Ministers call for fairer bank charges
Ministers call for fairer bank charges
Ministers call for fairer bank chargesMany Britons are in high levels of debt and the problem can be made worse when they face bank charges on top of this.
Indeed, some individuals take action in order to reclaim bank charges that they think are excessive or were unfairly administered.
These people may be among those welcoming calls made by two politicians to create a fairer deal for the public.
Consumer minister Edward Davey and financial secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban have launched a joint call for evidence into how individuals can get better treatment at the hands of financial service providers as part of the government's review into consumer credit and personal insolvency.
The call for evidence invites people to make comments on how the current consumer credit and personal insolvency regimes might be improved and it seeks views on a number of the coalition's commitments.
For example, its plans to implement a seven-day cooling off period for store cards and to introduce a power for a regulator to cap interest rates on credit and store cards are two of the issues that will be addressed.
Also, tackling unfair bank charges is another one of the priorities.
Commenting on the topic, Mr Davey said: "Well-informed, empowered consumers are central to our vision for how a credit market between customers and lenders should work.
"I want to encourage both to take responsible decisions and to strengthen protection where necessary, particularly for the most vulnerable. If things go wrong people face a confusing array of debt remedies, so I also want to examine how the existing insolvency regime can be made to work better."
If the planned changes are implemented and serve to the benefit of consumers, fewer people may need to reclaim bank charges in the future. Also, they may be less likely to get into unmanageable debt.