Losses ancillary to bank charges; is it possible that these are claimable?

[Deleted User]

Just a quick question really - there's no right answer, but wondered if anyone had any inklings either way:

If (and that is a big IF, of course), the result of the bank charges case is that customers CAN claim, then what might the effect be for losses that arose out of the original bank charge.

For example, I had an Alliance & Leicester bank account on which I got a charge of £8 several years ago...at the time, I was in credit, but the charge put me into the red. I didn't notice - and I was on an internet account for which my alerts never made it past my spam filter - and they ended up totalling £192 before a call from a Credit Collection agency alerted me to their presence.

I paid them off but got a default - which was annoying as it all started by going £2 overdrawn - but wondered, if the court rules that charges are unlawful, then the fact that the unlawful charge caused me to go overdrawn...is it likely I could claim for the loss arising out of this and potentially get the default removed?

I appreciate there are several leaps of faith to be had here, but genuinely I had no idea I was overdrawn: I never used the account and the first I heard about it was when the credit agency called. Hotmail doesn't like A&L...

natweststaffmember

This is a difficult question to answer because I think it is part of the wider issues once the OFT test case issues are dealt with. I know Tom Brennan is looking at these wider issues with a view to pursuing them once the OFT test case issues are resolved with something called a Group Litigation Order. It's a minefield if the courts go with the OFT.

[Deleted User]

Sounds like a legal nightmare!

natweststaffmember

Deleted_User wrote: »

Sounds like a legal nightmare!

If you think of the legal conundrum it could throw up you would go from joy to anger. Worst case scenario is that the bank is culpable of helping to cause stress to people who eventually took their own life. I try not to think too much about this because I would never sleep well ever or be able to help anyone.