The Sunday Mirror - Beat that Bank!

MORE than one and a half million people have now joined the battle against banks to get refunds on rip-off penalty charges.

No one knows exactly how much banks have paid out to customers who challenge unfair fees - such as being charged up to £39 for going a few pence overdrawn - but it is estimated at tens of millions of pounds.

Now, despite a minor setback last week when Birmingham County Court dismissed a customer's claim that Lloyds TSB's overdraft charges were unfair, campaigners are urging consumers to step up the fight.

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Nic Cicutti of finance website moneysupermarket.com said: "I'm sure there will be some senior bank executives hugging themselves with glee after this ruling. But this is highly unlikely to be the final word in what has been a long campaign to stop banks overcharging their customers. My strong message would be to keep on claiming, as the odds are still stacked in your favour."

A spokesman for Lloyds TSB said; "The court has agreed with us that these are charges for a service and not default or penalty fees as has been argued by others."

But in most cases so far, banks have settled claims without going to court. Penalty charges - some of them are outlined in our table on the right - are imposed when banks have to return direct debits, standing orders or cheques when there isn't enough money to pay them - or because a customer goes overdrawn without permission.

In last week's case, the District Judge said the charges on claimant Kevin Berwick's account were "legitimate fees for servicing his account" - but that doesn't set a precedent for other claims, which are being settled in customers' favour every day.

A spokesman for uSwitch.com said: "It is worth noting that last week's ruling has come from a district court, and we assume it will not be binding on any other court in the country. This ruling should not affect other cases currently being heard and banking customers still have every chance to continue fighting to reclaim their excessive bank charges."

Consumer groups insist the charges are illegal because they aren't proportionate to the actual costs banks incur. Martin Lewis of consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com, who has seen more than three million downloads of his "template letters" to send to banks, said: "More than a million people have either reclaimed or are in the process of reclaiming bank charges through Money Saving Expert alone, and with the other consumer sites also championing the cause, the total is likely to be in excess of 1.5 million people. This is a substantial portion of the UK adult web-using population, making it a true red blooded consumer revolution."

If you think you could be owed money act now. A survey by www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk found that £11 million had been returned to 7,564 people who responded.

And Stephen Hone, who set up the website www.penaltycharges.co.uk after falling victim to bank charges himself, said said: "We've just helped one guy get back over £27,000 in charges on a business account."

Penalty charges are being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading, who will announce their findings at the end of the year. Kevin Mountford, head of current accounts and savings at moneysupermarket.com said: "It is imperative consumers stand their ground. If they do not get any joy at first call they should insist on pushing through the chain of command.

"There is evidence providers will offer a paltry sum to settle but this should be seen as an admission of guilt, so hold out for more."

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