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More than 4 million fear they`ll be made redundant Consumers took on more mortgage debt in July Debts called in by parents Teenagers `scared of debt` Rising household costs could pressure people in debt Pensions debt may impact workers` retirement funds Welsh young adults `at highest risk of debt problems` Over 50s can`t afford to enjoy retirement because of debts Budget: tackling the nation`s debt Short-term debt: `no need for price control` The cost of clearing debt Education debt Tackling the national debt Number of mortgage deals on offer exceeds 3,000 Almost 5 million take on debt to pay household bills OECD: household debt more than 120% of disposable income Petrol price falls help people in debt Amount of mortgage debt taken on at lowest level in ten years Northern Ireland sees significant IVA rise Overdraft debt `becoming more expensive`

OFT welcomes `overdraft transparency`

17/09/2007

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has welcomed a move by one of the major high street banks to provide extra information about overdrafts on their ATM machines.

HSBC announced last week that all its 3,500 ATMs in the UK are to tell current account holders that they are likely to incur a fee if the money they withdraw takes them over the agreed overdraft limit.

The bank`s decision comes after months of wrangling over the level of charges imposed by banks on their customers for going overdrawn on their current accounts. Starting on October 1st, HSBC will not charge an arrangement fee if a customer`s daily requests total £10 or less and will not charge more than one fee per day

A spokesman for the OFT said: "Openness and transparency is always something that we would welcome. Our case is about the level of the charges."

In March 2007, the OFT announced a formal investigation into the fairness of unauthorised overdraft and returned item fees. The outcome of this investigation has not yet been revealed.

More than 4 million fear they`ll be made redundant 16/12/2010 - According to R3`s quarterly personal debt tracker, more than 4 Consumers took on more mortgage debt in July 26/08/2010 - Consumers took on £2bn more mortgage debt than they repaid Debts called in by parents 26/08/2010 - According to research, `the bank of Mum and Dad` is Teenagers `scared of debt` 19/08/2010 - Nearly two thirds of teenagers are `scared` of debt, according