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Daily Mail - Barclays staff 'boasted of overcharging clients'
Startling new evidence has emerged about how banks massively overcharge customers who go into the red.
Managers at Barclays boasted to an undercover reporter that bouncing a cheque or stopping a direct debit costs the bank as little £1.50 or £2 to administer.
The revelation comes as hundreds of thousands of bank customers attempt to reclaim "illegal" current account charges of up to £40.
By law, the banks are not allowed to make a profit from these charges, only cover expenses such as sending a letter.
But a reporter for the BBC programme Whistleblower who worked for Barclays heard colleagues admit how customers were hit by charges 15 or 20 times higher than their true cost.
Daily Mail - Crackdown on 'rip-off ' bank overdraft charges
Overdraft Charges could be slashed as fair trading watchdogs finally get tough with the banks.
The Office of Fair Trading wants charges on current accounts to be cut - and possibly capped.
Campaigners challenged the OFT to "get off its knees' and support consumers against the banks" high charges.
The OFT has also been battling banks over the high cost of credit card penalty fees.
It argues charges of £25 are illegal because they amount to an unfair penalty rather than a true reflection of the costs to a bank when a customer overspends.
The OFT will announce its final decision on the card charges within a few weeks.
It has now signalled plans to take the same tough line with high overdraft charges on current accounts. A spokesman said: "We expect charges to be cost-reflective and not to cross subsidise other services and that applies to all bank charges."
Daily Mail - Banks 'play dirty' in row over unfair penalty fees
Banks are using "underhand" tactics to deter customers who challenge them on overdraft charges, a report has claimed.
The consumer group Which? says it has uncovered evidence of a host of dirty tricks employed to stop account-holders pursuing their case.
These include banks threatening to close accounts, passing details on to debt collectors and delaying and charging for statements needed to make a claim.
The Office of Fair Trading is preparing to outlaw excessive fees.
Daily Mail - Banks face mass revolt as customers sue over 'illegal' charges
Tens of thousands of bank customers are preparing to sue the high street giants for the return of millions of pounds in "illegal" penalty charges.
The customers claim that penalty charges of up to £35 for slipping a few pence over an overdraft limit and £39 for a bounced cheque are in flagrant breach of the law.
Under consumer legislation passed seven years ago they are not allowed to charge "disproportionately" high sums and can only cover their costs.
Daily Mail - Crackdown on banks overdraft charges
A crackdown on punishing big bank overdraft charges, which cost the public a staggering £4.6 billion a year, has been signalled.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched an inquiry into rip-off charges of up to £39 a time for busting an overdraft limit or bouncing cheques and direct debits.
Currently, someone can be hit with charges of more than £100 for going just £5 overdrawn and bouncing two payments.
The OFT move is likely to lead to a dramatic cut in the charges - slashing them by as much as half - saving consumers billions of pounds a year.
