Northern Irish bank customers are charged over 21 times more than their mainland counterparts
Precious little choice and inferior products
Big four banks exploit consumers in Northern Ireland
Northern Irish bank customers are charged over 21 times more than their mainland counterparts and, at the moment, there is little customers can do other than switch bank accounts*. These are just some of the findings announced today by Which? as it presented its third super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Amid mounting concerns over the lack of any real competition in the Northern Irish retail banking market, Which?, working with the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (GCC), is making clear its message to the Office of Fair Trading: the market simply does not function in the interests of the people it is intended to serve.
The big four banks in Northern Ireland overcharge customers for virtually every service they offer. Whether it is paying paltry interest for accounts in credit (generally 0.1 per cent) to charging up to 43 pence each time a customer uses a cash point, sometimes even when they are not overdrawn, Northern Irish customers are paying too much.
The difference is even more stark when it comes to overdrafts. Which? research shows the staggering difference between the cost of running overdrafts with one of the Northern Irish banks in comparison to its Best Buys. A customer carrying a £500 authorised overdraft for two weeks per month could pay £11 per year with a Which? Best Buy account. But with a current account from one of the big four Northern Irish banks they could pay up to £236.
Phil Evans, principal policy advisor, Which? said: "Bank customers in Northern Ireland are being ripped off. In addition, the big four in Northern Ireland are all offering similarly inferior products leaving their customers with little choice; indeed a choice between who will rip them off the least."
Speaking at the launch, Steve Costello, Chairman, General Consumer Council said: "In our judgement, the market here plainly does not work for consumers. The banks must do the honourable thing by putting their house in order and removing these excessive and unfair charges. The OFT has the duty to investigate this in detail and answer questions about this market's effectiveness once and for all."
Phil Evans added: "We hope this work and that of the OFT will fundamentally change the market. In the meantime, however, we encourage people to shop around and we are working with the GCC on their forthcoming campaign to give consumers all the information they need to make switching bank accounts easy."
Which? and the GCC recommend that Northern Irish customers shop around for a more competitive account at one of the smaller banks in Northern Ireland or through an online or telephone bank account.
Date published: 11/17/2004 10:10:40 AM
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