Banks pay out £200m over unfair fees

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As many as 500 customers a day have been contacting their bank to demand back the fees - which can be as high as £39.

Up to 3,000 a day have also been contacting the Financial Ombudsman, who settles disputes between companies and consumers.

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Pay out: banks have given back an estimated £200m already this year

Banks are giving in to the claims to avoid having to defend their actions in court.

One court in Leeds was due to hear 250 cases from customers demanding the return of overdraft charges. But the banks involved all settled at the last minute. None of the banks has admitted how much the backlash is costing.

But the study by Credit Suisse estimated the banks repaid around £200million in the first six months of 2007, representing about 1 per cent of their total profits.

The rush to reclaim the penalty fees, issued for going overdrawn or for having a cheque bounce, started after the Office of Fair Trading indicated they were likely to be illegal in April last year. But banks have used a range of tactics to prevent consumers pursuing the claims, including refusing to provide back copies of statements - a breach of the Data Protection Act - or simply dragging the process out as long as possible.

The OFT's investigation is due to be completed later this year, but the fact banks are settling claims out of court indicates they are not confident the fees are lawful.

Martin Lewis, of the advice service MoneySavingExpert.com, said: 'Banks are willing to haemorrhage money so cases are not heard in court. The message to people is clear: Reclaim, reclaim, reclaim.'