Office of Fair Trading Throws in the Towel on Bank Charges
In a decision that?s sent ripples through the consumer finance world and marks the effective end of nearly half a decade of fighting with the banks over overdraft charges that many claimed were unfair, the Office of Fair Trading has officially given up the fight against banks, following the high court ruling that the charges lawful and that consumer would have to pay.
The bank charges debate is one that has been raging for many years and while many consumers managed to take advantage of the numerous court cases and legal battles to claim back their overdraft charges while the banks were scared to set a precedent, it seems like those days are over now and if you have any outstanding bank charges or past debt from overdraft fees – you?re stuck, at least for now.
Consumers who are in hardship are still able to direct complaints toward the Financial Ombudsman Service while the OFT have stated that their decision doesn’t rule out the ability for consumers to take direct personal legal action against the banks.
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the OFT said:
“Having considered in detail all the options available to us in light of the judgment, we have decided not to continue what would be a narrow investigation with limited prospects of success.”
It’s unlikely that the battle between consumers and the banks is yet over, with many sites such as MoneySavingExpert pushing consumers to fight for their rights and start new legal avenues with the banks over the fees. However, the one million odd claims for overdraft fees that have been on hold for nearly a year are now all likely to be rejected unless given a chance to change their claims or are in direct hardship.
There’s still a chance for those who can prove that the bank charges caused continued hardship especially in cases where the charges were disproportionate, which is good news for those wanting to challenge the banks as individuals. For now though, the bank battle has lost the punching power of the biggest consumer groups in the country so any wide scale positive legal result seems wholly unlikely in the near future.