Court Rules in Favor of Customer in Bank Account Dispute, Rejects Overdraft Charges

The bank claimed from the client an amount including VAT, overdraft charges at a rate of 11.25%, late payment interest at a rate of 4%, as well as a late payment compensation of 1,500 DH, reports Médias24. Consulting the bank statements allowed the Tifelt Court of First Instance to discover that the amounts claimed by the bank relate to the negative movements of the account of the person concerned between January 1, 2013 and April 30, 2014. Under Article 503 of the Commercial Code, the court rejected the bank’s claim for payment.

This article stipulates that "If the customer ceases to fund his account for a period of one year from the date of the last debit balance recorded in the account, the said account must be closed at the initiative of the bank. In this case, the bank must, before closing the account, notify the customer, by registered letter sent to his last address declared to his bank branch. If the customer has not expressed his willingness to keep his account within 60 days of the date of notification, the account is deemed closed, after the expiration of this period".