Banks accused of 'aggression' in charging disputes

25th May 2007

Banks in the UK are guilty of "aggressive" tactics as they attempt to dissuade customers from launching a court case against them as they take steps to reclaim charges they were obliged to pay, it has been claimed.

Many British consumers have been pushed further into the debt management mire by having additional charges levied against them and now banks are trying to deter those who try to claim these fees back, according to Ingrid Gubbay from the consumer group Which?.

Ms Gubbay, who is the principal campaign lawyer at Which?, suggest that in the wake of the win for Lloyds TSB in court battle over alleged unfair charges, other banks are trying to warn customers off taking a similar course of action.

"Some banks are being a lot more aggressive about the way they flourish the case in the face of the potential claimants or customers," she told the BBC's Wake up to Money programme on Radio Five Live.

"That has a huge impact because people are more frightened and deterred… [but] each case should be confined to its facts."

Meanwhile, the UK payments association Apacs recently marked the tenth anniversary of the launch of online banking services in the UK.

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