Bank Charges Court Update

Barrister Tom Brennan is taking his bank to court. We give you the results of the first full-day's hearing.

Here's a brief summary of Tom Brennan's case versus NatWest. I attended the hearing on Monday, which took all day. This is a preliminary session called an application hearing. However, it's going to take possibly another whole day.

If you don't have to sit through it, it's probably quite funny. This two-day event is a hearing is to see whether the claim should be heard. So it's a hearing about a hearing. The actual claim hearing could actually take less time!

The press were all crammed in around me, scribbling every single word down, even, it seemed, the page numbers that the barristers referred to. (Despite the fact the press will never get to see any of those pages!)

I wrote very little, because as yet there are few highlights. The hearing was made bearable by the occasional very dry wit of the judge, who seemed confused and bumbling on the surface, but this was belied by incisive comments. He might be the Columbo of the judiciary.

As I suggested in The First Bank Charges Court Hearing, it is a close fought thing. The judge could easily decide that Brennan should not have wasted the court's time by bringing this case when he has already been repaid. So, despite Brennan's eloquent arguments, it might not be enough to handle the six-person legal team acting for NatWest.

On the other hand, Brennan's clinching argument might be that, with thousands of claims going through court, allowing this one to proceed to a 'proper' hearing might save more of the courts' time in the long run, at least when it comes to claims against NatWest. There are lots of other arguments from both sides; I don't have space to go through them here.

One worry I have yet to mention is that if Brennan loses the application hearing, it could have the reverse effect to what he hopes. Many people will then believe, incorrectly, that their claims for unlawful charges will fail.

The next hearing date is yet to be scheduled, but I'll keep you updated.

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