British consumers were faced with some bad news today (Wednesday 25th November, 2009) when British banks won the landmark legal court ruling in favour of unauthorised overdraft bank charges.

The ruling now means that banks can continue to charge customers who go over their pre-agreed overdrafts on their current accounts without permission as much as £35 a time.

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The British Banker’s Association issued a statement saying that they would work with regulators to ensure that outstanding customer complaints are brought to a swift conclusion, but Malcolm Hurlston, Chairman of the debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said that it was a “scandal that the costs of banking fall unfairly on people in debt and the improvident.” He called on banks to charge more transparently.

The OFT test case against unarranged overdraft charges as part of its 2008 market study found that banks earn around a third of their retail revenues from unarranged overdraft charges that are difficult to understand, not transparent, and not subject to effective consumer control.

'Not only does it give banks licence to charge what they like for unauthorised overdrafts,” said Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith. “But it could have ramifications for other areas of personal finance. The banks now have no excuse for introducing other fee charges.”

Adam Phillips, Chairman of the Financial Services Consumer Panel added that if the banks are serious about treating customers fairly, they should realise that it’s not fair to fund their retail banking operations through charging high rates to one section of their customers.”

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The OFT intends to appeal on the decision, plus this ruling does not resolve the millions of cases currently paused with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The Banks have also stated that they will review case-by-case situations where the customer is in financial hardship.

If you have been charged unfairly for overdraft charges you could still claim back your money – it is wise to begin making the claim now so that you can benefit from any future decisions.

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