First Direct reworks '£10 charge' current account
22/06/2007
First Direct has announced a reworked set of charges on the current account it announced five months ago, which would charge customers a £10 monthly fee if they do not pay in £1,500 a month.
With the money fee set to come into force from October 1st, the restructured current account allows customers to exceed their agreed overdraft limit once every six months without being charged.
Meanwhile, unauthorised overdraft rates on the account will fall from 19.9 per cent EAR to 12.9 per cent, the same level as rates on the First Direct authorised overdraft.
But Mike Naylor, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com, claimed that making formal overdraft rates the same as informal overdraft rates could prove a "double edged sword", prone to confuse customers.
Customers who expect to pay £1,500 into their account every month will avoid the £10 monthly fee announced earlier this year.
But Mr Naylor suggested that if customers cannot avoid the new charges, they should consider "switching away to a provider that charges lower overdraft rates and no fees".
First Direct was named earlier this week as one of a select few banks, alongside Halifax, offering customers a £100 cash incentive to switch.
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