Competition Commission demands annual statement of charges

by Gill Montia

Story link: Competition Commission demands annual statement of charges

The Competition Commission is proposing that customers of UK banks should receive an annual summary of charges and interest payments.

The commission has completed a two year investigation into whether bank customers in Northern Ireland are being treated fairly.

The review means that by October of this year banks in the province will be obliged to act as follows:

Provide clear information on the levels of charges and interest rates and how and when they are applied.

Provide every customer with an annual summary of the charges they have incurred and of interest paid and received.

Give customers at least 14 days’ notice from the date of their statement before charges and debit interest are deducted from their account.

Remind customers annually of their right to close their account or switch.

Introduce improvements to the switching process, including offering a charge-free and interest-free overdraft facility for at least three months.

Christopher Clarke, chairman of the Competition Commission inquiry group, is hopeful that many of the new criteria for Northern Ireland will be adopted across the rest of the UK, stating: “We would expect both the independent review of the Banking Code and the Office of Fair Trading to consider carefully the implications of our conclusions and decisions for their own work.”