Clegg pledges to stop 'rip offs'
Nick Clegg pledged to stop consumers being "ripped off" as he sought to position the Liberal Democrats as the party of fairness.
Under his plans, banks would be banned from imposing excessive penalty charges for going overdrawn and the interest rates on credit cards would be capped.
The wide-ranging plans to boost the power of consumers would also force low-cost airlines to disclose the full cost of flights up front and ban private wheel-clamping firms.
Mr Clegg said: "Consumers still get a seriously raw deal in this country. We have still got far too many vested interests in the business world who are ripping people off."
Mr Clegg said he had experience of using low-cost airlines to visit his wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez's family in Spain.
"You go on the internet and think 'woah, great I'll get to the in-laws in Spain for 20 quid'. Before you know it I'm set back by 800 quid."
A Lib Dem government would legislate to end unfair charges after Mr Clegg said he had been appalled by horror stories of their effects.
He told an audience of elderly residents of an accommodation complex in Cardiff that one woman with an autistic son was faced with a bank charge of £3,000 for going overdrawn.
The Lib Dem manifesto for consumers promises cuts in rail prices and alterations to the charging process for energy so that the first units used are the cheapest.
They would also introduce mandatory social tariffs for people on means-tested benefits and roll out smart meters faster than planned by the Government. Social tariffs would also be used to alleviate water poverty, with smart meters introduced in some areas.
