Bank ruling paves the way for refunds

At last – the outrageous charges that banks hit you with are most likely a thing of the past. From The Guardian:

The court of appeal ruled that fees for unauthorised overdrafts and bounced cheques are subject to regulation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) under “unfair contract” rules, clearing the way for the watchdog to set a legal maximum on the fees which currently earn banks around £2.6bn a year. The ruling could result in them being forced to return up to £1bn to consumers.

The Telegraph also has a good article on how to reclaim your bank charges, and at MoneySavingExpert.com, Martin has put up a template letter that you can send to your bank to help recover any charges. The Telegraph article above states that you are legally entitled to make a claim for any charges made for unauthorised overdrafts in the last 6 years. Note that it says you’re entitled to “make a claim”, not “to your money back”, but it’s definitely worth a try if you’ve been charged.