Consumers 'want unauthorised overdraft charges blocked'

The majority of UK consumers want charges that would take them into an unauthorised overdraft to be blocked by their banks, a poll has revealed.

Conducted by Which?, the research found that nearly half of respondents held this view.

However, the tendency to want such payments to be halted varied according to age, the consumer group found.

While 64 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds wanted their banks to block the charges, 38 per cent of those aged over 45 had a similar preference.

Which? personal finance campaigner Phil Jones stated: "Different people use their current accounts in different ways so banks shouldn't adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to overdraft charges."

He added that he wants banks to respond to consumer desires and to make unauthorised overdrafts available only to those who ask for them.

Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that the Office of Fair Trading - which was established by statute in 1973 - cannot assess whether unauthorised overdraft charges are fair or not.
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01/12/2009 17:18

News category: Consumer

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