A BURY businessman is helping angry customers bite back against the banks over unfair charges.

After Matthew Jackson successfully waged a battle against his bank to recover £7,000, he has now launched his own Action Group company to assist others facing the same experience.

Matthew (35) emerged victorious after taking legal action against his own bank in Bury. During a meeting with staff, he discovered that unbeknown to him, charges had been accrued from his business and personal accounts. "It was only when I asked to see these charges that the tip of the iceberg was uncovered," he said.

Harnessing his legal background, he demanded the bank supply bank statements going back six years. Subsequently, he sought to be reimbursed for all the "charges" he had paid.

Matthew said: "The bank, of course, appointed their legal team to stop this. Eventually, after spending many more pounds funding my case and hours filing my litigation papers, I was victorious and managed to recoup nearly £7,000 of charges.

"This was not only a financial victory but a moral one for the man in the street'. I realised many other locals may find themselves in the same position, so I decided to set up a business doing exactly that for others. The reaction from people in Bury and Manchester has been extremely positive and I now have a large caseload."

Matthew, who spent 30 years in Bury before relocating to Turton, went on: "The Action Group is a company set up by myself to recover bank charges for others. At every client meeting I explain that if they had the tools, knowledge and time then the process of recovering bank charges can be carried out themselves.

"But the feedback is that, simply, people do not have the time and that they are frightened to take on huge financial institutions. The Action Group asks the banks to pay back clients' charges. If they don't, then we will do all the litigation to make this happen.

"We work on a results-only basis and, if we are not able to recover any payment, then we do not charge anything."

Matthew can be contacted via e-mail at TheActionGroup@orange.net