05 March 2008
High street banks have paid out around £559m in refunds to customers who complained about unauthorised overdraft charges, new analysis shows.
The payouts are revealed in the annual results of financial firms that are involved in a High Court test case over "unfair" fees.
But the final total will be even higher as Abbey and Nationwide would not say how much they have refunded.
The HBOS group, which includes Halifax, has paid out the most after handing back £122m so far.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group has refunded £119m to date, while Barclays has paid out £116m and HSBC £115m.
Lloyds TSB gave back £76m to customers before the test case started, while Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank said costs and claims will reach £11m.
The banks are awaiting the verdict from the court case which could ultimately decide how much they can charge people who go into unauthorised overdrafts or breach their agreed limit.
Banks are believed to make between £2bn and £3.5bn a year in fees charged when customers go over their overdraft.
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