Wednesday’s bank charges test case result may well have far reaching effects on those that are sailing close to the ‘red’ sea. With the Supreme Court telling the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that they cannot investgate the fairness of overdraft charges, they also told thousands of financially unsteady account holders to expect more of the same.
In many cases across the country, excessive charges on overdrafts have pushed customers into terrible debt resulting in an order for repossession being initiated. There are stories of individuals going just 70p into an overdraft and being charged nearly £200 after £20 was added every day. The worst bit is, those who are suffering financial hardship can only avoid hefty overdraft charges if the bank decides that it wants to let them off.
