Extra Reserves For Barclays Customers
Barclays bank has been praised for introducing a personal reserve which allows customers to dip into an agreed amount for a fee of £22
Welcomed as setting a precedent in transparent banking, Barclays has created a new facility for customers wishing to exceed their agreed overdraft limit. As of 18 August, Barclays' customers will be able to access the "rersonal reserve" facility, an agreed amount of cash that they can dip into for five days for just over £22.
Payments which go beyond the agreed personal reserve amount will be bounced or, if guaranteed transactions, subjected to an £8 charge for each returned or guaranteed transaction.
The move comes just days after the FOS announced in its annual results, a ten-fold increase in the number of complaints made about bank charges on current accounts.
The Office of Fair Trading has been investigating the fairness of bank charges for more than a year and in a high court ruling this April, Mr Justice Andrew Smith decided that the OFT can rule on the fairness of bank charges, which many customers have been trying to reclaim. However, in a caveat, he said this judgement did not necessarily mean the charges were unfair.
Peter Vicary Smith, chief executive for consumer magazine Which?, welcomed Barclays' overhaul, saying people had been waiting for simple and transparent banking.
He said: "Barclays is going in the right direction. We welcome the reduction in unauthorised overdraft charges and a simplification for customers. It would have addressed a lot of customers' problems if this had happened years ago.
"We are pleased to hear Barclays' commitment to fee-free current accounts, and hope that other banks will follow their lead."