No win no fee firms target bank customers
March 11, 2008
There has been a great deal of publicity over recent months with regards to the row over bank charges. After these overdraft charges were deemed unlawful and unfair last year, many bank customers wrote to their banks in order to claim back the charges going back up to six years. Some customers have had to go through the Financial Ombudsman Service and even through the courts to get back their money, and many others have not even made a claim for fear or retaliation from the banks or through lack of confidence.
For those that are not confident about claiming back their charges themselves there are firms available to help, and the latest ones to jump on the bank charge wagon are the no win no fee law firms. These firms are now offering to help those looking to claim back their bank charges on a contingency fee basis, which means that the consumer only has to pay for the service if the claim is successful. However, in all but two cases bank claims have been successful so these firms are set to make a huge profit from such action.
If the no win no fee firm manages to reclaim the charges, the fee to the consumer will be around 25% of the amount reclaimed, which could be quite hefty for larger claims. Some industry professionals state that many people could simply be wasting money by going through these firms, as thousands have managed to claim back their charges on their own.
However, one law firm spokesperson stated: “If you are confident and have that kind of personality, then you can win it back yourself. However we think there’s a reasonable niche market of people who don’t want to have to issue a court summons or deal with it, and would rather have someone to hold their hand through the process.”
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