International

European banks should not be forcing customers resident in the European Union who use their bank cards to withdraw money from cashpoints in other EU countries to pay additional charges. So say the rules. Yet the SP has received complaints from a number of Dutch people who have been confronted with transaction costs as high as €5 per withdrawal when doing just that. SP Euro-MP and European Parliamentary group chair Dennis de Jong today raised this with the European Commission. "It's irritating when you've been on holiday in another European country or crossed the border to do some shopping and then when you get home you're hit with this extra charge," says De Jong. "Ordinary people appear in this case once again to be the victims of banks which are evading the rules. the Commission must launch an immediate enquiry into which banks are guilty and then ensure that the practice is stopped without delay."

De Jong offered also to hand over the complaints received by the SP to investigators at the Commission. "The big banks are for the most part not bothered about a few clients complaining," he notes. "But if the Commission turns up on their doorstep and wants to see how many customers have been subject to this treatment they will very likely quickly start to see the error of their ways."