The next phase of the test case between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and a number of UK banks is due to start today in the House of Lords.

A number of Law Lords are due to meet in the House of Lords today to hear an appeal made by the UK’s main banks against a decision that was made by the Appeal Court in February this year.

The decision made by the Appeal Court ascertained that bank charges for unauthorised overdrafts can be governed by fairness rules which could see a maximum fee applied, and could result in the banks repaying millions of claims that are currently on hold. However, the House of Lords decided that the banks could appeal this decision.

The bank charges test case has been an ongoing saga for the last two years now, and a final decision on fairness rules is much anticipated.

Commenting, Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “It’s disappointing that nearly two years since this saga began, little has changed for the millions of consumers being hit with these charges.”

However, the banks insist that their charges are fair and perfectly legal, much to the dismay of the estimated one million customers whose claims are on hold.

Despite, the ongoing battle, consumers are urged to continue to make their bank charges claims, Bradley Askew, managing director at specialist claims company Claims Financial adds:”We continue to encourage consumers to lodge their bank charges complaints, and remain confident that the House of Lords will do the right thing.”

Find out more about reclaiming bank charges »

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