Court Case finally begins!

The court case between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the high street banks started on 14th January 2008.

Initially the OFT is asking the court to decide whether or not it can challenge the banks using the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. This legislation includes guidance that bank charges must not be a punishment to the customer and must only reflect the true cost of administration.

The hearing is due to last around a week with the verdict possibly being delivered sometime in March.

If this is successful the OFT will then seek to set a fair charge which reflects how much it actually costs the banks to administer unauthorised overdrafts, unpaid direct debits etc. This will then form the basis of all of your complaints.

At the moment it is unclear when all of this activity will end. It is likely that which ever side loses will appeal the decision and therefore prolong any final outcome.

However, the Financial Services Authority (who allowed the banks to suspend any bank charge complaints) have advised that they will revisit the suspension over the next couple of months to ensure that the banks are meeting all of the conditions set down. If they decide that the banks are not doing so they could lift the suspension and we can progress cases once more.

We will ensure that our website will be updated with any further developments.

Please note the above does not include business accounts or credit cards. These are being actioned as normal. For more info about 'Business' bank charges click here.

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  • We are a professional team with many years experience in the service industry. We pride ourselves in giving our customers sound advice and providing them with a first class personal service.

  • We operate a balanced approach to recovering your penalty charges. Whilst we are extremely firm with all companies or organisations that may owe our customers money, we also seek to maintain good relations between all parties. We believe a fair result is one where all parties involved can continue with a good relationship even after a claim has been settled.

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