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updated following the CMC on 22nd May.
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THE JUDGEMENT
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THE JUDGEMENT
The High Court have ruled that the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 are applicable to overdraft charges.
The banks have previously denied this, so this is a huge step forward towards fairness in bank fees. The Banks, however, will be appealing this Ruling at the court of appeal. This applys to current Terms and Conditions only.
The Judgement regarding the application of the UTCCR 99 regulations to Historical Terms and Basic Accounts will be handed down on 7th July 2008.
The High Court has also ruled that the charges are not a Penalty for a Breach of Contract. This point will not be appealed by the OFT, although currently it applys to current Terms only, it is expected by the OFT, the Banks and the Court that the same will apply to Historic Terms. The declaration on this issue will also be handed down on 7th July 2008.
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PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT CLAIMS
Keep putting your complaints in to the banks and your claims in to the courts. PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT CLAIMS
There is no panic to send in your claim, but as always the earlier the better.
Don't hold off on sending of your Subject Access Request for information or your Preliminary request for a refund.
My claim is currently under a Stay, what will happen now?
Nothing, the stays will remain in place until at least the 7th July, which is when the Judgement on Historical and Basic Account terms will be handed down.
You may receive an offer from the bank for goodwill payments. These are very unlikely to be full offers and we would advise you to reject such 'gestures of goodwill'.
There is no need to amend your Particulars of Claim or write to your bank/the court.
My complaint is on hold by the Bank under the FSA Waiver, what will happen now?
Your complaint will continue to be held in the banks complaints system, until such time as the waiver is lifted. We do continue to advise people to put their claims in at court following the Preliminary and Letter before Action letters. We will be reviewing the Particulars of Claim in the next few days.
My claim is with the Nationwide Building Society, has anything changed ?
The OFT have indicated they do not find any of the terms in current or historic terms and conditions able to be deemed as penalty clauses.
This means that at the moment Nationwide customers with reclaims in the system should continue as before, although we expect the emphasis on claims to change to the fairness of the terms under the UTCCR. There is no need to amend your claim.
We will be working on further information for Nationwide Claimants in the coming days.
Nothing, the stays will remain in place until at least the 7th July, which is when the Judgement on Historical and Basic Account terms will be handed down.
You may receive an offer from the bank for goodwill payments. These are very unlikely to be full offers and we would advise you to reject such 'gestures of goodwill'.
There is no need to amend your Particulars of Claim or write to your bank/the court.
My complaint is on hold by the Bank under the FSA Waiver, what will happen now?
Your complaint will continue to be held in the banks complaints system, until such time as the waiver is lifted. We do continue to advise people to put their claims in at court following the Preliminary and Letter before Action letters. We will be reviewing the Particulars of Claim in the next few days.
My claim is with the Nationwide Building Society, has anything changed ?
The OFT have indicated they do not find any of the terms in current or historic terms and conditions able to be deemed as penalty clauses.
This means that at the moment Nationwide customers with reclaims in the system should continue as before, although we expect the emphasis on claims to change to the fairness of the terms under the UTCCR. There is no need to amend your claim.
We will be working on further information for Nationwide Claimants in the coming days.
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BUSINESS ACCOUNT CLAIMS
Keep putting your complaints in to the banks. We currently advise against entering new Claims into the courts system.
Claims for Business Accounts are unable to rely on Consumer Regulations and have relied on the Penalty Charges aspect. Although the Test case does not look at Business Accounts it is expected the same principles will apply.
We advise holding until at least the Judgement regarding Penaltys in Terms and Conditions on Historic Terms in July.
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CREDIT CARD CLAIMS
Not affected
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MORTGAGE/UTILITIES & OTHERS
Not affected
