The Mirror - Claims engulf courts

COURTS will try to turn away claims over rip-off bank charges by sending them to a free ombudsman service.

Thousands of bank customers will be directed to the Financial Ombuds man Service rather than taking legal action to win back charges imposed for accidentally slipping in to the red.

The courts are struggling to stay on top of the stampede as thousands of customers try to recover these fees.

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Around 200,000 have successfully reclaimed rip-off charges in the last 18 months, forcing banks to repay a total of £20million.

Judges are now so overwhelmed with these cases that they have started setting aside specific days to deal with them.

And the Courts Service's money claim website is being upgraded to handle a doubling of demand.

The courts believe the Financial Ombudsman Service will cope better because it has dealt with financial battles like this before.

Already it receives 3,000 complaints about bank charges every week.

Later this week a message will be put on the money claim website and anyone receiving a reclaim form from the county court will be told about the ombudsman.

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