Current accounts closure probe

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Some customers who have found their accounts closed after complaining about charges have had their cases referred to the Financial Services Authority.

The referrals have been made by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

After making refunds of account fees and charges, banks have written to some customers giving them notice that their accounts are being closed.

The Ombudsman is concerned that the banks may be treating these account holders unfairly.

David Cresswell of the Financial Ombudsman Service says that it's entirely up to banks to decide who they want as customers.

However, he told Working Lunch: "If the account has been closed just because a customer has complained, that's the area that would most concern the ombudsman".

The referral is believed to involve one bank and one building society, although neither institution has been named.

Unprecedented campaign

Several cases have come to light following the recent increase in customer complaints about bank charges.

Banks and buiding societies have recently faced an unprecedented campaign to refund charges imposed on customers for breaking account rules or going into unauthorised overdraft.

After receiving £500 in refunded charges, Nationwide wrote to Working Lunch viewer Catherine Warrington giving her notice that her FlexAccount was to be closed.

The letter stated: "It is now clear that you are unwilling to conduct your account in accordance with our Flex Account terms and conditions... therefore this letter is notification of our intention to close the above accounts in 32 days time."

Ms Warrington said she was unhappy about the situation.

"It made it seem as if I had done something wrong," she added.

A week after the original letter she received another one from her building society offering her a personal loan.