What happened was consumers are taking action against financial institutions for charging them unjustified amount of money each month because they have gone overdrawn. The question here is whether it is justified for consumers to do so.
From the viewpoint of a consumer, those bank charges are merely a rip off from banks and building societies to extort money from consumers.One good example is 'A' who has a current account with 'B'. 'A's account was overdrawn and the bank allowed his or her account to get overdrawn without the account holder's permission. Hence, 'A' incurred a basic charge of £30 per overdrawn transaction every month. Is this legal to charge consumers?
Consumer is asking the banks/building societies the same question all over again. If they are not allowed to have overdraft, how come their account can get overdrawn? If their account can get overdrawn without having an overdraft facility, how come consumers are not being advised of those charges?
From a bank/building society's viewpoint, such charges are necessary to cover their cost. Consumers should have better management in their finances than to ask for any refunds from financial institutions. Where are the cost for them to bear? Are there any cost? Where are the evidence then?
In that programme, there were a few lucky people who got their bank charges back from the respective banks/building societies. The question remains: Is it immoral to charge consumer £20 for going overdrawn or is it justified?
I do remember that HSBC will not charge their customer if their account is overdrawn by £50 at one time. Above that limit, they will be charged for an unauthorised transaction.
Well, there is no one right answer. It is best to always check your account. That is the best.
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