31 July 2007
HSBC figures have revealed the extent of the repayments made to customers charged unreasonable bank fees for going overdrawn.
The bank, which released its quarterly figures yesterday, showed that £116 million was paid back to customer in the past six months; over and above the figure expected by most commentators.
The figures arrive at a pivotal time for customers attempting to recover fees paid to banks, as despite many cases being settled out of court and in favour of the customer, newly-qualified barrister Tom Brennan recently lost his civil action case against the banks when a judge threw it out.
HSBC insisted that the £116.3 million figure does not mean the bank has lost in a battle against the consumer.
"This is an industry-wide issue and the size of the refunds that we have made demonstrate our commitment to treating our customers in a fair and transparent manner," argued Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan.