Barclays personal overdraft system 'not making it easier for consumers'

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Barclays personal overdraft system 'not making it easier for consumers'

Thu 14th Aug 2008

Barclays' new Personal Reserve overdraft system is not as clear as it seems, price comparison website moneysupermarket.com has said.

Commenting on the upcoming launch of the new system, a spokesperson for moneysupermarket.com said: "I don't think they are making the system any easier for consumers as the Personal Reserve isn't as clear as Barclays makes out."

The website spokesperson said that if overdraft charges were lower, banks would not need to "resort to confusing 'reserves' and 'buffer zones'" to make changes "more palatable".

It was also noted that the need for a positive opt-out made it hard to gauge if the acceptance rate was due to "customer apathy or confusion".

Barclays has launched a micro site explaining its new system, which starts for millions of customers next week.

The Personal Reserve is described as a "safety net" for a pre-agreed and pre-notified level of funds available beyond the customer's normal borrowing limit.

Andy Harris of Barclays said the new system would bring "certainty, simplicity and transparency".

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