Five questions on: The wrong bank

The wrong bank? Is this the new Wallace and Gromit movie?

No. It's alarming new research that suggests that you – and millions of others – have the wrong bank account.

Does it really matter? Aren't they all as bad as each other?

It matters because having the wrong account could end up costing you thousands of pounds.

You're exaggerating, aren't you?

No. Here's an example from the research conducted by Which?: going overdrawn without permission and having payments rejected could cost an extra £183 in fees and charges a month with the most expensive account in the survey compared with the cheapest. The most expensive was the Bank of Ireland Clear Account Level 1.

The cheapest – in the example – was the Halifax Reward Current Account. If you went in the red every month that could add up to extra fees and charges of £2,197. That doesn't mean the Halifax account is the best one for you, of course, just the cheapest in that particular example when you have an unauthorised overdraft. In a rather discombobulating move it is one of the most expensive for authorised overdraft charges.

So which is the best account for me?

There's the rub, it's too difficult to find out, says Which? The information that banks make available to customers at the moment doesn't allow people to compare accounts based on their needs.

That sounds unhelpful...

It is, which is why Which? wants George Osborne to use powers he already has to force banks to release data about how consumers use their accounts to help them avoid paying unnecessary fees. "Putting consumers in control should increase competition in the current account market, forcing banks to compete on cost and quality of services," said Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd.