Supreme Court rules in favour of high street banks

Commenting on The Supreme Court's ruling in favour of Britain's high street banks on unfair bank charges, Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "There is no doubt that this is a set back for the OFT and for the million or so customers who are trying to reclaim their bank charges.

"However, it is unlikely to be the end of the story and no doubt many customers will be left confused by today's ruling.  At present we have a banking system where the costs of running current accounts fall disproportionately on a fairly small group of customers - those that go overdrawn, especially those that borrow money without permission.  In some cases those charges amount for hundreds of pounds for relatively small overdrafts - and there is concern that these charges fall on more vulnerable customers.  The majority of us, that don't use an unauthorised overdraft, don't pay any charges for our current account banking.

"We expect the OFT to continue to try and press for a system where the costs of running the current account system are spread more fairly across all customers.  In truth banks have already started to respond to this - for example we've already seen a big move from banks towards so-called packaged accounts where you pay a monthly fee but get added benefits such as travel insurance thrown in.  We expect this trend to continue and in return for fairer overdraft charges banks could introduce transaction fees, or monthly and annual fees.

"Customers who are unhappy with their current account provider's charging structure need to vote with their feet.  There is already a lot of choice and competition in the market - and there are some good deals available such A&L's current account or the new Santander Zero Current Account.  Don't be afraid to look for a deal that suits your needs - switching really isn't difficult and consumers can use sites like moneysupermarket.com to do this."