For the past three years, bank customers in the UK have had an excellent set of legal powers to tackle their banks if they think they have been treated unfairly.
Unfortunately, hardly anyone knows about them, and the relevant authorities have failed to give the powers any meaningful publicity. The rules were been laid down by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
They are known as the Banking: Conduct of Business sourcebook (BCOBS) and they apply to small businesses as well as to private individuals.
Most significantly, they give any aggrieved customer the right to sue their bank in the county court as well as giving you other protections too such as the little know fact that the bank has to operate your current account in such a way that the consequences are not unfair to you. They are legally obliged to treat you fairly!
Details are spelled out in Section 150 of the Financial Services and Markets Act.
What do they mean by Unfair?
In a nutshell it means that the bank can’t go ahead and just apply the contractual terms of your account agreement with them regardless of consequences and the bank must take into account your interests when making decisions.
the acid test for unfair treatment is this: If you discuss your bank’s treatment of you calmly with a group of friends or colleagues and the general feeling is you have been treated unfairly, then the chances are you have been. Under the new albeit not fanfared rules banks can no longer:
Take your benefits to pay overdrafts and loans to them and force you to not pay priority commitments like food and rent.
They can no longer call in an overdraft for no reason and cause financial hardship for you or refuse to discuss your circumstances with you when you fall into hardship.
They can no longer force you into an unplanned overdraft and levy charges that plunge you into a spiral of debt.
Many Thanks to the Consumer Action Group and the BBC for publishing this story please read the original article here for examples of what is considered unfair.
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