It's nice to know the power of the consumer is not dying in this increasingly impersonal age.

Plans by some of Britain's banks to double-charge customers withdrawing money from cash machines other than their own look set to be withdrawn following a furore from customers and lobby groups. The banks were looking to charge customers of other banks for using their machines on top of existing disloyalty charges on their own customers for using the machines of rival financial institutions.

The consumer campaign was backed by regulators and, following a meeting with the British Trade and Industry Secretary, Stephen Byers, the banks admitted defeat.