A Bill to prevent excessive charges or fees from being levied on consumers; and for connected purposes
The aim of this Bill is to make provisions which would protect bank customers and other borrowers from excessive charges or fees. The Bill would require that any default charges in a consumer contract with a bank must be 'fair and proportionate'. Specifically, it would limit charges and fees to no more than 2.5 per cent of the actual value of the default or failure per loan or account. This would apply to agreements regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (loans) and bank account overdrafts. The Bill would apply to the whole of the UK.
House of Commons
3 November 2009
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
This bill aims to protect bank customers and other borrowers from excessive charges by regulating default fees. It would cap default charges at 2.5% of the actual value of the default or failure per loan or account, apply to loans regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and to bank overdrafts, and cover the whole UK.
The bill is at the 2nd Reading in the Commons; further parliamentary stages are not detailed in the provided information.
Generated 21 February 2026
29 Apr 2009
This Bill was presented to Parliament on 29 April. This is known as First Reading and there was no debate on the Bill at this stage.
This Bill was on the Order Paper for a Second Reading on several Fridays before being dropped by its sponsor, Mohammad Sarwar.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
