Bank charges ‘hitting half of all account holders’

Banks in Britain are leveraging charges deemed by many to be unfair against more than half of their customers, according to a new report.

Research carried out by the Fair Investment Company (FIC) has suggested that around 25 per cent of all current account users in the UK exceed an agreed overdraft limit, while nine per cent of those without such a facility face the same problem.

For many people, these bank charges make it more difficult to clear debt and 16 per cent of those polled by the FIC claim they cannot afford to pay off the bills they have faced as a result.

David Doulton, director at FairInvestment.co.uk, said the results of the study should “urge the banks to act in their customers’ best interests, but they are more concerned about the £3.5 billion a year they are raking in from them”.

Meanwhile, CreditExpert reported recently that would-be borrowers in the UK are becoming increasingly pessimistic about their chances of being approved for a credit deal.

Written by Dan Mather