Bank Charges Are Probably Unfair
Britons pursuing cases against their lenders after being hit with high overdraft charges have received a boost, with the news that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has told banks that the fees are probably unfair
The perception held by the OFT has been revealed in a memo which was distributed among senior staff at NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland and has been seen by BBC Online.
The memo read: ''The OFT has written to the test case banks with its preliminary views on the fairness of administration charges terms.
"It has told RBS that it has 'serious concerns' that the terms may be unfair."
OFT members are currently carrying out an investigation into the charges after the High Court ruled that it was within its remit to examine the area in April.
Its probe follows the Financial Ombudsman receiving hundreds of thousands of letters over the last two years from disgruntled consumers who were heavily charged for going overdrawn without authorisation.