After a widely publicised battle over bank charges in 2007 the banks have received further bad news after their appeal hearing produced a negative result.

The major high street banks came under fire over the extortionate and disproportionate charges they had been imposing on their customers for years. In many cases customers had been charged as much as £35 for going even pennies overdrawn.

Consumer groups and even the courts had to conclude that this type of action was wholly unjustifiable inciting the need for urgent change. Bank charges are indeed a necessary course of action in certain situations but the blanket approach to the way bank charges were actually administered was disproportionate and unfair.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) won this latest battle but the banks are now in a position make a further appeal to the ruling which many people believe would delay the process of people being compensated. The OFT would like the banks to accept the latest ruling on bank charges and for a respectable levy of charges to be introduced.

Any Appeal that might be launched over today's ruling would simply delay the possibility of customers making appeals for the refunding of bank charges they believe have been overstated by the banks.