Judge rules against Barclay charges

A judge has ruled in favour of a Barclays bank customer who sued the company over penalty charges.

Judge Abrahams, at Luton County Court, has ordered the bank to stop the charges until a High Court test case settles further legal issues.

However, Barclays said it will have the entitlement to reclaim any further charges from Nadine Fry should the test case be a success.

Tens of thousands of customers have been refunded their overdraft penalty charges from their banks, with the five biggest banks having handed back almost £400 million in charges since January.

Barclays has so far repaid £87 million in overdraft charges this year.

The judge suspended Ms Fry's claim until the outcome of the test case.

The banks and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), agreed to stage in the High Court next year a test case on the legality of the charges.

The OFT believes they are an unfair and an illegal penalty under consumer protection regulations.

But the banks say they are a fair charge for helping their customers while their accounts are in the debt.

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