Mr. Bernard Sheridan:

The Chairman is right. We require customers to be notified in advance of any increases in charges. For example, in the case of small businesses the banks generally give ten or 14 days advance notice and before the actual charge is made they are notified before the charge is taken out of the account. The challenge for retail banks is the large number of customers and whether they notify them individually or publicly. What they have been doing today is notifying them publicly of the changes in the charges. There are requirements in the code and under the payment services regulations. There is much useful information on the National Consumer Agency website on the actual charges being imposed. On the issue of advance notice, to date we have said one must publicise these increases in charges.