Millions of Britons in the "jungle" of bank overdraft

As revealed by the largest mortgage bank in Britain, Nationwide, millions of customers come without realizing the 'danger zone' overdrafts.

According to the investigation, 37% of holders of bank accounts, are surprised when they discover that they have an overdraft, while one in five have not signed the agreement a bank overdraft, end up spending more money than they have in the account them.

"To make an overdraft without having concluded any agreement can be extremely expensive" , says chief marketing officer of Nationwide, Steve Clode. Specifically, the cost of a £ 500 overdraft, able to rise to 32.30 pounds for someone who has made ​​an agreement , in contrast to 2.73 pounds for someone who has. "None of us can know what unexpected expenses that may occur. Half of the people using overdrafts, while 20% are stable users " , continues Clode.

The Nationwide survey reveals that the bank customers are very aware of the cost and procedure of the overdraft . Seven out of ten Britons have an overdraft, but two thirds do not know anything about the interest rates will have to pay.

Source: tvxs.gr [accessed 5/6/2011] translated with google translate