Alex Harries's diary

This isn't so good: it looks like the first significant resistance against the growing anti-bank charges movement has been encountered in the form of District Judge Cook, reports the BBC. A customer of Lloyds TSB, Kevin Berwick, was claiming £2,545 from the bank in overdraft charges he said were illegal.

Judge Cook stated that the fees were "legitimate fees for servicing an overdrawn account".

More information from BBC News, here.

Oh, bugger...

UPDATE: it seems the claim was for overdraft fees, not bank charges levied for unauthorised transactions, so things still look reasonably good people claiming for bank charge refunds from unauthorised transactions.

More evidence of the banks' cash-grabbing antics emerged today in a report by the Evening Standard, as they report that the Royal Bank of Scotland group (which includes Mint and Lloyds TSB) are introducing a £12 fine for credit card customers who forget to tell them they have changed their address.

Quoth the article, "The bank claims the fee, applying to more than five million customers, is necessary to cover the cost of tracing those they have not been able to find. But consumer groups believe it is about fuelling profits."

I think I know whose story I believe more... Grr...! 

• More info at ThisIsLondon.co.uk
  

Following the latest on bank charges is becoming a tiny bit of a hobby for me now as - in common with millions of other customers - my bank takes more and more of my money in penalty charges to cover their "costs".

If you've read much of my blog, you might have spotted that a lot of my charges come from one charge taking me over my overdraft limit, with more charges piled on top to add insult to injury. Again, this is a common problem for lots of bank customers.

In the news today, I spotted this story about Lloyds TSB being accused by a judge of timewasting behaviour - not the first time such tactics have been used by the banks according to the BBC's article - and another story involving my personal favourite bank, the Alliance & Leicester (not that I ever write about their poor service or anything... ahem) tacitly admitting their charges should only be around the £4.50 mark at the most.

Not that being relieved of my money by a faceless and rude company of questionable competence irks me at all - I'm a Zen-like centre of calm and love today. Ok, I'm lying again... ;o)

Have a good weekend! /al - skyving coursework. Again.