The case of Tom Brennan and bank charges leaves me in two minds. Blog Discussion

chrissieo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6675823.stm

In the light of Mr Brennan going back to court today, I am somewhat in two minds how I feel about this. For his sake I hope he wins but what will happen to the rest of us trying to claim back illegal charges if he loses. Will this set a precedent?

Does anyone out there think he should of accepted NatWests offer and not gone for damages as this could seriously damage the rest of our financial health?

I would be interested to hear other people's opinions.

Chrissie

nomoneytoday

If he wins then he will get a nice lawyer type career. If he loses then its back to square one.

Bit like putting your life on red or black at a roulette wheel

ayeright2007

I don't think Tom Brennan is as intelligent as people may think. How can someone build up around £1800 of bank charges. I don't think that's very smart at all. If you let Direct Debits or Standing Orders bounce, its certain your going to get a bank charge. After all he's a lawyer and I thought he of all people would have read the "small print" when he opened his account. To continually incur bank charges is unforgivable. You can stop the charges at source by cancelling Direct Debits and Standing Orders, stop writing cheques you don't have money to cover (this is unlawful and also fraud). It's that simple - a bank can't charge unless you give them reason. Yes I understand everyone can make a mistake, but an £1800 error as far as I'm concerned is total and utter account mis-management. He is putting himself in a position were he could possibly lose his right to practice as a barrister (how many years studying would he have thrown away). For me this is pretty stupid, when you consider his claim could have been settled out of court.

I see lots of references to "illegal" and "unlawful" charges. This is simply not true. There has been no ruling in a court of law. If they were unlawful do you really think banks would still be charging customers. The FSA would have stepped in long ago.

Banks give out a cheque book and a cheque guarantee card for £100 which in the wrong hands can make them instantly liable for £3000 if there are 30 cheques in the book. I wonder if it was your bank or mine and we were responsible for setting out the terms and conditions, what would we come up with up?

Many people only see one side - I haven't read many comments about account conduct and how charges are incurred. In the majority of cases the customer is at fault. If you manage your account properly you don't have to give the bank any money for charges. I can only conclude Tom was living beyond his means.

If bank charges were unlawful then the Judge over Tom's case would have a very easy decision to make.

I tend to to believe Tom may not be helping a lot of people in this instance. Even if he does win his case we'll probably see the end of free banking.

derrick

Well he lost-

http://itn.co.uk/news/47a3dc272e858cedc80536c6be0e2d7e.html

anday111

Those were the wisest words on this website.

I think bank charges are extortionate. They are way too expensive and do not represent value for money. So I make sure that I dont get any by only spending money that is actually mine.

Did you notice there were no comments on this board after Tom lost his case?