The Independent - Sam Dunn: So stiffen your sinews, gird your loins: don't let these beastly banks win

Banks will stonewall at every stage of a complaint

Are you bigger than your bank? Getting the upper hand in a dispute with a high street institution requires - among a million other attributes - bloodymindedness, tenacity, perseverance, persuasion and grit.

Happily, it appears that tens of thousands of aggrieved customers have these attributes in spades. Good thing too, since the battle to reclaim eye-watering unauthorised current account overdraft charges of up to £39 has taken a new twist.

Following a Birmingham court ruling two weeks ago that saw a judge favour Lloyds-TSB over a complainant, some lenders have seized on it as an extra weapon to fend off customers seeking to take them to court. It emerged last week that both Abbey and the Yorkshire Bank had quoted this case in seeking to rebuff complaining customers.

It's no wonder that desperate banks, punch-drunk from having spent the past three months forking out tens of thousands of pounds compensation outside courtroom doors for fear of setting a very expensive precedent, have latched on to it.

Financial Services Authority rules say any bank is entitled to give its reasons for rejecting customer complaints - and, no doubt, referring to a favourable and high-profile court case is one of them.

Understandably, customers on the receiving end of such behaviour won't appreciate such tactics - as legitimate as they appear to be - and will, justifiably, feel undue pressure to comply with the bank's will.

Those embroiled in a dispute over unfair bank penalty charges, should remember to turn to the Financial Ombudsman Service the moment their complaint starts to sour. Its intervention on behalf of the consumer usually sees a contested claim settled rather promptly.

As its annual report published last week showed, its staff are up to their collars in bank account charge complaint queries. That is both a good and a bad thing.

While it means that consumers can at least rely on the heavy guns of the Ombudsman to boom on their behalf, the sheer volume of bank-related angst indicates a long struggle ahead for everybody.

The pressure over bank charges shows no sign of letting up. Consumer groups are on tenterhooks for a decision in the case between Tom Brennan and NatWest over the legality of penalty fees. If the judge, who is currently considering his decision, finds against Mr Brennan, it could prove a major setback for consumers.

In the meantime, banks will shore up their own defences and continue to prevaricate and stonewall at every stage of a complaint.

The Office of Fair Trading's own investigation into current account penalties simmers in the background. For all sides in this battle of wills, it looks likely to be a long, hot summer.

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