UK banks are preparing for further court action after losing a test case on overdraft charges.

 

The judgement means that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can use consumer contract regulations to decide whether bank overdraft charges were unfair.

 

The result means that further High Court hearings are now in the offing to decide the exact level of charges.

Mr Justice Andrew Smith said that the judgement did not necessarily mean the charges were unfair, and that the banks’ terms and conditions were plain and intelligible. However, the process is expected to allow the OFT to decide what a fair charge for unauthorised overdrafts would be.