THE High Court test case on bank charges which starts today will have implications for every one of us.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is challenging seven leading retail banks and the Nationwide building society claiming overdraft charges are unfair.

Many see these charges as a way of making money out of the poorest customers.

Few would argue that some bank charges have always been ridiculous, especially those where customers are slapped with a fee just for letters they receive or going just a few pence into the red.

But it's easy to see why banks are so strongly challenging this case as they make £10 million a day from these charges.

The recent wave of mass litigation against them from customers who have challenged their charges shows just how strongly people feel at what they describe as unfair and unnecessary charges.

The OFT also argues that the banks' terms and conditions are not written in sufficiently plain English, leaving many in the dark about what they can and cannot be charged for.

The outcome of this case is extraordinarily important.

If the banks lose it could spell the end of free banking for millions of us.

If they win, it could give them the green light to charge whatever they want.

The hearing should bring some some clarity to the legal position but it also means we will all probably end up out of pocket whatever the result.