Charges For Financial Products 'Increasing'

Britons are facing more fees than they did last year on
financial products and services such as personal loans,
secured loans, mortgages and credit cards, as well as on
savings and current accounts, according to the latest
research from online comparison service moneysupermarket
The website has found that across five financial products
British consumers now face a combined total of 112 fees, a
number that is slightly higher than the 110 faced at the
same time last year. The areas investigated were mortgages,
loans, savings, current accounts and credit cards, with the
findings of the research dubbed as "galling" by the
managing director of moneysupermarket, Stuart Glendinning.

"It is unbelievable that five financial products can be the
root of so much penalty pain. With so many default fees and
charges in place, even the most astute consumer can fall
foul. People deserve financial penalties to be transparent
and fair from the outset," Mr Glendinning said.

Mortgages were found to be the cause of most problems when
it came to fees and penalty charges, with a total of 51
different fees attached to the products. While exit fees
may have been curbed, moneysupermarket said, fees for
copying documents, charges for changing payment methods and
other ways for banks to make money have been introduced in
their place.

Some 11 different fees and charges are attached to loan
products, according to the website, with personal loans,
secured loans and debt consolidation loans in certain cases
carrying late payment fees or early settlement fees. Unpaid
direct debits or bounced cheques related to loans can set
consumers back about 35 pounds a time too, moneysupermarket
claimed.

Credit cards and overdrafts attached to current accounts,
two further methods of borrowing, also carry fees. While
the Office of Fair Trading has capped credit card fees at
12 pounds, moneysupermarket notes that the number of credit
card charges has risen from 17 to 19, suggesting that the
providers are introducing further fees to replace capped
revenue. Where current accounts are concerned, slipping
over the agreed overdraft limit can result in a charge, as
can having a payment bounced, just two of 27 possible
charges consumers face in relation to their current
accounts.

"A year on and providers are still giving with one hand and
taking with the other. It is understandable that banks want
to make up any profit lost by the clampdown on fees. But we
are seeing sneaky tactics by some providers, who are
renaming charges or introducing a new fee in their place -
a practice that doesn't treat customers fairly," Mr
Glendinning added.

The area that least charges or fees are attached to is
savings accounts, where just four such penalties are
imposed. Withdrawal charges or problems through not
depositing the required monthly funds are two of those
involved, but these are far less in number than those
associated with loans or mortgages especially.

Last month, the managing director of Picture Financial
emphasised the importance of structuring debt in the best
possible way to make payments more manageable, something
that would potentially avoid some of the fees highlighted
by moneysupermarket.

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Abbi Rouse writes for All About Loans. Our visitors are
offered advice and information all about loans, they can
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