long as it takes for the situation to be resolved.

Making a claim for a cancelled package holiday, flights or accommodation

If you’re struggling to get a refund from the travel provider, and you paid on a Bank of Scotland credit card, we may be able to help. Use our travel disruption tool to see the options available to you before making a claim.

Making a claim for anything else

We want to help you if you’ve had a problem with a transaction on your Credit Card. Maybe there’s something wrong with what you’ve bought or perhaps you’re still being charged for a service you no longer use.

Find out how to make a claim

Remember, your money is safe in your account.

People are using the coronavirus outbreak to try out new scams. They’re selling items online like face masks, testing kits and hand sanitisers that are fake or don’t exist. Before you buy anything online it’s a good idea to check reviews to make sure a seller is genuine, and pay by card if you can as it helps to protect your cash.

There are also scams by email, phone and text offering advice, a test or a cure for the virus. The NHS test and trace service is now running. This is a free service. If the NHS contact you they won’t ask for any payments, or banking details.

You can protect yourself with the following steps:

• Hang up the phone – If you’re not sure who’s calling, hang up. Scam calls want your money or personal and banking details. They may ask you to speak to an operator or to press a button for more information.
• Inbox safety – If you get a message out of the blue, or you don’t know the sender, it could be a scam. Scam emails and texts can look odd, with spelling mistakes and messy layouts. It’s best not to open or reply to this kind of message.
• Click with care – You should only click on a link or attachment in a message if you know it’s safe.                          

Here are a few more tips to help you stay safe from scams:

• Device safety – Make sure to keep your device up to date, lock it when not in use and be careful what you download as it may contain a virus.
• Use strong passwords – When you need to set a password, make sure it’s hard to guess and don’t share it. A good idea is to use three random words.
• Social media safe – Take care with what you share on social media. Always keep your personal and banking details private. 

You can find out more on how to stay safe from scams on our Fraud Hub.