Report points to ignorance over bank charges

A new report has shown that millions of UK consumers are unaware of how much they can expect to be charged for entering their current account overdraft.

Bank charges can often lead to debt management problems for many British consumers, but research by MoneyExpert.com suggests that two-thirds of the population do not know how much they will have to pay for going into the red.

Furthermore, around 18 million adults in the UK are unaware of the charges banks typically levy if their customers exceed their overdraft limit, the financial comparison service has revealed.

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “Bank charges may be a hot topic in the media but many people’s idea of how much they are being charged for their overdrafts is horribly wide of the mark.

“It’s critical that people check with their bank to ensure they are borrowing money at a competitive rate.”

A report from Grant Thornton recently showed that the scale of Britain’s debt management burden now exceeds the country’s annual gross domestic product.