Banks all over the world are in rigorous stress. There are many customers who are not happy with these hidden charges that have been levied upon them in the past years. Earlier people were unaware of the charges that were being levied on them and they would ignore the fact on the basis of the reasoning provided by the bank. Since the clients were not aware of the extra charges and of the terms and policies of the banks they would end up paying whatever amount the bank charged them of. However now the customers are initiating the process to claim back the charges and all this has happened after one of the customers sued a bank for such charges and the concerned bank failed to defend itself in the court. The bank was then ordered to refund back the amount charged from the customer. This news soon became public thus creating awareness among the others about the unfair charges they were being levied upon by the bank. The customers have since then become aware and are now trying to get the same result.
Especially in the UK since the news became public it has led to an investigation of the bank charges levied on the customers by the bank. The OFT or The office of Fair Trading has started the investigation and in the process has asked the credit card companies to reduce the fees that they charge for late payment and the over limit fee that they charge.
In the UK in the court case that took place against the bank the claimant said that it was a non-negotiated contract and hence any kind of bank charges levied by the bank was unlawful. It was said that the terms and conditions followed in case of a bank account was a contract that was non-negotiated. Hence according to the law in case of any financial loss incurred by the bank due to the breach of contract then in that case they can charge the customers. For instance in case of an overdraft, the bank will only charge the client for the letter that they send to the clients. But generally it has been seen that the bank charges approximately £28-£40 for any such breaches. The customers are charged this amount everyday till the time they do not clear the error. This amount often charged is considered to be unlawful.
However it does not mean that the banks are refunding everyone for any charges that they are claiming against. The banks wait for the courts decision before they decide on paying back the customers and in the meantime they continue to charge the other vulnerable clients of these charges. They wait in the hope that many of the court cases filed against them will not go through the entire procedure and the claimant may withdraw the claim thus they not having to pay anything or reduce their charges as could be forced by OFT.
