Bank charges court case continues
25 June 2009
The legal battle that could force banks to pay back billions of pounds to customers reached the House of Lords yesterday.
The three-day hearing will look into an appeal by seven major lenders against a previous ruling that overdraft charges were subject to consumer contract law, and as such could be regulated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Banks have been accused of charging excessive amounts to people who exceed their agreed overdraft limits. Earlier during the case, many banks lowered their overdraft charges voluntarily, but they may still be instructed to pay back previous charges if the ruling goes against them.
If the ruling does go against the banks, the OFT will estimate a `fair` overdraft charge, which could then be used to calculate the amount of compensation owed to customers, according to The Telegraph.
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Tags: bank, charges, bank charges
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