NI banks criticised by UK consumer magazine

Northern Ireland consumers have been urged to shop around for banking products after a consumer magazine criticised local banks for overcharging customers.

The call was made by the General Consumers Council after UK consumer magazine, Which? claimed that Northern Ireland's four big banks, Ulster Bank, First Trust, Northern and Bank of Ireland, were "ripping off" its customers.

Comparing the banks to the rest of the UK, Which? said that most banks have now scrapped fees and charges on overdrafts - all customers pay is interest – but in Northern Ireland customers who go into the red once a quarter can expect to pay about £180 annually in charges with the Ulster, Bank of Ireland and First Trust.

A spokesperson for the Council said that while there "is a lot of competition in the market" consumers could do much better.

"The Consumer Council is calling on the local banks to be responsible and work hard to make banking accessible to all of Northern Ireland consumers.

"They could start by scrapping these charges in line with their counterparts in Great Britain and advertising the existence of the new low cost basic bank accounts," the spokesperson added.

However, local banks hit back by claiming that the report cases represented "worst case scenarios".

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