Bank charges updates
Bank charge reclaims are currently on hold. Please read the updates below.
Whilst we believe that Bank Charges are unfair and we continue to fight on behalf of consumers in that respect, the withdrawal of the OFT from the court case has been a blow and we don't feel it would be appropriate to continue offering this service until we can be more certain of a positive outcome or without making sure consumers are aware of the increased risk of success. If you would like us to process your claim anyway, please contact us by email on bankcharges@claimsjustice.co.uk.
It would be fair to say that claims can only be backdated to a maximum of 6 years from the date you first submit your claim. So those people not putting their claims in early may lose out on a proportion of their claim and, bearing in mind the length of time the claims process is taking, that could be the equivalent to losing out on reclaiming up to 2 years worth of charges.
However, the OFT's withdrawal does create an increased element of risk on the success of the overall claims, but it will be some time yet before we can establish a unified industry approach on how to take the claims to the next stage. If you have paid a lot in bank charges, you might feel it justified putting in a claim, even in view of the current uncertainty, in order not to lose out in the event that the claims are indeed upheld. This is a choice you will have to make.
We believe that bank charges are unfair.
January 2010
Towards the end of December 2009 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced
" After detailed consideration of the judgment and of the various options available to it, the OFT has concluded that any investigation it were to continue into the fairness of current unarranged overdraft charging terms under the UTCCRs would have a very limited scope and low prospects of success. Given this, it has decided against taking forward such an investigation."
This was disappointing news. Claims Justice, like everyone else involved in the industry, is investigating the Supreme Courts decision which did say that the fairness of bank charges may be assessed under
Regulation 5.
Regardless, this does mean yet another lengthy delay in the claims process for which we can only apologise to consumers for.
December 2009
Bank charge reclaims are still being processed and it is anticipated that the OFT will address the recent ruling by the Supreme Court in due course. Essentially, the case against the banks is far from over, albeit that the recent ruling has been a set back.oubt, this is a disappointing blow to consumers across the country, but it does not mean the fight against unfair charges is over. The ruling did state that the OFT can still assess the fairness of charges, but under different grounds.
At this point in time, we cannot say with any certainty how this will affect claims. We will need to wait until the OFT have made their official announcement.
The sooner your claim is lodged, the earlier your claim will start from when the case is finally ruled upon. Leaving your claim until the case is finalised between the OFT and the Banks means that you could find yourself loosing out on hundreds of pounds of bank charge reclaims simply because they might be too old to claim upon at the time you submit your claim.
We do understand that the recent Supreme Court ruling has thrown some doubt on the matter, however, we still believe that getting claims lodged and establishing the claim date (which in turn will affect how far back you can claim) is important and a worth while exercise for those who have paid a lot in bank charges over the last six years.
For all existing and new clients, we will email you with updates as and when they become available.
If you've not been receiving emails from us updating you on your Bank Charge Reclaim already, then there's a good chance we don't have your email on file. Please complete your details below and we will add your email address to your claim or call us on 08432 89 00 89.
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