Those of us who are reclaiming penalty charges in court will continue to face a lottery unless a test case is heard, a senior county court judge has said!
Stephen Gerlis, who speaks for all district judges in London, said the number of cases was "unprecedented".
He was speaking after a judge in Hull threatened to strike out 20 claims. In the Hull case, District Judge Ian Besford cited a hearing won by Lloyds TSB in Birmingham. In that case, a judge at Birmingham county court dismissed a claim on the basis that the charges were legitimate fees for serving an overdrawn account.
His decision is being used by some banks to deter many of you from putting in claims. The ruling was not binding but other judges are entitled to follow it if they wish.
As a result of this, Judge Gerlis believes all sides should let a case reach the Court of Appeal.
Many industry sources suggest the banks are finally listening to pleas by judges who want the matter dealt with by the high court to clarify the law.
Bankers have been debating how best to resolve the uncertainty surrounding payment of claims for charges levied on unauthorised overdrafts, which campaigners estimate run to £4.7bn a year.
They have been discussing whether the answer can be provided by the courts or whether they should wait for the outcome of a competition investigation.
Thousands of you have been reclaiming charges going back 6 years on the grounds that they bear no relation to the bank's costs and are illegal. Banks have largely settled out of court rather than reveal their actual cost of overdrafts and bounced cheques.
Judge Gerlis told BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme the legal system currently has no mechanism to quickly resolve the issues emerging from the "mass litigation".
Banks have been reluctant to admit how far they are being affected by customers reclaiming charges, but Barclays and HSBC revealed last week that their profits might be hit as a result of the customer revolt. Other banks are expected to make similar admissions in trading updates.
Some bankers believe the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) investigation, which is expected to report at the end of the year, will not provide a solution and a test case may be the only way to tackle this issue.
The calls for a test case have been made on many occasions; after 77 cases were listed to be heard at Leeds mercantile court and then all settled out of court, Judge Roger Kaye said a decision needed to be taken at high court level to clarify the situation.
It now seems more likely that the banks will agree such a case but the bigger question is what will the outcome be if a test case goes ahead?
Will it be a win for the banking juggernauts or a victory for the man in the street?