FSA ends bank charges claims hold

This comes after the banks today won their test case appeal on charges in the Supreme Court, which means the Office of Fair Trading does not currently have the power to assess fees for fairness (full details in the Bank charges Q&A: Door reopened for reclaimers? MSE News Story.

It is still not clear whether new claims are likely to succeed.

The FSA says in a statement:

"In light of the Supreme Court's judgment today in the bank charges test case the Financial Services Authority can confirm that its waiver has now lapsed.

"The waiver was granted during the test case so that firms did not have to deal with complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges in the eight-week-period required under FSA rules while the outcome of the court case remained unclear.

"Firms can now resume processing consumers' complaints in accordance with the FSA's complaint handling rules."

Court cases

Meanwhile, it has yet to be decided whether the hold on all cases in the courts will be lifted. The Judicial office says each complainant, for now, will have to apply individually for their case to be heard.

Further reading/Key links

Full reclaiming guide inc. free template letters: Bank Charges Hardship reclaiming guide inc. free templates: Bank Charges Hardship Official Judgment: Supreme Court Party leader letters to MSE: Brown, Cameron and Clegg