http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8376906.stm

One word -

Bastards

Yup.

It doesn't mean a huge amount currently to be honest

The banks have been receiving secret safety loans from the bank of England and this is how they will need to pay it back, borrowing £61 billion has a hefty rate of interest! They make £2 billion a year from it or so

The cases won in the high court and local courts show you can still win, however you have to be able to show it was unreasonable, e.g. 1p over and a £38 charge and that you are in financial hardship

and with the hold on claims until this Supreme Court judgement now allows all the thousands of individuals to pursue there claim
and i hope they do pursue the banks as it will cost the banks a fortune defending each case separately …

I actually think this is good.
They won't be able to charge for basics like current accounts and taking cash out now. That was one of their plans if they lost this case.
People should be taught at school how to manage their money and how to avoid charges.

+1

I think folk need to learn to live within their means. I don't know if it still holds for HSBC accounts, but I'm sure we have an automatic free £100 overdraft facility on our current accounts.

If the banks allowed for the fact that there are people who will inadvertently drop into the red occasionally, things wouldn't be so bad. Equally, people need to be aware they're dropping into negative figures, and go and talk to the bank about it before it gets out of hand.

It's a two-way street, I suppose.

There should be an automatic £100 48 hour (per month) buffer on all current accounts to prevent fines for occasional glitches.
That way people should be able to avoid charges.
The problem is for the kind of people who don't look at their bank statements because they don't want to see them. My brother-in-law used to do that and it cause him a lot of problems. Thankfully he's sorted himself out now.

i agree that handling your bank account is a responsible thing to do

but bank charges if you go over by 1p even if your wages are paid in the next day or even on that day

or taking the DDs out before crediting your account with payments that are received by the bank on the same day
so they take the DDs out putting you overdrawn then credit your money and deduct the charges after that …

banks and bankers, you gotta luv 'em …

Can't post the link right now, but something changed in this regard recently, so I'll come back to you

Unfortunately life happens. People can live within their means for years, then something unexpected happens and you need a bit more - like needing to attend a funeral halfway across the country or if you have to visit someone in hospital on a regular basis. Adding £40 of extra pain to an already unpleasant situation shows a lack of understanding. HSBC are pretty good with their overdrafts. If you go overdrawn for a couple of hours due to a mixup or if you pay arrives after a direct debit goes out, they're quite forgiving. Halifax however are utter bastards.

Best idea I've heard in ages.

On another note: if I were cynical, I would wonder whether it was cheaper to bribe some officials than pay out a large number of claims...

I like the decision. People who can't manage their money will pay fees so I can have my banking for free. What's not to like when you have common sense?

The fact that the banks can deduct this money without court or customer approval any time they wish?

Isn't that in the small print when you sign up? If you've agreed to the contract, you can't complain when it's enforced.