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Dom Littlewood looked at the current state of play regarding bank customers reclaiming their overdraft charges.

In 2007, customers complaining about unauthorised overdraft charges being unfair were often given goodwill settlements by the banks in order to stop cases going to court.

The brought a test case against the banks in July 2007 to get a legal ruling over the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges (this includes unpaid direct debits and cheques).

So far, all that has happened is that the High Court decided that it was within the OFT's rights to consider the fairness of bank charges under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, and the banks then appealed that ruling.

The appeal finished in November 2008. The OFT expects the result of the appeal imminently, but there is not a definite date.

If the ruling goes against the banks again, they still have the right to appeal to the Law Lords, and after that, the European courts - so it could rumble on for years without claims being dealt with.

Can you still claim?
All claims have been put on hold until the court cases and investigation are finished. It is estimated that there are currently 750,000 claims on hold, with £1 billion at stake.

But Dom believes it is still worth writing a letter to your bank starting the reclaiming process, as you'll be in the queue, the banks will be obliged to keep you updated on how the court proceedings are going, and it may protect you from missing out if for any reason payouts start and then stop again before they get to your claim.

You can . And there's also more from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ site on how to claim back penalty charges . See also a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News Q&A on the .Ìý

For more information on the test cases see:

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