All the information you need on the bank charges court case
By Luke Culverwell -
Barrister
1. OVERVIEW
The OFT said:
"Overdraft fees are unfair terms because the fees charged are
excessive."
The Banks said:
"Overdraft fees are part of the price you pay for your current
account, and the law says that you can't argue that a term is
unfair just because it doesn't provide value for money - no-one
would be able to make a profit on anything if that were the
case."
The OFT said:
"Overdraft fees are peripheral charges - they aren't a price
paid in exchange for a service."
The Court
said:
"Overdraft fees are a price paid in exchange for a service. You
can't argue that that they are unfair because they are excessive
but you can still argue that they are unfair on
some other ground."
Possible routes forward are discussed on the following pages,
but the options open to us will depend on how eager the banks are
to prevent challenges on other grounds by settling on a case by
case basis, and how much appetite the OFT has for another
protracted legal battle or investigation.
Claims Financial
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Mr R Evans 11 Nov 2010