8 July 2008
Historic overdraft fees are being looked at by the High Court as it attempts to see if these were fair or not. In April this year, Judge Mr Andrew Justice Smith ruled that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can step in and decide if such charges are reasonable for consumers, news that may concern those with current accounts. Now the court is considering whether contracts taken out in the past can be evaluated under the remit of the OFT's powers, as the previous ruling only relates to existing deals. It is believed that this latest hearing will last for about three days, while the biggest banks in the UK are likely to appeal against the initial ruling at some point this year. The OFT is set to publish a study later in 2008, which will state that the service providers glean £2.5 billion on an annual basis through unauthorised overdraft charges, the Press Association said. And an example charge for people hitting their overdrafts is likely to be highlighted by the watchdog in the same report.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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