Banks lock horns over charges next week

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http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/campaig...in_page_id=507

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Re: Banks lock horns over charges next week

The eight High Street banks at the centre of the bank charges battle will lock horns with the Office of Fair Trading again next Thursday when they meet at the High Court.


The two-day case conference will see the banks state whether they want to appeal the judge's recent decision, which ruled that the terms and conditions on overdraft accounts can be assessed for fairness by the OFT. If the banks appeal, the case could be held up for several weeks. However, if they cede defeat on the recent ruling, the case will move on to assessing the fairness of the actual charges themselves under the industry's Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCR).

A spokeswoman for the BBA said that the banks had yet to decide whether to appeal the case, and the two-day debate would involve clarifying many of the technical issues relating to the judge's earlier pronouncement.
Unsurprisingly for such a complex case, the banks will not be able to appeal the entire judgment wholesale, but only individual clauses they disagree with.
It is also believed the judge will provide both sides with a roadmap for the future of the case outlining when major hearings will take place.
It is the next significant step in the legal battle over the fairness of unauthorized overdraft fees, which in some cases have been as high as £39, and generate over £3.5bn in annual profits for banks.
Bank charge campaigners welcomed the possibly that the banking industry may forgo an appeal, which would otherwise hold up the progression of the case for several weeks.

Marc Gander, from the charges campaign organisation Consumer Action Group, said: 'So far, the judge has said that these charges come within the consumer regulations. If the banks do not appeal, then the whole thing can move onto the central argument of whether the charges themselves are fair.'
If the banks do not appeal, the OFT will be able to begin its overview immediately, which it is expected to deliver in July. The case will then go on to another High Court hearing that may propel proceedings into 2009.
In its case against the banks, the OFT argued that unauthorised overdraft charges were not simply a fee for a service integral to an account, as the banks claimed, but a system that encouraged people to spend money they should not have access to while allowing banks to profit.