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£12 fine if you forget to tell bank if you've moved
Last updated at 08:52am on 30.04.07
Credit card customers face being fined £12 if they forget to tell their bank about a change of address
Credit card customers face being fined £12 if they forget to tell their bank about a change of address.
The Royal Bank of Scotland, which includes NatWest and Mint, is introducing the fee as finance giants move to impose more "backdoor charges".
The bank claims the fee, applying to more than five million customers, is necessary to cover the cost of tracing those they have not been able to find. But consumer groups believe it is about fuelling profits.
Other new charges, which apply to all RBS, NatWest and Mint credit card customers, include the imposition of high interest rates for buying gift vouchers or placing a bet with a credit card.
In the past, such purchases would be treated as any other, such as groceries or a restaurant meal, which attract interest at an annual rate of 16.9 per cent.
In future, they will be treated the same as a cash advance and attract annual interest of 24.9 per cent.
The moves come as the banks and credit card companies retaliate against a decision by the Office of Fair Trading to cap penalty charges.
Banks have been forced to cut them from around £25 for missing a payment to a maximum of £12.
But they have responded by putting up the interest rates for any cash withdrawals, generally to above 20 per cent, and reduced the interest-free period for shoppers.
The Daily Mail has learned that Morgan Stanley is to impose a £20 annual fee on customers who have its standard black card.
It has also increased the charge it imposes on its 1.5million customers for using the credit cards overseas.
This has risen from 2.75 per cent of the value of any transactionto 3 per cent.
Lloyds TSB has previously announced a £35 annual charge for around 50,000 prudent customers who are light users of their cards and pay off the balance in full every month.
MBNA and the Co-op have also introduced annual fees for some customers.
Eddy Weatherill, of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said: "The changes made by RBS are just one of a series of new stealth charges.
"The banks lost income after being told they must slash their illegal and unfair penalty charges on credit cards, but they are looking to maintain what are obscene levels of profit by pushing up other hidden charges.
"What kind of country are we living in where banks are told to get rid of one rip-off and they simply introduce another one to protect their profits?'
An RBS spokesman defended the charge for failing to tell the bank of a change of address, saying it reflected costs of tracking down customers.
If notified that a customer no longer lived at an address, the bank began the tracing procedure to ensure account details "are not compromised".
She said: "We give clear instructions on each monthly statement on how to contact us to update contact details.
"A fee will be issued after a statement is returned on two occasions, ie at least 30 days and up to 60 days after the customer has moved."
Reader views (4)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Everyone in the UK should choose one bank to target and everyone who banks with that bank should withdraw their custom from that bank and move elsewhere. That bank would then have no UK customers. If the banks realise that customers working together have tremendous power, they might just stop their unethical behaviour.
- Anthony, London
I told Natwest about my new contact details in 1999. They still call my old contact number today so does that mean I can charge them?
- Linda Colvin, London
This seems fair enough to me. At best the customer is exposing his credit card company (and himself) to the risks of fraud and identity theft. At worst he is hoping that his debts don't follow him to his new address. Either way, the card company is going to have to do at least £12 of work dealing with a situation that wouldn't arise with a responsible customer.
- Nigel, London
Surely it is not beyond the capabilites of someone to inform their bank that they have moved. Failure to do so leaves them open to having their credit cards, bank accounts etc. being misused.
If a £12 levy for failure to do so encourages people to keep their bank updated, it seems that it is a good idea.
- Rbs Customer, Aberdeen, Scotland
