The Court of Appeal yesterday rejected the banks" appeal against an earlier ruling on unauthorised overdraft charges.
The eight banks had been appealing against an earlier decision that these charges are assessable for fairness by the Office of Fair Trading. The charges can frequently amount to almost £40 for every unauthorised transaction.
However, the banks have now sought permission to take their case to the House of Lords - the final stop for appeals in this country. The British Bankers Association stated: "The banks continue to believe that the regulations do not apply to these type [sic] of charges."
The courts have not yet ruled that overdraft charges are excessive or unlawful. The banks were appealing against the charges being assessed against fairness criteria. Unless an appeal is upheld in the House of Lords, the OFT seems likely to rule that such charges are unfair.
Due to the length of the appeals process, it seems unlikely that this case will be resolved before the end of the year.
