JUDICIAL REVIEW

This morning's outcome of the Judicial Review in the High Court is a landmark review and one can only hope that if the banks appeal, as they are likely to do, then the Supreme Court will not bottle out at the last moment.

Meanwhile, every customer who has been sold payment protection insurance by these banks, should seriously consider lodging a claim. Lodge the claim and request confirmation of the new reference number. Keep it short and simple, direct and to the point. Do not start arguing the case in that letter. All the notification of claim is doing at this stage is to put the banks on notice that there is likely to be a groundswell of public opinion that will increase dramatically over the months ahead.

In all my years I have never seen the banks behave in flagrant disregard of the general public as we have seen over the last decade, although to be fair, some are now trying to bring some measure of order to their disordered houses. That the banks have actually done everything possible to turn the Recession that they caused, to their own personal private advantage beggars belief. In less tolerant regimes, we do not need to use our imagination as to the outcome. Thankfully, this is the United Kingdom. That does not mean that the general public is soft. Far from it.

This Judicial Review will today have made quite a few well cushioned bums on seats in high places, chairmen and chief executives, higher executives and not a few bank officials on the counter, feel a little queezy.

So be it. It is deserved.

Today's Judicial Review has all the hallmarks of turning the general public's concern into outright anger and demand for even more root and branch change as did the Daily Telegraph when it first blew the whistle on MPs Expenses.

Let the action begin.

Ian Bradley Marshall
LIVERPOOL
20 April 2011