Banks were this week accused of seizing on a recent Lloyds TSB court victory to try to frighten people into not claiming back "illegal" penalty charges. Abbey and the Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks have been writing to customers who have demanded the return of charges in an apparent bid to get them to drop their claims.

The letters have quoted details of this month's case at Birmingham county court, where a judge dismissed a claim for £2,545 from Lloyds TSB customer Kevin Berwick. The judge decided that the bank's charges were legitimate fees for servicing an overdrawn account. Now customers of other banks have reported getting letters, and in some cases phone calls, that they say appear to be designed to put pressure on them to throw in the towel.