Bank charge test case to begin
Posted on 14 January 2008 by
A High Court test case between banks and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is set to begin this week.
The case is an attempt to settle the overdraft charges dispute between banks and consumers, which last year resulted in thousands of small claims cases in the county courts.
Consumers, often taking advice from groups such as PenaltyCharges, have argued that fees levied by banks for exceeding an agreed overdraft constitute a penalty, which is illegal. However, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) maintains that the fees are fair, and legal because they are charged for a service.
Seven High Street banks and the Nationwide building society, between them accounting for around 90% of personal accounts in the UK, have agreed to the case.
The OFT will not initially be asking the court to rule that the charges are unfair, only to confirm that they are subject to the 1999 Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, which would give the OFT power to regulate them.
Should the court rule against the banks they may lose significant amounts of income, calculated by the OFT to be £10 million a day. They may also have to refund charges dating back up to six years. It is widely thought that such an outcome will lead to the end of free banking in the UK.
The hearing begins on Wednesday 16 January.
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