20% of Consumer Borrowers Hit by Penalty Charges
A survey estimates that one in 5 UK borrowers were charged 'penalty' fees in 2005
13th January 2006
A new survey has highlighted the number of people having to pay 'penalty' fees or charges on their borrowing, with around 20% of consumers paying at least one charge over the course of 2005.
The most common reason for charges was missed or late payments on credit card accounts, but charges for unauthorised overdrafts or exceeding the limit were also widespread.
Charges for early repayment of mortgages and loans also featured in the survey.
Altogether, it's estimated that 7.8m people paid a total of £553m in charges last year, with around 5% of people having to stump up £100 or more to pay the fees.
The survey comes following recent news that the Office of Fair Trading is to conduct an investigation into credit card charges after allegations that they were being kept artificially high.
Read More: BBC : One in five hit with penalty fees
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