By Elliot Wright, 17th December 2009
Consumers are being warned that Christmas may bring the unwanted
gift of unauthorised overdraft charges if they do not keep track of
their festive spending.
With salaries being paid early by employers, and spending going
into overdrive thanks to presents and parties, Andrew Hagger, of
Moneynet.co.uk, is urging consumers to monitor their current
accounts as the Christmas season takes its toll on their
finances.
Mr Hagger said: "It's easy to lose track of your finances over
Christmas.
Overspending at Christmas could potentially
result in over £150 of bank overdraft charges.
"Failure to check the state of your current account and adopting
a worry about it later attitude could see you run out of cash and
faced with some hefty overdraft charges early in the New Year."
According to Moneynet.co.uk research, overspending at Christmas
could potentially result in over £150 of bank overdraft charges in
January, but Mr Hagger added that overdraft charges can easily be
avoided if an authorised overdraft is set up.
"Authorised overdrafts can usually be arranged very quickly
either online, by telephone or popping into your local branch," he
said.
"Once you've got your limit arranged, make sure you check your
account on a regular basis - there's no excuse not to do this these
days with the information available 24x7 online or via a cash point
machine."
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