UP TO seven million bank customers face monthly fee hikes of up to 20 per cent on packaged accounts after three high street banks raised their charges.
The changes, introduced by Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and Lloyds TSB came ahead of a possible Office of Fair Trade ruling that could impose a cap on the overdraft charges that banks can levy. Fees on RBS Royalties Gold and NatWest Advantage acco
unts will rise by 95p to £12.95p a month as of 31 May, while Lloyds TSB has already implemented a £2 monthly fee increase on its Gold and Platinum accounts, to £12 and £17 respectively.
All three were part of a recent High Court test case which ruled that the OFT could challenge the overdraft fees levied by banks.
While a hearing set for 22 May will determine the next stage in the test case, experts believe increased packaged account charges hint at the shape of things to come.
"The current account market is going through a lot of changes as a result of the OFT court case," said David Black, principal consultant for banking at financial analyst Defaqto. "If the conclusion is that overdraft charges are too high the OFT could seek to force banks to reduce them.
"If that is the case, banks have to look for other ways of making money."
The full article contains 231 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
