8m more bank account claims expected
23 November 2009 11:40:59
 |
| Bank account providers await a Supreme Court decision. |
The organisation claimed, in a new report released today (November 23rd), that bank account providers could face around 8m more customer claims for compensation if Wednesday's decision goes against them.
This is based on an estimate that around 12 million Britons have been charged some form of penalty fee by banks since 2001 and that 63% of this group has yet to claim a refund on the charges.
Financial services firms are currently contesting the right of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to decide on the fairness of the charges, which are levied on customers for offences such as exceeding overdraft limits.
A test case on the matter was called in mid-2007 and all bank charges claims made since have been suspended pending the verdict.
The OFT could recommend that all charges were excessively high and must be repaid, if empowered to do so by the Supreme Court.
Phil Jones, a Which? personal finance campaigner, said: "The banks could find themselves staring down the barrel at millions of fresh claims.
"This is in addition to the huge backlog that's already built up since the [test case] waiver was put in place."
A Which? poll also found that 41% of customer claimants are planning to use bank charge compensation to pay down their existing bills and debts.
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