Re: It's not surprising.
As for pursuing every complaint as far as the ECJ, when the banks do this to us every day, how can you possibly have the emotional energy, let alone the money, to do such things?
That's actually easier than you think, provided you keep a few things in mind:
- Exactly because it happens so often, you are not alone. Even if you only find 3 other people to follow the same route you will start drawing attention because you're not only hitting a bank with a quite reasonable demand, you are also opening the door for press asking regulators why they are not acting. Key is remaining reasonable, because the bank in question will do anything to paint you as a loon who couldn't manage his finance if given a manual - nothing pisses off a bank more than someone who cannot be riled and so dismiss themselves in public.
- The moment it's more than just you, the bank can no longer play the drawn out game because the regulatory thing also becomes a political playball. You're stirring a cauldron that has political implications - in other words, you start causing pain to people who have the power to act.
- The press is on your side. As a general rule of media management, the press tends to side with the weaker party, especially in the light of the continuation of massive bonus payments to board members of banks that offer shoddy service - you're providing more argument for the claim that they are unjustified.
- There is nothing a bank is more afraid of than having especially NON-senior members drawn into court cases, because bank staff is always deemed to talk on behalf of the bank but the lower slobs will have had no training to do so. So, although you're hitting senior levels, the person you try and get to court is the person the bank alleges to be responsible for your account. If you're a normal person, that isn't a bank manager but some person lower down who is basically an administrator in a suit. The bank will NOT want this person in court, ever, because they could be turn out to be too honest.
You have to decide amongst the people you gather what you want as outcome, though, because the first thing that will happen is that some chap will knock on your door in the evening with an envelope of cash and an agreement containing a gagging clause to make you go away. If that is what you're after, don't start the above because the press will find out and YOU will be vilified instead (two reasons: you cashed in, and -most importantly- you ended a story that could have run and run).
It's a shame I don't live in the UK. If this had happened to me you would have had a group to join who knows to play that game, and for me it's actually quite fun entertainment, mainly because I have a fairly dark and evil sense of humour.