The Telegraph - House of Lords decision will delay claims for refunds

Last month, the Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court's decision that charges can be subject to 'unfair contractual terms' laws. This marked a major victory for bank charge reclaimers as, provisionally, the Office of Fair Trading has suggested it thinks they are unfair.

Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, says: "It's time the banks gave up and paid out. Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting to get money back that's been unlawfully taken from their accounts, without their permission. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have already said bank charges are governed by fairness rules and the OFT has said it provisionally thinks charges are unfair."

"This is a supertanker and it's only heading in one direction. The banks can't stop it, but they're doing all they can to slow the process down. That's a shame as there's nothing the economy needs more right now than cash put into real people's pockets."

"While this means it's likely the FSA will extend its hold on reclaiming, that shouldn't stop people putting in their claims as soon as possible, to put them ahead in the queue. Plus for anyone in financial hardship the hold does not apply, and payouts of £1,000s are happening regularly."

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