Lloyds Bank beat claimant Kevin Berwick in court over bank charges. What does this mean for other claimants?
Lloyds Bank has just beaten claimant Kevin Berwick in court over bank charges, but claimants should not be worried.
From the information I have gathered so far, it appears that the judge made a ruling without even seeing a copy of the contract. As he did not have the document that was key to the whole claim, he ruled without it.
According to respected members of the Consumer Action Group (CAG), the judge said that had the terms and conditions been before him he would have given thought to including them in the evidence. Furthermore, he said: "I find it therefore on the evidence before me that there is no express term of the contract between Mr Berwick and the bank of the type referred to above." (By 'above' the judge means a contract with unlawful penalties.)
I want to add my own view, and I will do in time, but the court hasn't yet emailed me the copy of the judgment as it promised it would. I'm also trying to find a copy of the claim and the defence, so it can be properly analysed.
Why am I doing this? Because I don't want this one errant case to worry you when the vast, overwhelming majority of claims, tens of thousands of them, have been successful. This was a small claim before a district judge, so his judgment is not binding on other judges.
The CAG quite rightly advises people to take their claims more seriously. To that end, in a later article I will provide further guidance about what to put in your court bundle: the papers you're submitting to the court in evidence, should your claim not be settled before then. Clearly, your contract with the bank will be part of that!
Of course, the banks will add this to their list of things to put you off, but, as one respected member of CAG says: "This victory by Lloyds is discouraging but there is no reason yet to suggest that people should stop claiming their money back."
> Read The Ultimate Guide To Reclaiming Bank Charges.
> Compare current accounts and savings accounts.
Do your own research! Visit the Consumer Action Group. Important topics covered there include:
Lloyds Victory In Birmingham
Lloyds 'Victory' - A View Of The Judgment
Got A Court Date? Important, Please Read...
The 'Claim Too Vague' Defence And A Guide To Amending A Claim