ABBEY NATIONAL PLC V OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING

[2009] EWCA Civ, Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Sir Anthony Clarke MR, Lord Justice Waller VP, and Lord Justice Lloyd, 26 February 2009

Banking – Personal current accounts - Overdraft charges – Whether charges subject to review by the Office of Fair Trading – Whether contract clauses in plain intelligible language – Regulation 6(2)(b), Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

This was an appeal by the defendant banks of the decision of Mr Justice Andrew Smith [2008] EWHC 875 (Comm) in which he held that language used by the banks was subject to review by the Office of Fair Trading, although the banks has argued that such review was precluded by Regulation 6(2)(b) of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The dispute concerned charges levied on personal current accounts as a result of instructions by the customer to make payments out of those accounts, when there were insufficient funds in the account to cover the payment.