The latest of banks to come under fire with changes being made to basic bank accounts is Barclays who has tripled their maximum charge per day if there are insufficient funds for direct debits. According to consumer advocates, Consumer Focus, this will make even basic banking inaccessible to increased numbers of people.
At the moment the daily maximum penalty for insufficient funds on direct debits is £8, but the changes Barclays has instituted will bring that maximum up to £24 in the event that three payments are missed within a single day. Consumer Focus noted that these new higher charges have been the direct cause of keeping a number of people from opening a bank account.
As well, the group noted that it will be next to impossible to function in the 21st century in the absence of a bank account and this will create financial problems for those who could least afford to be without at least a basic account. Government is already trying to convince consumers to open bank accounts and these new penalties will make that task even harder.
However, a Barclays’ spokesperson says that they are already the most accessible banking institution in the UK as they are one of the only two banks that offer a basic account to persons who have undischarged bankruptcies. It is the position of Barclays that these new fees will enable the bank to make basic accounts available because it will help in keeping the product “financially sustainable.”
The spokesperson even went as far as saying that these higher fees are the result of research within their own customer base and clients of CAB. Even so, Consumer Focus feels that the most vulnerable consumers are being left with no recourse but to forego a bank account or suffer unusually high penalty fees.
