Financial Services Bill

I have been banking with what is now HSBC since 1964. It is easy for me to say that it has been good to me because I worked for it for a long time, but I know many who feel the same as the hon. Gentleman's mother. They feel not only let down, but much worse. The relationship of understanding, good faith and everything else has completely and utterly gone. As I said, people feel cheated. They have paid out money that they should not have paid out. The fact that it was simply taken from them is also a problem. Back in the so-called good old days, we used to advise people that we were going to charge their accounts on a certain date. If they were terribly upset, they could at least come in to the bank before it happened. Now, people are told after their accounts are charged, which is the wrong way round. Some got refunds, but many did not. Obviously, I support new clause 15, which was tabled by the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love), because it mirrors a proposal I made in Committee. I have reflected on what the Minister said in Committee. Of course, in some respects, he is right that new clause 15 is slightly more widely drawn, but that is not a bad thing, because it would send exactly the right message. It would mean that unfair charges are not sanctioned whatever they are levied by, be it a bank, insurance company or anything else. If charges are inherently unfair, they should not be sanctioned, and if the measure is widely drawn and captures products other than just bank accounts, that is all well and good. I see no reason whatever why we should allow unfair charges. It seems that the OFT has put the white flag up, which means that unless something is done in the House, things are not going to change. As I said in Committee, I suspect that even if we passed new clause 15, it would be unlikely to be retrospective, which I think is sad, because people feel hurt and upset. The banks have got some real fence-mending to do. They must do an awful lot more for those people who feel they have abused their position in charging unfairly—extortionate amounts in some cases. The banks must review that, but we cannot make them do so. New clause 15 would at least put the situation back to what we all understood it was, and to what would appear fair to most reasonable people, which is right. I would like to support some aspects of new clause 9, tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field), who is temporarily not in the Chamber, but unfortunately, it would be completely circumvented by the banks. If they were asked to do what the clause asks them to do, they would circumvent it, so it would be a complete waste of time. However, as the banks are providing a service which is more of a utility now—having a bank account is a necessity in the daily lives of many who would not normally have had one—we must have a clearly understood, basic bank account, perhaps involving a minimum number of cheques or direct debits or whatever, so that people know that as long as they stay within a certain regime, they will not be charged. The account will not be free, but people will not be charged. There is a necessity for that. The terms and conditions of so many accounts these days run to three or four tightly printed pages, which is unnecessary, and we need them to be clear. We could have a much more basic tariff and a clear description of what an account will provide and what charges people would be expected to pay. Finally, the real problem has been unauthorised overdrafts. People will ask, "Why should people who properly look after their accounts, make certain that they do not create an unauthorised overdraft and operate their account perfectly satisfactorily, be penalised or pay charges to cover people who do not have a sense of discipline in the operation of their accounts?" I have some sympathy for that. The banks need to be clear what they are going to charge, but customers must recognise that they have a responsibility for ensuring that their account stays within the tariff or agreement, and that should they go outside that, they leave themselves open to charges.