But his banker has charged him ⅛ per cent. on £617. His glance falls upon the balance forward of £500 2s. 6d., and it at once occurs to him that the manager has charged him thereupon, that, in short, a mere banker’s opening entry has been included in his turn-over. Excited by this discovery, Mr. Jones calls upon his banker, and points out to him, with a touch of Celtic intensity, that he sees no earthly reason why he should pay 12s. 7d. simply because the bank has made an entry of its own in his pass-book. Moreover, with a keen eye for mathematics, he clearly demonstrates that he has already paid commission upon the various transactions which resulted in the said balance; so the manager, adjusting his spectacles, and praying Mr. Jones to moderate his language, allows that, in the hurry of business, a little mistake has occurred. A customer, when checking his charges, should see that he does not pay commission upon opening entries of this description, as, needless to say, they are merely there in order to enable the banker to balance his books, and bear no relation whatever to a client’s turn-over, though they are sometimes added to it. Just referring to the rate of commission, ⅛ per cent. we know, seems too much, so Mr. Jones may be recommended to read Chapter VIII of this book. Lastly, we come to the entry “Postages, 5s.” The manager, during the half-year, writes numerous letters to his customers, sends their pass-books to them through the post, and so on; therefore, in order to reduce his incidental expenses, he debits a few shillings to certain easy-going clients before the books are ruled off, and so as to prevent awkward questions being asked, he includes these small sums with “charges.” Mr. Jones, who has probably not received half a dozen letters from the bank during the half-year, will naturally refuse to pay this imposition. Should a customer not have made arrangements with the manager as to the rates he is to pay, he would ask at what rates his account has been charged, and then proceed to check the banker’s figures in the manner indicated in these pages. Such an entry as “charges” has nothing better than its extreme vagueness to recommend it, and the client, when he finds this word in his pass-book, should, if he experience any difficulty in checking the figures, return it to the manager with the request that he will give him full particulars as to the rates of interest and commission, and also tell him the amount of any additional charge or charges, if there be any. We can now make out a table of the amount Mr. Jones has to reclaim from his banker:-- _Customer’s Calculations._ _Banker’s Calculations._