It is getting easier and quicker to move accounts to get a better deal. These accounts have the highest ongoing interest-free overdrafts from free in-credit current accounts. Most require you to pay in a certain amount every month, so check the small print.

There's an oft-quoted statistic among British banks that people are three times more likely to get divorced than to change current accounts. Whether that is true or not, it is certainly the case that many of us find that breaking up is hard to do when it comes to switching all of our direct debits and hard-learnt account numbers and PINs to another provider.

MPs have just noticed this too. The Treasury Select Committee published a report over the weekend complaining that customers are being ripped off by the big banks, and are finding it too difficult to switch their accounts to rivals.

Andrew Tyrie, the irate committee chairman, also had a pop at the banks' claims to offer free banking. "So-called free banking is not free because customers pay charges, such as overdraft fees, or lose interest due to poor rates."

Despite our inertia, statistics show that many of us are unhappy with our banks. Complaints about them are running at almost 10,000 a day according to the Financial Services Authority. Mr Tyrie, Conservative MP for Chichester, said that he "received much evidence about low levels of consumer satisfaction and poor treatment of consumers by the major banks".

Now for the good news. David Black, of financial statisticians Defaqto, says that it is a great time to change bank accounts. "There are lots of pretty impressive introductory offers out there at the moment, and people can really do well out of switching. However, you need to"........Read more HERE