6 banks break rules, provide information to customers

Metro Bank, Lloyds and NatWest are among six high street banks that have broken rules about the way they provide information to customers prompting action from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
 
The problems range from overcharging for overdrafts at Metro Bank to failure to keep up-to-date records about closed branches and cash points at NatWest. Lloyds had out-of-date information on part of its website about interest rates on overdrafts and also published incorrect service quality rankings. Metro Bank has pledged to refund the customers affected.
 
The CMA said all six were making changes to their operations to comply with the rules, which were set out under an order it made in 2017.
 
The other banks contacted by regulators were Bank of Ireland, which had incorrect information about current account charges; and HSBC, where details about maximum overdraft charges were missing from some places they should have been listed.
 
All six banks have confirmed they are making what the CMA called “operational changes” to prevent further breaches. In the five years the regulator has enforced the rules, more than £47 million has been paid out in refunds to customers due to incorrect information. It is said that some customers will receive refunds after the CMA identified overcharging.