As with so many things, it all depends what you mean by free banking. For most people in the UK, banks will look after their hard earned cash for free. Rather than stuffing it under the mattress, wandering round with a bulging wallet or investing in historic clocks, you can safely leave sums of money with your bank. What you can’t do is spend money that you haven’t got, and expect to pay nothing for it; that is where the popular myth that banks charge unfairly begins.
It’s important to remember the Dickensian theory of finance; “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
What most people in the UK seem to be attempting to do is live a life in which they spend more than they earn, or spend before they earn. Then they turn round, and claim that the banks charging for such things as un-agreed overdrafts is grossly unfair. Perhaps they should look at the bank’s perspective they are being expected to lend money without any normal checks to people whose spending habits frequently give cause for concern. Then they are told that they shouldn’t be charging for such a service.
As for avoiding charges, there are several things that can be done. Firstly, keep in control of your money. If you pay everything by direct debit, then a lot of money can disappear from your account without your really being aware of it. Pay by check or cash, and suddenly the whole question of how much money you have just spent becomes a whole lot more real. And talk to your bank. If you really need money, ask for an overdraft, rather than wait till a direct debit comes and forces your account into debt. While agreed overdrafts are not free, they are usually on far more favorable terms. Again, those tempting credit card offers are usually not as good as they look. Check the rate, if they offer 0% now then later on, they will probably try to rip you off to make the money back.
To sum up banking in the UK is really free, but do keep in control of your money, or it will cost.