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Competition and market authority: Personal current account consultation

Citizens Advice Scotland response

CAS responds to the CMA's consultation on whether the personal current account market should be investigated.

In summary our response sets out the following:

  • CAS support the decision to refer the personal current account market for a full investigation by the CMA
  • CAS is concerned that Scotland is the least competitive part of the UK for personal current accounts
  • We reject the view that accounts receiving less than £500 a month can be classed as inactive as this ignores people on very low incomes which can be as low as £230/month or even less
  • Our figures support the findings that there has been a slight increase in complaints regarding current accounts in the last six months
  • The need for access to branches is highly important to consumers but also a barrier for new firms’ entry into the market. The development of local ‘banking centres’ or utilisation of the post office network may provide a solution for rural areas
  • Problems with opening accounts presents the biggest demand for advice at Scottish CAB within personal current account issues
  • While advice on debt relating to overdrafts has fallen this year, issues with default charges relating to overdrafts have risen
  • The current market makes it impossible for consumers to shop around based on the best deal for overdrafts, a new simplified one fee rate should be brought in for all accounts to allow easy comparison
Author
Fraser Sutherland
Publication date
September 2014
Publication type
Policy
Number of pages
9
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