High Court Test Case News

On 8th April 2008 the High Court ruled that the 'Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations' DO apply to bank charges. In simple terms it means that bank charges DO have to pass a fairness test and cannot be seen to be disproportionate in size to the actual costs incurred. Although Mr Justice Smith didn't go as far as to recommend that these charges were 'penalties in disguise' it is nevertheless great news for claimers.

The full judgement can be downloaded at the judiciary website. (PDF, 547 KB)

In May 2008 the banks were given leave to appeal the decision with a hearing set for July but that hearing was postponed at the request of the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) and is now likely to be November of this year.

The claims 'waiver' expired in July 2008 so the FSA extended it 6 months until 26th January 2009 a clear indication that they believe November's hearing will be definitive.

This is even more of an incentive to stake your claim now and beat the rush of people who are waiting to hear the outcome on the news.

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