The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to instruct banks to charge for current accounts, according to a report by consumer group Which?.
Research found charges for going overdrawn for two days per month without permission range from £120 to £900 a year, leading to confusion for consumers. Customers who stay in credit also lose out through punitive charges levelled on withdrawing money abroad. A senior executive at the FSA told Which? regulatory intervention may be needed to curb the problems arising from supposedly free banking. Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said hidden charges "completely shatters the myth that banking is free". "The suggestion that banks should increase charges to avoid more scandal...
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