Banks criticised over current account charges

Posted 2008-05-8

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds TSB have been criticised for increasing the charges on certain current accounts.

Packaged accounts, which are those most affected by the move, charge flat monthly fees but come with a range of incentives such as free travel insurance.

Lloyds has increased the monthly price for its Gold and Platinum accounts to £12 and £17 respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland has raised the fee for its RBS Royalties Gold and NatWest Advantage accounts to £12.95.

In response to the move, Kevin Mountford, head of moneysupermarket.com, told the Daily Express that free banking could soon become a thing of the past.

"There is a genuine fear that we will see the end of free banking in the UK. Instead we will see pricing structures similar to those in other developed countries - fees aligned to transactions," he said.

Consumers in the US and the majority of Europe have to pay for their banking services.

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