Having just received an unsolicited call on my mobile from a cheery chappie at the Banking Rights Bureau offering to reclaim ‘all the unlawful bank charges you have been charged since 2001,” I wonder where this particular bandwagon is going to end.
On ringing the Banking Rights Bureau offices in Salford, I am told that the organisation is targeting “everyone in the UK who has a mobile phone number” using random dial-up.
“Gosh, that’s a lot of people. How many people have you acted for to date?” I ask. “I don’t know exactly,” the voice at the end of the line says, “but it must be hundreds of thousands because we’ve been doing this since last year and we are getting 500 calls a week for our self help pack. The maximum someone has won to date has been £24,000, but for most people it’s £3,000 to £6,000,” he chirps.
The BRB’s service consists of a DIY claims pack which you have sent to you on payment of £34.99. Anyone with a large claim (defined as “anything over £30,000”) can apply for the ‘Platinum Service’ which gives you access to legal assistance, in return for a 20 per cent cut of your winnings.
Elsewhere, the Money Claim Online small claims service reports a similar flood of claims, to the point that the website nearly grinds to a halt during office hours.
The County Courts are also inundated, with one judge remarking: “There has been nothing like it in the history of civil litigation.”
But the way in which county court judges are treating these claims varies so drastically that claimants face a postcode lottery as to the outcome of their cases. One judge in Birmingham found in favour of Lloyds TSB, even though the bank’s solicitors didn’t turn up at the hearing.
Other judges have found in favour of claimants even before a hearing has been set. Yet another judge in Hull, has threatened to strike out claims before a hearing is set because they have no chance of success.
The crux of the problem is that a county court judgement does not set a legal precedent and the banks cannot be coerced to appear in court.
This is totally unsatisfactory, given the number of claims being made. Surely, it is time for a change in the law to establish whether the banks’ overdraft charges are illegal or not. Until that happens or a case is heard in a higher court, the current chaotic situation will continue, which is not satisfactory for anyone – neither the banks, nor their customers.
Pamela Atherton
