Overdraft Fees – What Does Your Bank Charge?
Ever wondered just what your bank’s overdraft charges are? Here’s a complete rundown of the seven banks that are currently having their case heard at the High Court. Should the Office of Fair Trading be successful in their bid, then this should act as a nice indication of the amounts you could expect to reclaim back.
Here are the fees charged by the banks involved in the High Court case:
• Abbey
If customers of Abbey’s current account go into unathorised overdraft then they will incur a penalty fee of £25 a month. Along with the £25 fee interest on the debt will be charged at 28.7%. Whilst the first £50 is interest free, you will be charged between £5 and £35 for every item that is paid or bounced.
• Barclays
Barclay’s bank account does not charge a fixed penalty fee, but customers will be charged 27.5% interest on the debt. People may also be charged £35 for every payment that bounces on the account along with a £30 charge for every item that is paid whilst the account is over the agreed limit. However the first charge in a 12 month period is refunded and people are only charged for one item a day and for three a month. People also have a £25 fee-free buffer.
• Halifax
If you go into unauthorised overdraft on their high interest current account Halifax will charge you £28 a month with interest at 28.8%. Any paid or bounced items will be charged at £35 each with a maximum of three charges per day.
• Clydesdale Bank/Yorkshire Bank
Clydesdale charges users of it’s current account plus account £25 for going overdrawn, along with interest at 29.99%. Any paid items on the account will be charged at £25 each with bounced payments at £35 each.
Yorkshire Bank charges people with an unauthorised overdraft £25 per month, plus £25 each time the overdraft increases, but otherwise charges on its current account plus are the same as Clydesdale’s.
• HSBC
HSBC bank account charges customers £25 if they go into unauthorised overdraft which is then followed up with a further £25 for each subsequent overdraft request.
The first formal or informal overdraft request in a six month period is free, while no fees are charged if the overdraft is less than £10. The fees will not exceed the amount people are overdrawn by in a month. There is an additional charge of between £10 and £25 for bounced payments but interest is the same whether the overdraft is authorised or unauthorised at 18.8%.
• Lloyds TSB
Users of Lloyds TSB’s Classic Plus account are charged £15 a month for unauthorised overdraft plus a daily charge of between £6 and £20, with a maximum of 10 daily charges per month.
Interest is charged at the same rate as for an authorised overdraft at 18.9%, with bounced items charged at £20 each, with a maximum of three charges per day.
• Nationwide BS
Nationwide BS Flex Account charges an unauthorised overdraft fee of £20 a month, with a paid item fee of £21.50 and a bounced item fee of £30. Interest is charged at 24.9%, although people have a £30 fee-free buffer.
• NatWest/Royal Bank of Scotland
NatWest’s current Plus and RBS’s IPCA account both charge an unauthorised overdraft fee of £28 per month, with a charge of £30 for each paid item, charging for up to three per month. People will be charged £38 for every bounced item, with a maximum of three charges levied each day. Both groups offer a £100 interest-free buffer, after which interest is charged at 29.69% by NatWest and 29.84% by RBS.
