OFT Delay

Consumers will have to be patient until the end of this year to hear what the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) deems a fair fee amount for bank charges. This will extend the time limit for those who wish to reclaim charges to declare their case.

After the decision, banks will only be obligated to pay back the difference between what the OFT decides is fair and what the bank charged. For example, the OFT listed a ‘fair’ charge for those who missed monthly payments as £12 when some banks were charging £30, meaning the person reclaiming would get the difference (£18) back.

A fair payment is seen as just paying for the service the bank performs and that the bank should make zero profit on the charge. However, since banks have been using these charges to rake in profits, they will need to either start charging people monthly for accounts or other ways to make up for their losses.

Myvesta UK