Current account fees to be probed

The OFT investigation will last six months

Current account charges, such as those for unauthorised overdrafts, are to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Over the next six months, the OFT will probe whether the charges, often in excess of £25, are fair.

In a previous ruling on credit card default charges, the OFT said they should only reflect the costs to the company of the customer defaulting.

The OFT said the same principle may apply to current account charges.

Fairness

In April, the OFT said that credit card default charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a £12 limit.

Since then credit card firms have lowered their credit card default charges towards the £12 threshold.

As a result, the OFT on Thursday said it was "satisfied that no further intervention is warranted in this area at this time and that this change has brought about substantial benefits for consumers."

However, the OFT will now move to investigate current account fees.