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It's that time, every four years the World cup odds come along and we all dream the dream of our country coming up the winners. With England, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Holland all looking strong its anyones world cup bet on who will win. The world cup betting is currently stacked in Spains favour.

Bank charges test case

What is happening?

There is a test case that has started which is being held at the High Court. The reason for the test case is to establish whether or not charges imposed by banks on their customers for exceeding their overdraft and other similiar transaction problems are legal and appropriate. This case will look at whether the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCRs) apply to overdraft charges and the like.

It is seven banks and one building society that have had the declaration by the Office of Fair Trading brought against them. This process could take a month or more including the delivery of a verdict.

The declaration is limited. It will not decide whether the terms, conditions and charges of certain banks are reasonable. It is the Ofice of Fair Trading that will look at all the supplied information, including the ruling on the test case and publish further information on the fairness of bank charges.

This court proceedure started in July when several banks and a consumer watchdog started proceedings so that the issue of bank charges can be resolved. The action of tens of thousands UK bank customer sparked this hearing when they decided to claim refunds for the charges that had been levied against them.

This issue will eventually be resolved ony when the Office of Fair Trade have decided whether or not these bank charges are fair under consumer contract regulation.

So far the banks and building societies have have repaid in excess of £400 million so clearly this is a problem for the banks. It is still the position of the British Bankers' Association that these charges are representative of the costs they incur in providing a decent dervice for customers.

In all likelyhood an initial court ruling should be announced before may 2007. This should prompt the Office of Fair Trading to then suggest what they consider would be a fair charge. At the moment the majority of refunds are on hld pending this test case.


Please send this on to friends and family to help them claim back also.

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