4 May 2006
Most people - 93% - think that all cash machines should be free to use claims a poll carried out by Citizens Advice, while 88% say that they would only pay as a last resort.
Maximum charges should be 30p said most, while a minority of 4.3% said that more than 50p would be a fair charge for access to their money.
Almost half of all respondents, 46.3%, claimed that they had been charged without being warned in advance before.
Nearly three quarters, 73.5%, said that additional signs and warnings would help them decide whether or not they would choose to use a machine.
"Consumers clearly think charges for using cash machines are excessive, unfair and on the increase," said Teresa Perchard, Citizens Advice director of policy.
"They hit people on low incomes and those living in deprived areas particularly hard, and this is made worse by recent bank and post office closures, and the move to pay all benefits into accounts.
"We think banks and cash machines should always display clear warnings about when charges will be imposed and how much these will be, and our survey confirms that at the moment this is not always happening," she added.
Currently 23,000 of the 56,000 cash machines in the UK charge a flat rate fee of around £1.75 per transaction, regardless of how much cash is being withdrawn.
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