Surcharge standoff continues in the UK

LONDON -- The 34 financial institution members of Link, the U.K.'s national ATM network, voted unanimously to end the double-charging of customers who use a rival bank's ATM from July 1, according to the Times of London.

However, the banks did not abolish disloyalty charges, the fee for using another bank's machine, and reaffirmed their commitment to surcharges for non-customers.

Consumer groups claimed that the new system was confusing. Philip Telford, of the Consumers' Association, was quoted in the Times as saying, "The banks have not opted for one system or the other. We have been told that there will be no double charging for consumers, but that is the only clarification that has been made."

Banks also faced down calls from Stephen Byers, the Trade and Industry Secretary, to pre-notify customers of ATM disloyalty fees and surcharges by this summer. The industry insists that full pre-notification on-screen will not be possible until January 2001.

The Times reported that while many banks are considering a cut in both disloyalty fees and surcharges, most institutions insist that a 30-pence cap proposed by Don Cruickshank in his banking review is too low. They declined to specify the cost of an ATM transaction, but argued that banks with bigger networks faced higher costs.