@ Free overdraft? WHAT?
The difference between US and UK banking charges is quite striking.. In the states you have to pay a monthly fee for your current account and you get no interest on the money in there. As you say, you will be charged a fee for as much as speaking the word overdraft to your bank.
In the UK your current account is free and you would expect to get paid interest to keep your money there. Pre-arranged overdrafts don't incur a fee, although they do charge you interest on the amount you owe (and the rate isn't usually that bad either). As an incentive to stay with the bank after graduating, students don't even pay interest on their overdrafts.
Banks in the UK do tend to be a bit evil with charges, but compared to US banks ours are like fluffy kittens that bring you gifts (and nice ones like chocolate, not dead sparrows).
It's amazing thing what having a healthy amount of competition can do...
Also, the customer service from the US bank I used was just as incompetent as I would expect from a UK bank (only ruder).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
