As if the poor souls who run Britain’s banks don’t have enough to worry about, the Government is talking about making it easier for bank customers to bring class action lawsuits. Could this take us further down the slippery slope towards the fiery pit that is the American legal system?

Luckily, there is probably less to this than meets the eye. The idea may be that encouraging lawyers to take up cases from large numbers of customers who feel they have been ripped off could be more efficient than leaving it to regulators.

In the bank charges case, for example, the Office of Fair Trading stepped in to bring a test case after thousands of customers filed claims related to overdraft charges. Three years on, the OFT is still tied up in costly litigation with no resolution in sight. Why not pass the buck to private lawyers instead?

But lawyers are sceptical that it will make much difference. Class actions are already allowed in the UK, although the hurdle for bringing a case is high. The Government has been particularly keen on the idea in cases involving violations of competition law. But consumers haven’t shown much appetite.

The UK does not have juries in civil trials — juries are more likely to award huge damages — and lawyers’ fees are capped. So there’s far less money to be made than in the US. The British legal establishment is extremely suspicious of class actions and would be resistant to change, no matter how strong the Government’s appetite.

Besides, we already have a mechanism for helping customers to seek redress: the Financial Ombudsman Service.

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