London (shakespearefinance) February 28, 2008: A proposal is suggested by a Competition Commission according to which now bank customers across the UK may soon receive an annual summary detailing exactly what they paid in charges and interest.
This step can be taken to ensure whether bank customers in Northern Ireland get a fair deal and if not the customers would be free to switch their banks. The Competition Commission report came following a report claiming that half of bank consumers are unhappy with their banks. According to the report the consumers who have accounts with the big five - Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and RBS/NatWest - can typically save £220 a year by switching.
The commission wants the following changes to be made by the banks operating in the Northern Ireland.
The banks must:
Provide clear information on the levels of charges and interest rates and how and when they are applied both before and when, a customer opens an account
Provide every customer with an annual summary of the charges they have incurred and of interest paid and received
Give the customers at least 14 days notice from the date of their statement before charges and debit interest are deducted from their account
Remind the customers annually of their right to close their account or switch
Introduce improvements in the switching process, including offering a charge-free and interest-free overdraft facility for at least three months
Christopher Clarke, chairman of the Inquiry Group, said:
"In reaching our decisions, we have worked closely with those on other complementary initiatives including the review of the Banking Code and, most recently, the Office of Fair Tradings market study into personal bank current account pricing - all of which cover the whole of the UK.
"We would expect both the independent review of the Banking Code and the OFT to consider carefully the implications of our conclusions and decisions for their own work."
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