Money watchdog declares support for ill-treated Brits

According to a spokesman for the FOS, in cases where an account closure is in retaliation for a customer recovering their bank charges, then the FOS will rule in favour of the consumer, reports the Daily Mail.

The comments came after the FOS rebuked a high street lender for closing the account of a current account holder who had successfully challenged the imposition of bank charges.

A former Alliance & Leicester customer was awarded £125 after they made a complaint about charges received for being overdrawn by accident.

“What we are seeing with complaints like this is a breakdown in the bank’s relationship with the customer over a long period, an FOS spokesman told the newspaper.

“Often the reclaiming of bank charges will be the final straw.”

In related news, the European Commission has said that high fees and anti-competitive practices in the lending sector are unacceptable and has vowed to stamp out bad banking practices in EU states.