OFT Thinks Bank Charges Are Unfair
For over two years now, there has constantly been some story in the papers, that relates to bank charges. Well the six years of charges that consumers were deemed able to reclaim bank charges back by the Office of Fair Trading, has all come to a head with a test case going to trial at the High Court.
The first stage of the test case has seen OFT being given the opportunity to assess the terms and conditions of the banks, in order to see if they are fair. This is inclusive of all the charges for bouncing cheques, exceeding overdraft limits and direct debits being returned.
Subsequent to this, the OFT has decided that it does feel that the banks have been charging unfair prices. Resultant in no banks being given the all clear, and all of them still being subject to the ongoing process of investigation.
It has also emerged that the OFT has written to all of the banks that are having their terms and conditions assessed, in order to strike up a bit of a dialogue with each of the banks involved, and ease the process of coming to conclusions as to whether charges are fair or unfair. The letters are seen as a way of helping to identify the factors that may be subject to court proceedings.