RIGHT now, you’d be be hard-pushed to find too many people with as much as a grain of sympathy for the banks. The popular view is that they’re to blame for the deep recession.

The Court of Appeal certainly showed no mercy on Britain’s biggest high street lenders, when they tried to challenge a High Court ruling ordering them to pay customers billions in wrongly-levied bank charges.

Appeal Court judges Sir Anthony Clarke, Lord Justice Waller and Lord Justice Lloyd ruled the Office of Fair Trading had the right to review the fairness of the banks’ “administration” fees.

Their ruling may well open the floodgates for thousands of customers, also hoping for a refund – I’m one of them.

After hearing about the ruling, I decided to find out how much I’d been charged over the years by Barclays and Abbey – and how I might claim some of it back.

I experienced a fair amount of financial strife with Barclays between 2001 and 2007, building up a £3,000 overdraft. I admit this was largely due to my overspending.

However, another major factor was also what I call the “charges trap”.

I would find myself just below my overdraft limit just before payday. Then the bank would process one or more debit card charges for which I hadn’t accounted.

Whenever it happened, the bank would charge me a hefty fee – even though it knew full well I would shortly be paid my salary and would move comfortably back within my limit.

On three separate occasions – on July 15, 16, and 18, 2003 – I was charged £20, a total of £60.

I regarded it as a trap, because it was fairly obvious I was more likely to exceed my overdraft limit before payday, if I’d been clobbered with these charges the month before.

Thus, I ended up extending my overdraft, time and again in an effort to avoid more charges.

The High Court ruled – and the Court of Appeal agrees – stinging customers as much as the £35 the Abbey did customers, might not be fair.

The judges compared the charges with the amount it actually costs banks to administer a breach in someone's overdraft limit.

Tim Coombs, of Westcliff-based claims and debt management company Sun Lane, wholeheartedly agrees with the court.

He said: “They hit people with these huge charges, but the actual administrative cost to a bank only amounts to the cost of printing a letter, informing them they’ve passed their limit and posting it to them.

“We estimate the actual administrative costs are between 40p and £2. It’s no wonder people are mad and want their money back!

“The banks should start refunding everyone soon. They’ve lost their appeal and it looks as if they won’t be able to mount a second appeal with the House of Lords.

“I have more than 500 people on my books who are waiting for settlements. Some of them are owed as much as £15,000.”

Mr Coombs helps customers claim back bank charges through the courts, on a no-win, no-fee basis. If his clients win, he gets a proportion of the settlement.

To illustrate the process, I asked him to represent me.

First he told me to go to my nearest Barclays branch and ask for copies of my bank statements going back to 2001. I had to pay £10 to have the statements sent to my home.

It took me about three hours to search through the pages, but it was worth it.

A quick bit of adding up revealed I had been charged £610 in the course of just over seven years.

Mr Coombs said: “Most people can claim for statements dating back to June 2001, but in some cases, we think people will be able to go back to 1995, or even the Seventies. It’s definitely worth looking into.”

I also pursued Abbey, where I recently opened a second account. and worked out since last September, it had charged me £210.

Armed with the statements, I went to Mr Coombs’s office in St Helen’s Road, Westcliff.

I had to sign a form, granting him permission to represent me in financial matters.

Now he can pursue my case in the County Court.

The process has been painless so far and I would recommend anyone else who feels unfairly treated by the banks to do the same.

Tim pointed out in cases where customers can prove hardship, some banks are already agreeing to settle.

If all goes according to plan I could get back a total of £820 in charges.

Mr Coombs also plans to ask for between 27 per cent and 28 per cent interest on the money the bank owed me – roughly the same amount the banks charge customers for each day they exceed their overdraft limit.

If the court agrees, Barclays will be ordered to give me £699 in interest and Abbey £25 – and that’s on top of my refund.

I’ve just got married, so such tidy sum would certainly be welcome to help furnish our new home.

Will it happen? We’ll have to wait and see, but whatever the outcome, the Echo will be following the story, so watch this space.

l Tim Coombs can be contacted on 01702 301838.