Overdraft Charges, the Ball is Now in the High Court

After a serious mess between the customers and the banks, the High Court has finally decided to raise his voice to conclude the test case of applying overdraft charges.

LONDON (FPRC) March 06, 2008 -- Banks have decided to cut down the cost of their customers, who are slipping of paying their liabilities. A test case is in the proceedings, which will decide whether overdraft charges are legal and fair.

According to the financial comparison expert website MoneyExpert.com, the rates for going afar an settled overdraft have fallen by more then 5 percent points in the in the past year. In spite of that, the chief executive Sean Gardner notified that consumers are still being sternly tingled.

"A 20 percent rate is still very high and well above the average standard credit card rate," he said. "Penalties are still severe for what might be just a one-off mistake."

Nine major loan and credit card providers like the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Halifax, Citibank, Yorkshire and Clydesdale, including nationalised Northern Rock -- still charge 29 percent or higher for customers going into the crimson without authorization. Among all these banks, the Ulster Bank is the worst with a rate of 30.5 percent.

The established banks and customers began the court proceedings last July to resolve all disputes. However, the banks are still applying the unauthorised account overdrafts charges. A preliminary hearing at the High Court, which started in January, will decide whether the charges, typically between 24 and 39 pounds for each transaction over and above an authorised overdraft, should be regarded as unfair under consumer contract regulation.

A preliminary court ruling is expected in April or May. If charges are deemed unfair, the OFT is expected to suggest a charge that it considers more appropriate, which the court could consider and potentially rule on before the end of the year.

Until the case is decided, the Financial Services Authority has said all customer claims for refunds are on hold. The court case comes after claims for refunds accelerated sharply early in 2007 amid high profile media coverage, Internet sites explaining the process and anecdotal evidence that banks had been repaying the charges in full.

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