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UK: 50,000 READY TO SUE THEIR BANKS OVER BIG CHARGES December 1, 2006
Bonny Apunyu
(SomaliNet) Over 50, 000 bank customers in the United Kingdom (UK) are ready to sue the high street giants for the return of millions of pounds in "illegal" penalty charges.
The customers claim that penalty charges of up to £35 for slipping a few pence over an overdraft limit and £39 for a bounced cheque are in flagrant breach of the law.
Under consumer legislation passed seven years ago banks are not allowed to charge "disproportionately" high sums and can cover only their costs. The extraordinary revolt has already forced the banks to hand back millions.
However, the cases have only started to hit the banks in large numbers in the past six months. So far the biggest successful claim is thought to be £17,000 but the average is about £1,000.
The banks are not known to have contested any case in court - leading to claims that they are "running scared" of the implications of a judgment going against them.
According to Martin Lewis, founder of the moneysavingexpert.com website, "This is a grassroots consumer revolution. It is hugely important to give the banks a bloody nose over this. They think they can get away with acting unlawfully and they cannot."
A total of 50,000 templates for a claim letter to a bank were downloaded from the website last week alone. Rising charges are one of the biggest complaints of customers. The charges are being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.
Making a claim takes about two months and a £80 court fee is returned if the claim is successful or undefended.