Millions of bank customers hoping to be refunded overdraft charges have been dealt a major blow by a Supreme Court judgement.
The court has overturned earlier court rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts.
At stake in the case, which has run for over two years, is an estimated £2.6bn of annual income for the banks.
Campaigners said they were shocked and disappointed with the decision.
Banks welcomed the ruling, said there had been major changes to current account packages recently, and pointed out that these unplanned overdraft fees could be avoided.
Seven banks and one building society wanted the court to overturn two previous rulings that said the OFT had the power to investigate unauthorised overdraft fees.
