Banks could charge £2.50 every time we use a cash machine

[joeblow]

Banks could charge £2.50 every time we use a cash machine

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... hines.html

Banks could charge customers to take out money from a cash machine, campaigners fear.

They believe the banks will introduce new 'rip-off' charges if they lose a long-running court battle this week with the Office of Fair Trading.

It could signal the end of the free banking currently enjoyed by millions whose accounts never go into the red.

One possibility is that customers could be charged to use the 39,000 cash machines in the UK that are free at present.

Industry experts believe a levy of up to £2.50 could be imposed per withdrawal.

Another potential outcome is that banks could force customers to pay a monthly fee to bank with them.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court is expected to clear the way for a decision that overdraft charges imposed by banks over many years were unfair.

Banks could be forced to pay refunds totalling more than £10billion to customers hit with extortionate penalty charges.

The consumer group Which? estimates that around 12million people have been hit with bank charges since 2001, but about two-thirds have not asked for their money back.

Eddy Weatherill, from the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said yesterday that banks will always 'profiteer where they can'.

He said: 'Banks think they can charge whatever they like - and get away with it. There is no doubt that they will bring in new fees, or higher existing fees, wherever they can.'

Phil Jones, a personal finance campaigner from Which?, said: 'It is like a balloon. When you push in one part, it comes out in another. The banks are consistently finding sneaky ways to make money out of people.'

Which? pointed to latest figures, from the Bank of England showing the average overdraft rate has hit 18.9 per cent.

See the Which? Britain Needs Better Banks campaign at http://www.bnbb.org.

Last week, Santander, owner of Abbey, introduced a 'fee-free' current account.

The Zero Current Account has no overdraft fees, no charges for bounced payments, no charges for taking out cash overseas and no foreign exchange fees.

But it is only available to those who take out, or already have, a mortgage with the bank or one of its new subsidiaries, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester.

Experts say other banks will follow suit, which will benefit many customers - but freeze out millions more.

Wednesday's judgment is not the end of the battle. It will only dictate whether the Office of Fair Trading has the right to determine what is, and what is not, a fair bank charge.

If the OFT wins, as expected, it will announce its findings early next year.

[memory hole]

Banks win Supreme Court case on overdraft charges

http://news​.bbc.co.uk/1​/hi/business​/8376906.stm