With the Office of Fair Trading filing an action in the High Court saying that bank penalty charges are unfair, it's bound to pose a few questions about what happens next!
So here are some key things you might be wondering about (especially if you are in the process of claiming!)
Why the high court case?
The banks involved say that a test case is needed to be heard in the High Court and it will enable them to finally clarify the legal position surrounding this.
They say they believe the fees are "fair and clear", but that consumers and banks need clarity on the issue.
The OFT says it disagrees with the banks on a point of principle: it says the unfairness rules of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract regulations do apply to bank overdraft charges; the banks say they do not (no surprise there!)
The OFT hopes a High Court case will establish that the rules do apply (which means the banks are wrong and have been taking your money unlawfully!)
What will the outcome mean?
If the High Court finds in favour of the banks, it will mean that you are no longer able to ask for refunds on the grounds that penalty charges are unfair or unlawful.
Those of you that have already have already been paid will be able to keep your money.
If the ruling goes in favour of the OFT, it and the FSA will have to decide what the banks should do next.
The consumer group Which? says it hopes banks will simply refund the money that they know consumers have paid in charges over the last 6 years, without people having to write to their bank to ask for them back.
But people may have to continue making claims.
What happens if I have been offered a payout?
If your bank has already offered to refund your charges, you have 2 months to decide whether to accept the money or wait for the outcome of the High Court test case.
Accepting the offer will probably mean that you can't complain again after the test case has been decided; turning it down will mean taking a risk on the outcome of the case!
What happens if I am waiting for my bank to respond?
The complaint will remain with your bank or building society.
There will be no decision on individual claims until the test case is resolved.
What happens if I haven't complained yet?
According to Which?, you should carry on writing to your bank to make sure your complaint is in their system. But nothing will happen until the test case is resolved.
The eight organisations are involved in the test case are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Nationwide building society.
They represent 90% of the current account market, and other organisations have been granted a waiver by the FSA, so they do not have to respond to complaints within the usual time limits.
How long will the case last?
The FSA's waiver is set to last a year, which gives some indication of how long it thinks the test case could take!
The banks now have 28 days to file their defence, and could apply for a further 28 days to do so; this means it could be Christmas before the case finally reaches court.
A spokeswoman for Which? said she expected it to last many months.
So if you are in the process of claiming back penalty charges, then you wil need to keep a close eye on this case; it could determine whether you get all of your money back or not a single penny!