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Concerning German bank charges (when they bother) From a German friend who works as a manager in the headquarters of German Sparkasse ( a regional savings bank) 'Die Spannbreite für diese Preise liegt bei 5 - 15 Euro, der Durchschnitt liegt bei 10 Euro. Ein Preis von 50 oder mehr Euro hätte keinen Bestand, da ein Aufwand in dieser Höhe mit Sicherheit nicht nachweisbar wäre!' Translated. 'These charges lie in a range of 5-15 euros , an average 10 euros.A fee of 50 Euros (circa £35) would stand no chance because there is no chance of proving that the fee is commensurate with costs' It should be noted , incidentally , that the German banks are in a much more competitive environment than is the case in Britain.Their profits are laughable by British standards not least due to the existence of the regional savings banks who have no shareholders and would never countenance such charges even if the German clearing banks wanted to. Alan Sharples

I don't know how many people know this but in Germany excessive charges are actually explicitly illegal Bank charges have to be in line with the genuine costs incurred.So a bounced check letter ,if they bothered to charge at all, would cost little more than printing,stationary and posting costs.This should be mentioned in the forthcoming courtcase.