Restitution Discussion Group Archives
| Sender: |
Allan Axelrod |
| Date: |
Wed, 5 Aug 1998 14:44:43 -0400 |
| Re: |
Bank overcharging customers |
[snip from odell]
My question is this; given that the bank took RTE to
the Supreme Court in an effort to prevent the broadcast of the story,
they might equally have decided not to return the money at all, or to
return it without interest; if they had done so, and a customer of the
bank had decided to sue for the return of the money plus interest, would
that have been an action for restitution of an unjust enrichment, and
if so, what would the ground for restitution (the unjust factor) have
been ? [hedley continues] Presumably the bank's treatment
of its customers was a breach of its contracts with them. Actions to recover the customers' lost money are therefore
actions for breach of contract, or perhaps even (depending on the circumstances)
actions for debts based on the contracts, if that is different. a customer maintains a credit with a bank:
the credit represents the amount of the bank's express
or implied obligation to pay money to the customer [against check or otherwise]
the customer agrees that the bank can charge against the credit in various
determinable future amounts
the customer makes demand on the bank---via check or
otherwise--for the amount of his balance properly determined as per contract---dishonor
of the demand would be a breach, or in the case of a dishonored check
perhaps also slander-of-credit?
if the deposit was contractually set-up in specie, and
the bank withheld return of the appropriate specific amount, it would
seem that tort would also be involved??
my question as to ENGLISH usages: if the bank concealed
the charges, or somehow misrepresented their legitimacy, and by contract
or general limitation the customer became time-barred, would her subsequent
action to recover, in spite of the bar, be characterized as the use of
fraud or mistake as a ground of restitution, or simply as implied-contractual
defenses against the bar?
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