Monday 28th April, 2008 

People with debt management and money problems are finding it difficult to financially cope with bank charges on their overdrafts.

The Citizens Advice is campaigning for more clarity about the charging of current account customers for unauthorized overdrafts.

In a High Court ruling, brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the banks are obliged not to issue charges where the terms of the charges are considered unfair by the OFT. However, Citizens Advices would like to see stronger measures being imposed in favour of people with debt management and money problems.

"We see many cases where bank charges have made people's financial difficulties much worse, so we need to see banks sticking to their own code of practice by ensuring they don't impose unreasonable charges on people already in debt," said Teresa Perchard, director of policy at Citizens Advice.

Debtwatchdog would also like to lend its support to Citizens Advice campaign. For too long the banks have been imposing exorbitant charges to customers who can least afford to pay them. Bank charges are a sign to banks that their customers need help with their debt management, not a sign for them to make even more money.

If you are struggling with bank charges or have debt management problems contact us on 0800 970 2698 and we will offer advice on how best to address your debt problem. Don't delay, act now.