Bank charges stump maths PhD student

HIGH street banks have been accused of using overdraft penalty charges so baffling that not even a maths PhD student can work them out.

Which? asked a group of volunteers to compare how much eight different banks would charge if they exceeded their authorised overdraft limit.

They found a maths PhD student among the group struggled to work out the costs, with no-one getting all the calculations right.

According to the consumer organisation, unauthorised overdraft fees are so hard to calculate and compare because of a “myriad of complex rules and additional fees”.

Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “It’s extremely disappointing to find that bank charges are still too high, too complex and impossible to compare.”

The charity called for the Financial Conduct Authority, a new regulator expected to be in place by the end of the year, to halt “unfair” overdraft charges.