RBS branch raided by bailiffs

LONDON – In mid-January, bailiffs raided a Royal Bank of Scotland branch in London to take control of computers, fax machines and a cash till after a customer won a court judgment over more than £3,000 in overdraft charges. The raid was covered in major national newspapers.

The raid was the result of a court action taken by an RBS account holder over the amount of fees the bank was charging for exceeding his overdraft limit on his business account. Fees charged by credit card companies and banks for going over credit and overdraft limits have become the focus of government regulatory investigations in recent months and as a result, have garnered much publicity in the media.

The bank account holder took RBS to a small claims court after the bank ignored his requests for information as he tried to pursue a refund of the fees he had paid for exceeding his overdraft in recent years. The court issued a default judgement after the bank did not respond to the claim, and, after a second round of proceedings, debt enforcers were sent in by the court.

RBS has since paid the claim. Last year, the UK Office of Fair Trading ordered credit card companies to reduce their penalty fees to a maximum of £12.