There may be trouble ahead for banks...
Yorkshire Bank has been told that it may have to own up to the "true cost" of its bank penalty charges!
In a potential big boost for consumers, Judge Iain Besford made the order at Hull County Court after hearing 7 claims for refunds of bank charges.
Originally, 44 claims were to be heard but most were settled earlier, some just minutes before the court hearing began!
The remaining 7 cases will be dealt with as small claims, and the judge said the banks would have to explain their charging structure.
At the same time as deciding the cases needed to be addressed as small claims Judge Besford agreed to a disclosure order.
The order means Yorkshire Bank has until 28 September to decide if it will settle the claims or face having to outline its charging structure in open court (which we imagine they would rather not do!)
Judge Besford's decision to proceed with the cases as small claims and grant a disclosure order, was a big surprise as he had previously told the claimants that had thought about striking out their cases as having no basis in law!
However, the Consumer Action Group, (which represents those people looking to reclaim bank charges), had arranged for legal representation to be present at the hearing and this clearly helped the cases.
Across the UK tens of thousands of you have been suing your banks over the return of overdraft charges, gaining millions of pounds back in the process.
To date, the banks have been reluctant to contest such cases, usually settling out-of-court as they have been wary of outlining the case for their charges in open court.
If a bank were to do so and lose its argument that the charges were fair, it could lead to thousands more bank customers getting refunds...and lets face it, this is not what the banks want is it?
So keep your eyes peeled for future developments as this case might be more important than anyone thinks!
Man claims back £36,000 in bank penalty charges!
Could this man win the bank penalty charges war for us?