Labour leader, Ed Miliband has identified at least six areas for immediate attention in his bid to tackle rip-off Britain, including:
* Savings fees: Pension firms should set out how much they are charging savers to invest their money. Research presented to the Treasury suggests up to 16 fees and levies can be applied toprivate pension schemes. If charges do not fall, Mr Miliband proposes capping total charges for pensions.
*Car-parking charges: Railway companies have dramatically increased the cost of parking at stations, with South Eastern recently hiking costs by 16 percent at 50 stations. The cost of parking should be capped – along with season tickets and other fares.
*Airline levies: Travellers face a wide array of charges from low-cost airlines for baggage, paying with a credit card and even checking in without printing out a boarding pass. These fees would have to be disclosed upfront with the cost of actual travel to avoid consumers being misled when they come to pay for a fare.
* Bank charges: Mr Miliband says his biggest concern is the £2 billion which banks make from unauthorised overdraft fees. He backs plans to give a new consumer watchdog the power to intervene and outlaw excessive fees in the finance sector.
*Consumer helplines: The Labour leader draws attention to the unacceptable practice of people being charged “50p a minute just to complain”.
*Energy companies: Labour have already outlined plans to break up the country’s energy firms and believes transparent pricing to enable proper competition is essential.
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