Bank charges

Seven banks and a building society have been engaged in a High Court test case with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to decide the legality of unauthorised overdraft charges.

The Court issued its judgement on the first stage of the test case on 24 April 2008. Two main points were covered in this initial judgement. Firstly, it allowed the OFT to assess the banks' current terms and conditions for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations (1999). Secondly, the judge found that none of the banks' current terms and conditions were capable of being a penalty under common law – and that they were written in broadly understandable language.

In May 2008 the judge granted the banks permission to appeal his decision on whether the terms could be assessed for fairness. The banks decided to do so and the outcome of this appeal was announced in February 2009. The Court of Appeal held that the banks' charges could be assessed for fairness by the OFT, but granted the banks permission to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.

On 25 November 2009 the Supreme Court announced that the charges in question were not assessable for fairness under Regulation 6 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999). This means the banks have won their appeal and the test case has concluded.

The Supreme Court have decided it is not necessary to make any reference to the European Court of Justice.

As previously agreed with the Financial Ombudsman Service and the FSA, customer complaints relating to unauthorised overdraft charges remained on hold for the duration of the test case. As the test case has now concluded, the FSA has agreed that these complaints should no longer remain on hold.

Please refer to the British Bankers' Association (BBA) or the Financial Services Authority (FSA) websites for further information.

What is happening to customer complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges?

If you have a new complaint about unauthorised overdraft charges it will be handled under our standard complaints process. We have a responsibility to take account of individual circumstances, so if you feel you are experiencing serious financial difficulties please write to us at the following address:

Customer Relations Department, PO Box 600, Binley, Coventry, CV3 9YR.

Can I complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service about my bank charges?

Yes, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) providing you have exhausted the Society's internal complaints procedure.

Where can I find out more?

You can contact us by calling us on 0845 766 5522.

Alternatively, you can find more information through the following links:

The Financial Service Authority: www.fsa.org.uk

The Office of Fair Trading: www.oft.gov.uk

The Financial Ombudsman Service: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk