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Advice NI invited to give evidence against the

In June 2005 Advice NI ran an eConsultation, on behalf of the General Consumer Council Northern Ireland, seeking people's experiences of charges levied on their personal accounts by the "Big Four" ie the First Trust, Bank of Ireland, Northern and Ulster banks. The eConsultation is now closed but you can still view the messages posted by consumers.

The Big Four banks in the North are being investigated by the Commission following the submission of a successful “super-complaint” to the Office of Fair Trading by Which? and the Consumer Council.

The Commission said that during its Belfast visit on Thursday it would be meeting a wide range of community organisations as well as political parties and local authorities.

Meetings will cover such questions as:

What leads customers to open a personal current account with a particular bank and what leads them to switch banks?

How important are bank changes?

How well-informed are customers about terms and conditions?

How much is the personal current account market changing?

Inquiry chairperson Christopher Clarke said the investigation was looking at whether competition was working effectively in the market for personal current accounts in the North and whether customers were receiving their banking services on competitive terms.

“We’ve already received evidence from the banks and other interested parties.

“This is now an opportunity for us to hear at first hand from groups who represent consumers in Northern Ireland so that they can express any concerns that have been raised with them.”

The Consumer Council launched its campaign against the banks, claiming they were charging customers far more for bank services that their counterparts charged customers in the rest of the UK.

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