Banks Should Reduce Charges - Cable

2.12.00pm GMT Mon 14th Jan 2008

Commenting at the start of the court case between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and several high street banks about bank charges, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "Banks are not charities and it is perfectly acceptable for them to levy charges when customers breach the terms of their bank accounts. However, trying to pretend that it costs upwards of £30 to return an unpaid direct debit is laughable.

"As Northern Rock has shown, banks hold an unrivalled position of government protection yet more than any other industry they continue to unashamedly profiteer.

"As has already happened at many small claims courts throughout the country, we can only hope that the High Court finds that these bank charges are indeed illegal.

"Customers must continue to be able to claim back unfair charges from previous years."