Lawmaker wants legal opinion on fees once charged for dormant bank accounts
Published:Saturday | December 7, 2024 | 3:56 AM
Opposition lawmaker Fitz Jackson is pushing for a legal opinion from Jamaica’s attorney general on whether the imposition of fees by commercial banks on customers’ dormant accounts constitutes a breach of the banking laws.
Despite the removal of the fees by commercial banks in 2018, Jackson on Thursday pressed for the Economy and Production Committee of Parliament to make a formal request to the attorney general to offer an opinion on the matter.
“It is no longer being charged, but it has been charged, and if it is a breach of the law, it would constitute an illegally collected fee, it would constitute an ill-gotten gain and then the BoJ (Bank of Jamaica) would have to determine how the persons so affected are going to be compensated,” Jackson argued during a meeting of the committee at Gordon House.
He added that the imposition of the fees was withdrawn only after he threatened to take legal action against the banks on the issue of dormant fees. “Obviously, their legal advisors would have pointed out their vulnerability,” Jackson reasoned.
Jackson contended that the issue should not be swept under the proverbial carpet on the basis that the banks had stopped charging fees on dormant bank accounts.
He is insisting that the numerous account holders who were impacted in the past should have an opportunity to receive justice for the alleged wrong that was done to them.
“To do nothing is tantamount to a (situation) where if a man was robbing a grocery store every week for the past four years, but he stopped robbing it now, he would have stolen $10 million over the period and because he stops now does not mean that he is OK,” he said.
He made it clear that it was the job of legislators to protect the public’s interest and to ensure that the institutions of the state act to safeguard the rights of Jamaicans.
DETERMINE APPROPRIATE STEPS
Member of Parliament for St Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, who is also a member of the Economy and Production Committee, echoed similar sentiments as Jackson, saying it is entirely appropriate for the Parliament to seek a definitive legal opinion on the matter.
He said depending on the decision by the attorney general, the Parliament, through the committee, would have to determine the appropriate steps going forward to plug what he believes is a loophole in the law.
In his remarks, committee chairman Dwight Sibblies said he was not averse to seeking an opinion from the attorney general regarding the legality of the then imposition of bank fees for dormant accounts.
“All members of this house are here to protect the interest of the public and we would love to hear the opinion,” he said.