OFT welcomes High Court ruling on unarranged overdraft charges

The High Court has confirmed the OFT's view that personal current account unarranged overdraft charges can be assessed for fairness.

OFT statement: This is an important early milestone for the OFT and our investigation into this area of high consumer interest. We are now analysing the implications of the judgment for our overall investigation into the fairness of the terms. There may need to be further hearings to determine any outstanding issues arising from the judgment. The timetable for next steps will be decided by the court at a hearing before the end of May.

This case was brought by the OFT in agreement with eight of the largest current account providers. We will be working with them and other interested parties to ensure this market works well for consumers.

It is important to note that this judgment only covers points of legal principle and does not determine whether the relevant charges are actually unfair. We are continuing our investigation into the fairness of these terms and will consider our position after reviewing the detail of this judgment.