Office Of Fair Trading Test Case

[dori2o]

The announcement refers to Unauthorised overdraft fees, what about bounced DD fee's?

[tifo]

on channel 4 the banking representive specified that thiS action was for Unfair overdraft fees NOT PENALTY CHARGES

 

what's the difference?

 

when we don't have enough money in our account and go OVERDRAWN they make a charge (i see the point that the charge is for returning the payment and not going overdrawn).

 

what exactly are unfair overdraft fees and why does this not apply to charges?

[noomill060]

on channel 4 the banking representive specified that thiS action was

for Unfair overdraft fees NOT PENALTY CHARGES

 

 

He would, wouldnt he?

 

Penalty charges are unlawful...

[Amanda Taylor]

Has anyone else seen martin Lewis on Channel 5 News,Bank Charges Claims Suspended as from Tomorrow????

[HONESTKNOB]

Just seen the Ch4 programme too...... Do we all have to stop claiming now for anything up to 2 years??

[dokie]

just watched channel 4 news ...apparently all court claims for bank charges are suspended while OFT LAUNCH HIGH COURT TEST CASE.

Is this true ??

[david1961]

thats it then we are all doomed and i have wasted loads of my time not to mention the court fees

[noomill060]

Looks like it, but assuming the banks lose, you'll get another 2 years contractual interest.

[dori2o]

The announcement refers to Unauthorised overdraft fees, what about bounced DD fee's?

 

Anyone?

 

Also, did anyone else notice that despite the BBA woman stating they wanted to ensure consumers would get their say, the actual process will have NO consumer input.

[tomterm8]

The most interesting thing about this is what the case DOESN'T cover. it covers the UTCCR and common law arguments that current cases rely on. it DOESN'T cover the unfair relationship terms of CCA 2006.

 

In effect, if the banks win, the result of the case will be void before the high court reaches its verdict.

[tifo]

Penalty charges are unlawful...

 

so our claims for refund of charges for returned payments are OK .... yet?

 

people are getting confused, we need clarification.

[Enron]

Martin Lewis was present to respond to the woman who was present from the banking ombudsman.

 

Interestingly, he said that unless the banks refunded all penalty charges automatically as a result of this case then the OFT and FSA may have helped the banks in halting all claims until the test case is over.

[Yanni]

Just received an email from FOS - everyone claiming should read the this OFT and banks etc going to High Court - see link

 

FAQs complaints about bank charges

 

Below is text of email

 

 

ombudsman agrees that High Court "test case" is necessary - to settle legal uncertainty on unauthorised overdraft charges

26 July 2007

In light of the agreement announced today between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and a number of representative banks - to take a "test case" to the High Court about unauthorised overdraft charges - the ombudsman service has confirmed it will put on hold its own work on complaints about these charges, pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.

The law is one of the issues that the ombudsman has to take into account when making decisions on individual cases - and this important "test case" involving OFT and the banks is expected to give vital clarity on the key issues of law involved in disputes about unauthorised overdraft charges.

Responding to the news about the proposed High Court "test case", Tony Boorman, principal ombudsman, said today:

• "This year the ombudsman service has been dealing with tens of thousands of enquiries and complaints about bank charges - and county courts across the UK have similarly been coping with significant volumes of bank-charge claims."
  "In the cases that the ombudsman service has settled so far, all disputed unauthorised overdraft charges have been repaid - but on a voluntary "goodwill" basis, without the ombudsman reaching the stage of investigating the merits of the legal issues. Meanwhile, cases heard in the county courts have so far resulted in a range of outcomes - with inconsistent and unpredictable judgments and no clear legal precedent being set."
  "So it's in the interests of everyone involved - consumers with current accounts, the courts, the banks and other current-account providers - that the High Court "test case" announced today should settle the legal uncertainties relating to the level, fairness and lawfulness of unauthorised overdraft charges."
  "We agree that it's also in the general interest for the ombudsman service to suspend its own work on complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges, while waiting for the High Court to make a decision on the significant legal issues involved."

It is expected that the decision by the ombudsman service to suspend further work on complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges will be reflected by a similar response by the county courts. For the county courts and the ombudsman service, the High Court "test case" should mean that very significant volumes of cases can be managed in a fair, cost-effective and orderly way. The ombudsman service's decision to put complaints on hold - while the key legal questions are answered - does not affect consumers' ability to bring complaints to the ombudsman about other banking-related problems, including financial difficulty or hardship.

To help with the fair and orderly management of consumer complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced today that banks and other current-account providers can also put cases on hold, pending the "test case" decision. Once the law has been clarified, it should then be possible for these cases to be settled in line with what the High Court decides.

There is more information about how today's "test case" announcement affects complaints to the ombudsman service in the ombudsman's consumer factsheet on unauthorised overdraft charges:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/faq/bank-charges.html

[lol114]

Hi all

 

This is a bolt out of the blue, this has not been hinted at all, and I find it all highly suspicious.

 

I guess we wait.

 

Linda

[malaga1]

the OFT website says current claims will be up to the courts. But the banks will be granted a waiver so they do not have to answer to any more complaints now

[eileen58]

Hi Amanda,

I missed the start of the program, but just seen the part on channel 4 news with Martin Lewis who is absolutely fuming. What did they actually say.

Eileen

[tifo]

In effect, if the banks win, the result of the case will be void before the high court reaches its verdict.

 

How so?

[noomill060]

Wonder if this works the other way- if they are taking legal action against someone when the debt includes a stack of unlawful charges?

 

It would really pee on the debt collector's collective bonfire if this could be used to force them to hang fire until after the test case....

[noomill060]

Yes, of course, this takes the heat out of the situation and relieves the Courts of thousands of pesky claimants.

 

By the time the test case is over, all the steam will have gone out of this campaign and the financial establishment will have had the use of our money for a further two years.

 

Very convienient.

[IrishRover]

I had a letter dated 19th July to say there to repay me 244 pounds in full and final settlement of my complaint and they will send me a cheque within 10 working days.

 

Does this mean I won't now get the cheque and it goes on hold

[sanddancer]

True ...but the waiver only applies to the banks involved in the test case .

[Guest Wild Billy]

If we can't get payouts, doesn't it stand to reason that banks shouldn't collect "penalties" during this period either?

[greendykes]

So listening to the programme and reading above I think this means.

1. Any claims relating to overdrafts will be held up

2. Any claims relating to credit card penalty charges will still be processed including bank credit cards!

3. Any penalty charges made by the bank on your bank account can still be claimed! Thought this is a tough one because it usually means you have went over your overdraft.

 

Advice required I think.

[noomill060]

No tifo- the term "penalty charges" apply to any charge you get for not running your account "properly"

[chezclarke]

Ive got my court date on the 6th of August, Ive filed my court bundles and everything...do you think that barclays will say naff off and wait until after the test case or what, I dont fancy waiting much longer now, its been over 6 months as it is!! My friend won the other day from barclays and got her full amount back..seems abit wierd that they would pay up until suddenly (when hardly anyone has heard a thing about it) they decide to suspend all refunds? Surely the judge would say eh hem cough up?