The Times - Judge issues warning to banks

A High Court judge has told banks that he may award damages if they fail to behave reasonably when customers seek redress in the courts for bank charges. Judge David Mackie, QC, issued the warning at the London Mercantile Court, where about 300 claims for refunds of allegedly unlawful charges have been lodged this year. He said that some banks were wasting time by saying that they would defend claims when they seemed to have no intention of doing so. If banks continued to do this, he might award damages against them. “There may be a need for a more radical approach if the number of cases continues to grow, he said.

Brian Capon, of the British Bankers’ Association, said: “Banks take the court process very seriously but ultimately they would prefer to settle disputes with their customers outside the court process.”

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